Gilbert Achermann is the Chairperson of Straumann, the global leader in implant dentistry, and a Board member of Julius Bär, the private bank, Ypsomed, a selfcare solutions company, and Vifor, a pharma company. In addition he is a jury member of Venture Kick and member of the Board of the Swiss MedTech association.

Prior to becoming Chairperson, Gilbert served as CFO and CEO at Straumann. His previous positions include Chairperson and Co-CEO of the Vitra Group, a family-owned furniture and shopfitting company. Prior to that he held positions as the Chairperson of Siegfried, a listed pharma service company, and Vice Chairperson of the Moser Group, a privately owned luxury watch company. He began his career at UBS in investment banking.

Gilbert holds an EMBA from IMD and joined IMD in July 2016 as Executive-in-Residence.

As the only female Group CEO of a major UAE-headquartered bank and publicly listed corporation within the UAE, Hana is recognized for being a change leader and for her forward-thinking vision with a focus on embedding a culture of innovation and diversity and inclusion in her leadership.

A seasoned C-suite executive with more than 20 years of experience in banking and financial services, Hana previously served as Deputy Group CEO and Head of Personal Banking at FAB, responsible for leading the transformation of FAB’s consumer bank, instilling a customer and digital-first mindset.

A graduate of George Washington University in the US, Hana is currently Chair of the Global Council on the Sustainable Development Goals, with a key interest in Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. She is also a member of MasterCard Advisory and has served as an independent director in Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Company (Du) and Vice Chairperson of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Services.

Her most recent accolade includes her nomination in Forbes Middle East, being ranked third as featured in the Middle East’s Power Business’ Women 2021 list.

Norwegian Liselott Kilaas has over 20 years of international top management experience, resulting in a proven track record in strategic and operational performance development across a broad spectrum of businesses. During the last 10 years she worked in the healthcare sector and was the CEO of Aleris 2013–2017.

Liselott has extensive Non‐Executive Board and Committee experience from 2004, ranging from central banking, investment funds, telecom, technology, branded consumer goods, healthcare, medical technology, aluminum, media to shipping. Her first two board assignments were with the Central Bank of Norway (also responsible for the Norwegian Sovereign Fund), a position she held for 12 years, and Telenor, a position she held for 10 years.

Liselott is currently working with companies that are listed, private equity owned, and governmental owned. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Norsk Hydro ASA, Orkla ASA, Ambea AB, Peab AB, Nobina AB, Norwegian Sovereign Fund, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Coala Life, Implantica AG, Avonova AB.

Education

1983 M.Sc. Mathematical Statistics, University of Oslo, Norway

1987 Master’s of Business Administration, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland

O’Brien has enjoyed a global career with roles in China, Sydney, Paris, London, and Zurich. He retired from global management consulting and executive search firm Egon Zehnder in 2018 after 30 years, including six years as Chief Executive Officer and the last eight years as Chairperson.

Prior to this, he held various management positions in Red Rock Leisure, a family-owned group of companies in Australia, and worked as an associate with McKinsey. His current boards include Ardagh Metal Packaging SA in the US, Ardagh Group SA, and the Advisory Board of Conduit Funds Management in Sydney.

O’Brien holds an MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales. He also has a diploma in theology and philosophy from Saint Columban’s College in Sydney, which included two years’ study and community work in Mindanao, the Philippines.

He has been a member of the supervisory board at IMD since 2008.

Woods Staton is the Executive Chairperson of Arcos Dorados (NYSE: ARCO), the world’s largest independent McDonald’s franchisee. Arcos Dorados operates or franchises more than 2,200 restaurants, with over 100,000 employees and greater than US$3bn in revenue, across 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. Often recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Latin America, every year Arcos Dorados generates first-time, formal employment opportunities for tens of thousands of young people in the region.

Born in Medellín, Colombia, Woods’ business life has focused on consumer goods in Latin America. His grandfather founded Panamco, which became the largest Coca/Cola bottler in the world with operations in seven Latin American countries. After many years in the family business, Woods branched out, starting his own entrepreneurial career as McDonald’s joint venture partner in Argentina. He later served as President of McDonald’s South Latin America Division. He founded Arcos Dorados in 2007, when he led a consortium of investors in the purchase of McDonald’s Corporation’s operations in Latin America. In April 2011, Arcos Dorados executed a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Woods is actively involved in several non-profit organizations. He is co-founder of Endeavor Argentina, promoting entrepreneurship, as well as a founding partner of Ashoka Argentina, a global organization committed to investing in innovative solutions through social entrepreneurship. He is a member of the Chairman’s International Advisory Council of the Council of the Americas and currently serves as the Chair for the Latin American Program’s Advisory Board at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank in Washington D.C.

Woods holds an MBA from IMD.