Beat W. Hess (born 6 July 1949) is a Swiss lawyer and businessman. He is the chairman of the

Holcim Group The Holcim Group, legally known as Holcim Limited, (formerly known as LafargeHolcim) is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational company that manufactures building materials. It has a presence in around 60 countries, and employs around 6 ...

and the vice chairman of

Sonova Sonova Holding AG (Phonak Holding AG before 1 August 2007) is an internationally active Swiss group of companies headquartered in Stäfa that specializes in hearing care ( hearing instruments, cochlear implants, wireless communication). The Son ...

Early life

Beat W. Hess was born on 6 July 1949. He graduated from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

in 1972 and a JD in Legal Management in 1974. He earned a master of laws from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

in 1976, and a doctorate in Laws from the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

in 1977.

Career

Hess began his legal career as a clerk to Swiss courts in 1972. He was the legal counsel of

Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Baden bei Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oer ...

from 1977 to 1986, and its

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

from 1986 to 1988. He was the general counsel of the

ABB Group ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Exch ...

from 1988 to 2003. He was the legal director and a member of the execute committee of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

from 2004 to 2010. Hess joined the board of directors of the

in 2010 and currently serves as its chairman. Hess is also the vice chairman of

. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

. He also serves on the advisory board of the

China Development Bank China Development Bank (CDB) is a policy bank of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, it has been described as the engine that powers the national government's economic development policies.

References

Living people 1949 births University of Geneva alumni University of Miami School of Law alumni University of Fribourg alumni 20th-century Swiss lawyers Corporate lawyers Swiss chairpersons of corporations Shell plc people Directors of Nestlé 21st-century Swiss lawyers {{Switzerland-bio-stub