Board of Directors

Esther von Ziegler was elected to the Board of Directors in 2015 and has been Chairman of the ZFV Board of Directors since 2022. She is an independent entrepreneur.

After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Zurich, Esther von Ziegler graduated with a lic. oec. HEC from the University of Lausanne. She also completed a CAS for board members at the HSLU.

The self-employed entrepreneur has a broad and well-founded expertise, including competences in the areas of gastronomy, the hotel industry and the development of real estate and companies. She started her professional career in the international fashion industry and was subsequently head of marketing and PR as well as a member of the executive board at Friedrich Steinfels AG. Later she dedicated herself to the development of the medical technology cluster toolpoint for life science, where she served as Secretary General.

Esther von Ziegler has been an independent entrepreneur since 1994. As co-owner, she built up the azinova group AG, which specialises in the reuse of former factory properties and other mixed-use real estate projects. Among other things, new life was breathed into the former Murg spinning mill at the lake Walensee. Important components for the revitalisation are the tourist projects sagibeiz and lofthotel as well as the Schiffsbetriebe Walensee, which are constantly being expanded and supplemented with new offers.

Esther von Ziegler has been a UNICEF delegate since 2016. She is also a member of the board of directors of the azinova group AG, president of the industriekultour association and on the board of WTL Berufliche und soziale Integration. From 2012-2022 she was a member of the jury of the Swiss Venture Club Ostschweiz.

• Partner of Tax Advisors & Associates

Dr. Maja Bauer-Balmelli has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2013.

In 1984, Maja Bauer-Balmelli completed her education at the University of St Gallen with the degree title lic. iur. In 1990 she became an eidg. dipl. Tax Expert and in 2001 she completed her doctorate at the University of Zürich.

Before joining Tax Advisors & Associates Switzerland AG as a partner in 2014, she worked for many years as a partner in a renowned business law firm and before that at Arthur Andersen in tax consulting and as a people partner. From 1995 to 2003 she also worked as a substitute judge at the Federal Tax Appeals Commission of the Canton of Zurich and was a member of the Swiss Takeover Board from 1999 to 2007. She also served as a member of the Alumni Advisory Board of the University of St. Gallen and the Foundation Board of the Swiss Academy of Taxation.

Maja Bauer-Balmelli is the initiator and founding member of wipswiss (women in property switzerland association). She can look back on an intensive career as a speaker, has written numerous publications on tax law and is the editor of Praxis der Bundessteuern and the commentary series on Swiss tax law.

Maja Bauer-Balmelli is active on various boards of directors, including Synergensia Genossenschaft, Markant Handels- und Industriewaren-Vermittlungs AG, Tax Advisors & Associates Switzerland AG and as a trustee of the Nanny Huber-Werdmüller Foundation.

Viktor Calabro was elected to the Board of Directors of ZFV in 2023. He is an entrepreneur and acts as a Board member, investor and consultant in a variety of companies.

After graduating in business informatics, he attended practical further education courses in programming, organisation, analytics and data management and has many years of experience in the areas of digitalisation, innovation, product management and fast-growing organisations. Viktor Calabro has demonstrated his capabilities in companies such as UBS, Swisscom, Post, SIX and BIT as well as in a number of SMEs and startups. He has also founded six companies and invested in four others. He is a well-known speaker and pioneer in his field and has co-written a book and many articles on the subjects of HR, live marketing, digitalisation and startups. Among other distinctions, he was awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 for his achievements. Viktor Calabro is a committed family man who advocates for future business leaders. He does this on the one hand as an investor, Board member and consultant, and on the other, as a trainer and guest lecturer at ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and in the Swiss Innovation Agency InnoSuisse of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).      

Viktor Calabro is the founder and a member of the Board of Directors of Coople Holding AG and the founder and CCO of change.commerce GmbH. .As an investor, consultant and member of the Board of Directors, he is invested in TOM Medications and eduwo.ch and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Innovation Foundation of the Schwyzer Kantonalbank. He also supports a range of companies with his expertise as a consultant.

 

• Entrepreneur and proprietor of the communications agency FCB Zurich

Cornelia Patricia Harder was elected to the Board of Directors of ZFV in 2017. She is an entrepreneur and an independent member of the Board.
As a marketing and communications expert with federal diplomas in leadership, corporate strategy, digital marketing, business transformation, innovation management and BoD management, she has continuously added to her skills. Cornelia Harder started her marketing career with SMP (Swiss Milk Producers), where she was responsible for brand strategy and the positioning of the core brands as Head of Marketing Communications. From 1995, she headed the Publicis advertising agency in Lausanne as CEO, and subsequently took over Publicis Zürich’s operations as COO. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of this advertising agency, the largest in Switzerland. In 2005, she moved into the media business and joined PubliGroupe, where she was Director of the largest Publicitas unit in Switzerland and responsible for the restructuring of the Central Plateau region. In 2008, she took over the management of the international advertising agency FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) in Zurich as CEO. Following a management buy-out, she has been the owner of Harder Marketing & Communication since 2018.

Cornelia Patricia Harder is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kienbaum Switzerland (management and human resources consultancy) and a member of the Advisory Board of ZWEI Wealth Experts AG (the leading independent wealth management ecosystem).

• CEO of Wincasa AG, Member of the Executive Board of Swiss Prime Site AG

Oliver Hofmann was elected to the Board of Directors of ZFV in 2020.

The banking studies graduate worked for UBS for some 15 years and was head of Real Estate Advisory Switzerland there from 2007 to 2012. He played a crucial role in building the Swiss real estate advisory services. Previously, he worked for several years in the finance department of IBM Switzerland AG. 

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Zurich and a Master's degree in Real Estate from CUREM (University of Zurich). He has been CEO of the real estate services company Wincasa AG since 1 January 2013 and is also a member of the Executive Board of Swiss Prime Site AG.

Oliver Hofmann holds a number of directorships and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In addition to his mandate on the Board of Directors of ZFV, Oliver Hofmann is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of H Invest & Consult AG and a member of the Board of Directors of Crédit Agricole next bank (Suisse) SA.

 

Nadia Lang has been CEO and a delegate of the Board of Directors of the ZFV Group since June 2021. She was elected to the ZVF Board of Directors in 2017 and served as its President from 2019 to 2022.

Nadja Lang’s professional career started in 1999 at The Coca-Cola Company, where she held a number of leadership positions in Brand Management and in the Innovation Department. Subsequently, as European Marketing Manager at General Mills Europe in London and Nyon, she was responsible for brand and innovation strategies and for the successful development and launch of several European products. She worked for Fairtrade Max Havelaar as Commercial Director and Deputy Managing Director from 2005 to 2011, and then as CEO until April 2017. She was responsible in this role for the extremely successful growth strategy. During her time at Max Havelaar she was Chair of the Global Account Management Steering Committee and a member of the Finance Committee of Fairtrade International among other responsibilities.

A business administration graduate, she has broad expertise in the areas of transformation, sustainability, and crisis and stakeholder management. She has also gained further qualifications, specifically in the area of leadership, at IMD in Lausanne (CH), INSEAD in Fontainebleau (FR) and other institutions.

Nadja Lang is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Emmi Group and Pax Life Insurance. She is also involved in a number of committees relating to sustainability and is on the international advisory board of the ZHAW School of Management and Law.

She has also held positions on the Boards of Directors of Swiss Post AG (2014-2023), Metron (2013-2021) and Energie 360° AG (2015-2021).