Corporate governance

Career experience

Eftychia Fischer was elected at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on 30 April 2020 and joined the Board of Directors on that date. She was appointed Chair of the Board by the Vaud Cantonal Government beginning on 1 January 2022. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in physics from Imperial College London, she began her career in 1986 as an interest-rate derivatives trader at Société Générale Strauss Turnbull in London. She then held managerial positions at firms in Paris and Zurich, including J.P. Morgan & Co., Julius Baer, and EFG International, and joined UBP in 2010 as the Head of the Treasury & Trading Division. She took on an additional role as the head of asset management from 2012 to 2015. Ms. Fischer has since served on several boards of directors.

Career experience

Jean-François Schwarz was appointed by the Vaud Cantonal Government and joined the Board on 1 January 2019. He has over forty years of experience in the banking sector. Mr. Schwarz began his career at BCV in 1976 in corporate lending. From 1986 to 2003, he worked for Credit Suisse in Lausanne, New York, Zurich, and Geneva where he took on important roles in the bank’s lending and SME businesses. In 2003, he returned to BCV as a member of the Executive Board with responsibility for the Corporate Banking Division, which comprises the SME, Large Corporates, and Trade Finance departments. He retired in June 2017.

Career experience

After earning his Masters degree from Cambridge University and MBA from INSEAD, Jack Clemons started his career in auditing and subsequently became a partner at Deloitte. He then served as Chief Operating and Financial Officer for a pan-European internet group. In 2006, Jack Clemons joined Lausanne-based Bata, a leading global manufacturer and retailer of footwear, as Chief Financial Officer; he was later appointed Chief Executive Officer, a position he held until 2015. Since then, he has served on the boards of several companies. A Chartered Accountant and former auditor, he has extensive experience in managing large corporations and helping them implement digital strategies. Jack Clemons was elected at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held on 21 April 2016 and joined the Board on that date.

Career experience

Fabienne Freymond Cantone, who was appointed to the Board of Directors by the Vaud Cantonal Government, took up her position on 26 April 2018. She began her professional career at Arthur Andersen and then worked at Banca della Svizzera Italiana. She served on the finance committee of the Nyon municipal legislature from 1998 to 2006, and was head of finance in the Nyon municipal government from 2006 to 2011. She was a member of the Vaud Cantonal Parliament from 2002 to 2018, where she served on the finance committee until 2012, and became chair of the parliament’s control committee in 2017. She sits on the boards of several companies.

Career experience

Stefan Fuchs was appointed by the Vaud Cantonal Government and joined the Board on 1 July 2023. In 1991 he was licensed by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission as a lead auditor for banks, securities firms, and investment funds. He worked for over 35 years first for the auditing and consulting firm Andersen and then for Ernst & Young (EY) following the merger of those two firms in 2002. Mr. Fuchs has acquired extensive experience through auditing assignments in banking and asset management. From 2002, he served in various audit-related executive functions at EY, and in 2017 he took over responsibility for compliance, risk management, and professional standards in the financial sector as the professional practice director in EY’s financial services division. He joined the financial services committee for EY Switzerland in 2020. Since joining BCV’s Board, Mr. Fuchs has chaired the Audit and Risk Committee.

Career experience

Sandra Hauser was elected at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on 8 May 2025 and joined the Board on that date. She has extensive experience in technology, finance, management, and board governance. Until 2023, she held technology-related management positions at financial institutions and services companies such as UBS, Avaloq, and Zurich Insurance. She also served on the boards of Assura (2013–2022) and Urner Kantonalbank (2018–2024). Ms. Hauser has been a member of the Board of Directors of Cembra Money Bank since 2024 and heads the consulting firm acreas GmbH, which she founded in 2014.

Career experience

Pierre-Alain Urech was elected at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on 29 April 2021 and joined the Board on 1 January 2022. He is a former Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) Executive Board member and former CEO of Romande Energie, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the SBB’s Board of Directors. Mr. Urech has extensive experience in business management, strategy development, risk management, and serving on a board of directors, as well as deep roots in Vaud Canton. He serves on several boards of directors, including three as chair. Since 13 June 2024, he has chaired the Compensation, Promotions and Appointments Committee.

Career experience

Between 1985 and 1991, Mr. Kiener worked as an engineer for Fides Informatics in Zurich and Hewlett Packard in Geneva. In 1993, he joined the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. In 2000, he was made partner and a member of the Management Committee of McKinsey Switzerland. He acquired experience in financial services, and in banking in particular, during these years as an advisor for leading financial institutions in Switzerland and other European countries. He managed large projects involving strategy, risk management, controlling, and business process re-engineering. Mr. Kiener joined BCV as CFO on 1 June 2003 and was appointed CEO on 1 May 2008.

Career experience

Mr. Paulsen started his career in energy trading at EGL. In 1995, he joined the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he was elected Principal Associate in 2000. During his time at McKinsey, he managed a large number of strategic projects for financial institutions and major energy companies in Switzerland and throughout Europe, focusing particularly on the risk management aspects. Mr. Paulsen joined BCV in July 2002 as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), and in this capacity created and led the Risk Management Department. He was named CFO and Head of the Finance & Risks Division on 1 January 2009.

Career experience

He began his career in insurance, working for Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft and subsequently for La Suisse Assurances in Lausanne. He moved into banking in 1994 when he took a position at UBS in corporate banking for Switzerland's Mittelland region. He then rose through the ranks across all corporate segments to reach his position as Head of Institutional Clients, Switzerland & Global Asset Servicing. On 1 September 2017, he joined BCV’s Executive Board as head of the Corporate Banking Division.

Career experience

Anne Maillard has nearly 30 years of experience in the banking sector and possesses deep expertise in retail banking. In 1998, she joined Banque Cantonale de Fribourg (BCF), where she held several management positions, including head of marketing, products, and sponsoring. In 2017, she became a member of BCF’s executive board as head of the branch network division, and in 2022 she took over responsibility for BCF’s products and services division. Before joining BCF, she worked at Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich and the Fribourg Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services. She became a member of the Executive Board as head of the Retail Banking Division on 1 May 2025.

Career experience

Mr. Meixenberger began his career in 1987 at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) in Neuchatel as a software engineer. From 1993 to 1997, he worked for Credit Suisse in Geneva, where he was in charge of business processes and IT. In 1997, he became head of IT at Banque Cantonale de Fribourg. He was then appointed to that bank’s Executive Board as head of the Services Division in 2000. He joined BCV on 1 November 2016 and was appointed to the Executive Board as Head of the Business Support Division on 1 January 2017.

Career experience

Mr. Sager began his career at Credit Suisse in 1991, where he was involved in various lending activities. He joined BCV in 1998 and was appointed to lead BCV's Credit Recovery Department in 2003. In this position, he played a key role in strengthening the Bank's balance sheet by reducing the volume of impaired loans. In addition, as a member of the Executive Board's Credit Committee since 2008, he has acquired a thorough understanding of BCV's lending activities. Mr. Sager was named Chief Credit Officer and appointed to the Executive Board with responsibility for the Credit Management Division as of 15 February 2010.

Career experience

Mr. Steinmann began his career at the Vaud Cantonal Tax Administration in 1987. He then moved to Credit Suisse in 1995, where he worked in wealth planning for private banking clients and SMEs. After holding management positions in the private banking division, Mr. Steinmann became responsible for all private clients for the greater Lausanne area in 2013, then regional head of private banking for French-speaking Switzerland in 2017. In 2020, he was also named regional head of French-speaking Switzerland. He took up his position as the head of the Private Banking Division on 1 December 2022.