Dr. Raymond Wicki, Chairman of the Board

Mr. Wicki is a graduate from the University of Berne where he received a degree in Business Administration and a PhD in Finance and Taxation. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Kent State University, Ohio USA.

After working as an investment analyst for Hoffmann-La Roche he was hired by the industrial organisation of the Aga Khan where he spent almost eight years as Head of Finance for all worldwide industrial activities.

In the late seventies Mr. Wicki together with two partners became a pioneer of European venture capital by creating one of the first European venture capital funds active not only in the US but also in Germany and Switzerland. This Swiss based fund is still active.

As of 1983 Mr. Wicki was active in private and institutional portfolio management, first for a Zurich based private bank, then for one of the large Swiss banks where he was charged with building and managing an independent institutional portfolio management company.

Between 1990 and early 2000 Mr. Wicki was the CEO of Bank von Graffenried, a family owned private bank in Berne. Mr. Wicki founded this bank and built it from a small operation into a mid-sized money management bank.

Mr. Wicki was a co-founder of M2, a Swiss investment company (where he was chairman of the board for five years) and of Berne Venture, a Berne based venture capital fund. Of the latter Mr. Wicki is vice-chairman. Mr. Wicki is chairman of a listed Swiss investment company, MachHitech in Zug.