The Foundation Board is the highest body of the Vontobel Foundation. Based on the Foundation's charter, the Board defines the focus of our funding activities and decides on the allocation of funding contributions.
Dr. Hans-Dieter Vontobel
Chairman of the Foundation Board
Dr. Hans-Dieter Vontobel represents the third founding generation of the Vontobel family. He was CEO and subsequently chaired the Board of Directors of Vontobel Holding AG until 2002. Since the Vontobel Foundation's establishment in 1993 by his father, Dr. Hans Vontobel, Hans-Dieter Vontobel has been a member of the Foundation Board and its Chairman since 2005.
Dr. Urs Landolf
Vice Chairman of the Foundation Board and Chairman of the Investment Committee
Urs Landolf, Dr. iur. et lic. oec. HSG, has been a legal advisor at Wenger & Vieli Attorneys-at-Law in Zurich since 2015. Previously, he was a long-time partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in tax and legal consulting. Dr. Landolf is active as a foundation and board member, including as a trustee of the HSG Foundation. He also chaired the HSG Alumni Association for many years and is now an Honorary Senator of the University of St. Gallen.
Dr. Maja Baumann
Member of the Foundation Board
Dr. iur. Maja Baumann represents the fourth founding generation of the Vontobel family. Since 2020, she has been a partner at the law firm Swiss Legal, specializing in real estate, commercial, and corporate law, as well as banking supervisory issues. She is also a member of the Expert Commission for Construction and Real Estate Law at the Swiss Bar Association. Dr. Baumann is active as a foundation and board member, including serving as Chairman of the Zurich Zoo Foundation’s board and as a member of the Vontobel Holding AG board.
Ines Brunner
Member of the Foundation Board
Ines Brunner holds a Master’s degree in business economics from the University of Zurich and a Bachelor's degree in physiotherapy from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. After working in internal auditing at a bank, she turned to physiotherapy and worked in various roles in both hospitals and private practices. At the Vontobel Foundation, Ms. Brunner is responsible for small grants in the area of education.
Nicole von Däniken-Wettergren
Member of the Foundation Board
Nicole von Däniken-Wettergren also represents the fourth founding generation of the Vontobel family. She holds a Master's degree in economics and has held various positions at Vontobel Holding AG. She is a board member of a private FemTech company and, as a board member of the Vontobel Foundation, is responsible for small grants in the area of social welfare.
Dr. Katja Gentinetta
Member of the Foundation Board and the Investment Committee
Katja Gentinetta is a political philosopher and author. She publishes non-fiction books and essays on social and economic policy issues. For eight years, she moderated "Sternstunde Philosophie" and "NZZ Standpunkte" on the Swiss television broadcaster SRF, and today she leads the talks at the Swiss Institute of International Studies. From 2006 to 2011, she was Deputy Director of the think tank Avenir Suisse. She teaches at the universities of St. Gallen, Zurich, and Lucerne and holds various board and foundation memberships.
Dr. Peter Maurer
Member of the Foundation Board
Dr. Peter Maurer led the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN from 2004 to 2010 and then served as Secretary of State at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. From 2012 to 2022, he shaped humanitarian aid as Chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Today, he is involved in various boards of trustees and serves as Chairman of the Basel Institute on Governance, Senior Fellow at the Geneva Graduate Institute, and a board member of Zurich Insurance.
Dr. Alex Rübel
Member of the Foundation Board
Dr. med. vet. Alex Rübel was the Director of the Zurich Zoo for nearly 30 years. Under his leadership, the zoo developed into a conservation center and one of the most modern zoos in the world. Dr. Rübel serves as President of the University of Zurich Alumni Association and contributes his expertise to various boards of trustees.
Dr. Martin Sieg Castagnola
Member of the Foundation Board and the Investment Committee
Dr. oec. Martin Sieg was Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Board of Vontobel Holding AG from 2008 to 2020. Before that, he served on the senior management team of Zürcher Kantonalbank. Today, he is an independent consultant and a member of various boards of trustees and administrative boards.
Prof. Dr. Giatgen Spinas
Member of the Foundation Board
Prof. Dr. med. em. Giatgen Spinas is the former Director of the Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Clinical Nutrition at the University Hospital Zurich. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the LUKS Group and Chairman of the University Council of the University of Lucerne. Prof. Spinas also serves as Co-Director of The LOOP Zurich, a center for translational research with a focus on precision medicine. In addition, he is a member of the Zurich Ethics Commission, a consulting physician at the Oberengadin Hospital, and is active in various foundations.
