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Media Release

Basel, 11 December 2007

Changes to the Corporate Executive Committee

The Board of Directors of Roche Holding Ltd has appointed Gottlieb Keller to the position of General Counsel, effective after the next annual general meeting of shareholders on 4 March 2008. As Head of Corporate Services, Dr Keller will continue to serve on the Corporate Executive Committee. His role as Secretary to the Board of Directors will expand to include additional tasks within the responsibility of the Chairman of the Board.

After the 2008 shareholders’ meeting Gottlieb Keller will step down as head of Corporate Human Resources. From that time the Group’s human resources organisation will be led by Silvia Ayyoubi, who will also become a member of the Corporate Executive Committee.

As of 5 March 2008, the membership of the Roche Corporate Executive Committee will be as follows:

Corporate Executive Committee

Severin Schwan (1967)Chief Executive Officer
Erich Hunziker (1953) Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Head of the Corporate Executive Committee
William Burns (1947)CEO Division Roche Pharmaceuticals
Jürgen Schwiezer (1944)CEO Division Roche Diagnostics
Jonathan Knowles (1947)Head of Group Research
Gottlieb Keller (1954)General Counsel, Head of Corporate Services
Silvia Ayyoubi (1953)Head of Human Resources


Enlarged Corporate Executive Committee

Burkhard G. Piper (1961) Head of Business Area Roche Diabetes Care
Pascal Soriot (1959)Head of Commercial Operations Pharmaceuticals Division
Rolf Schläpfer (1956)Head of  Corporate Communications
Osamu Nagayama (1947)President and CEO Chugai


Silvia Ayyoubi was born in Switzerland in 1953 and holds a diploma in commercial economics. She spent twelve years with the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, working in Switzerland, Sweden, Egypt and Jordan. Silvia Ayyoubi joined Roche in 1987 as a public relations manager and since 1991 has held various senior human resources positions. Since 2001 she has been Head of Human Resources of the Diagnostics Division.

Dr Gottlieb Keller was born in Switzerland in 1954. He grew up in Riehen, near Basel, studied law and economics in Basel and qualified as an attorney and notary public (not practising). In 1984 he joined Roche’s Corporate Law department and subsequently held several senior positions in Roche Germany before becoming Assistant to the Chairman of the Board. In 1999 he was appointed Secretary to the Board of Directors. Four years later he was in addition appointed Head of Corporate Human Resources and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee. Since 2004  Keller has also been responsible for Corporate Services.


Further information
- Photos of Silvia Ayyoubi
- CV of Silvia Ayyoubi