Dr Severin Schwan
Chairman since 2023 (Member of the Board since 2013)
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About Roche
Our leadership team
Personal Data
Nationality
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Year of Birth
1967
Education
1991
Economics at University of Innsbruck, University of York and University of Oxford, Mag. rer.soc.oec.
1991
Law at University of Innsbruck, Mag. iur.
1993
Doctorate in Law at University of Innsbruck, Research studies at University Louvain, Belgium, Dr. iur.
Professional Career
1993–1995
Roche Basel, Trainee at Corporate Finance
1995–1998
Roche Brussels, Head Finance & Administration
1998–2000
Roche Grenzach, Germany, Head Finance & Informatics
2000–2004
Roche Diagnostics Basel, Head Global Finance & Services
2004–2006
Roche Diagnostics Singapore, Head Region Asia Pacific
2006–2008
Roche Diagnostics Basel, CEO Division Roche Diagnostics
2008–2023
Roche Group, Chief Executive Officer
Since 2013
Roche Holding Ltd, Member of the Board of Directors
Since 2023
Roche Holding Ltd, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Present external mandates
in listed companies
–
in unlisted companies
–
Other activities / non-profit activities / memberships
Since 2009
Member of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai (IBLAC), Vice Chairman from 2022 - 2023, since 2024 Chairman
Since 2023
Member of the European Round Table for Industry - ERT
Awards / Honors
–
Dialogue with Severin Schwan
What inspires you?
“Our work at Roche means we are fortunate to be able to make a meaningful difference for patients around the world. This is what really inspires me about Roche: the impact we make on a daily basis.”
The Roche culture
“With a history of more than 125 years, it is the people that make Roche what it is – a community driven by innovation and science, working closely together to improve people’s lives.”
How to foster innovation
“Roche uses a large number of research approaches to develop new medicines. Scientific success cannot be programmed, but we can create the conditions that will allow it to happen: being open to new ideas, having the courage to take risks; our researchers need to have the freedom to work on their ideas and above all, they need a positive space in which ideas are shared and independent thinking is encouraged.”
How do you cope with stress?
“I believe the ‘everyday’ pressure only turns into stress if you feel that the world will stop turning if you’re not around. However, of course the world does keep on turning. Not overestimating your own importance helps you to do your job effectively.”
The courage to fail
“There’s no success without failure! When you’re pursuing ground-breaking innovation, setbacks go with the territory. Unless you have the courage to fail, you’ll never succeed. It is my strong belief that we should celebrate our failures just as we celebrate our successes.”
Personalised healthcare
"I am very optimistic about the future. We have a strong pipeline and – thanks to our combination of pharma and diagnostics with data science – a very good opportunity to make significant advances in personalised healthcare."
Access to healthcare
"We want to ensure that everyone has access to our diagnostic solutions and medicines. I am proud that Roche was one of the first companies to introduce differentiated pricing."