A member of the founding board of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which has given him global influence, the vice-president of Roche also cultivates his local and national roots. Born in Basel, raised in the Camargue, he was educated in the south of France until the age of 14. German-speaking father, Austrian mother, the High German is the language spoken at home. And if Roche is a deeply Basel company, he does not master the local dialect. With his sisters Vera and Maja, he speaks French. And with his wife Rosalie, English. Since the couple and their children returned from Great Britain twenty years ago, he has lived in the small town of Vaux-sur-Morges and likes to recall that his great-uncle Alfred Hoffmann, son of the founder of Roche, was trustee of Rolle and Vaudois deputy between 1920 and 1953. Ask those around him for the adjectives that best describe his personality. Modesty, curiosity and concern for the common good invariably come back. “In St. Gallen, during our studies, André touched me immediately by giving the impression of being borrowed, almost embarrassed, both by his size (nearly 2 meters) and by what he represented (the Roche empire). And there emanated from him a humility that was all the more remarkable given that many of our fellow students did not take themselves to be fools,” recalls lawyer Jean-Pierre Morand, partner of the Kellerhals Carrard firm and administrator. delegate from the Morand Distillery, who has kept in touch and sees him regularly. With a group of friends, they set out to cross Switzerland on foot, from east to west, from Rorschach to Geneva. A journey in stages started during covid and completed in 2023. Adventure renewed with a walk from north to south, from Porrentruy to Bellinzona, started this year. A different way to discover the country, its nature, in the open countryside and from town to town. And to test the relevance of new ideas.
Business
