Zurich, February 15, 2006 - Zurich Financial Services (Zurich) announced today that the Board of Directors will propose to the 2006 Annual General Meeting of shareholders on April 20 the election of Fred Kindle (age 46) and Tom de Swaan (age 59) to the Board of Directors. As announced last December, the Board has also nominated Donald T. Nicolaisen for election.
Manfred Gentz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zurich, said: "My colleagues and I are delighted that Don Nicolaisen, Fred Kindle and Tom de Swaan accepted our nomination. Their wide-ranging experience in the private and public sector are bound to add a welcome and diverse expertise to our Board. Given the retirement of some members in the future, their election will also facilitate Board transitions in the years to come."
Fred Kindle, citizen of Liechtenstein and Switzerland, has been Chief Executive Officer of ABB Group worldwide since January 2005. After graduating from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) with a degree in engineering and receiving an MBA from Northwestern University, he started his career with Hilti, McKinsey and Sulzer where, in 1999, he was appointed CEO of Sulzer Industries, one of the two operating groups of Sulzer AG. He joined ABB Ltd. in the fall of 2004. Mr. Kindle is also a director of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce and he serves on the board of VZ Holding Ltd., Zurich.
Tom de Swaan, Dutch citizen, has been a member of the managing board and chief financial officer of ABN AMRO Bank since 1999. He will retire from ABN AMRO on May 1, 2006. After graduating from the University of Amsterdam with a master's degree in economics, Mr. de Swaan joined the central bank of the Netherlands in 1972 where his career culminated in the appointment to the bank's governing board in 1986, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. In those years, he served in a number of policy-making and supervisory bodies, including the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which he chaired in 1997 and 1998. In January 2006, Mr. de Swaan became non-executive member of the board of GlaxoSmithKline, and he is non-executive director on the board of the UK's Financial Services Authority. Mr. de Swaan also serves as director of several non-profit organizations, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Netherlands Opera.
Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 55,000 people serving customers in more than 120 countries.
