Over 10 years of experience in providing holistic advice to management bodies on corporate governance and sustainability.
Our holistic, integrated approach is supported by our broad network of relevant capital market participants.
With our think tank, we develop new approaches to governance and sustainability and promote a better mutual understanding among market participants.
Many years of practical experience combined with a comprehensive proprietary knowledge database as the basis of our professional support
Barbara Heller has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services, asset management, pharmaceutical and consulting industries as a managing director and board member. Together with partners, she founded SWIPRA Services in 2013.
Ms. Heller is also a member of the Board of Directors and the Strategy Committee of Graubünder Kantonalbank GKB (SIX:GRKP), a member of the Board of Directors and the Sustainabilityand Audit Committees of Andermatt Swiss Alps, a member of the Investment & Stewardship Committees of Transparenta Investment Foundation for Occupational Pensions, and Vice President of the Swiss CFO Forum, where she chairs the jury for the Swiss CFO Award.
After completing her studies, Barbara Heller worked for the Zurich-based Bank Leu (Credit Suisse) in international corporate finance from 1991 to the end of 1997, most recently as Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets/Financial Engineering division. She was then responsible for capital market, M&A and private equity transactions for companies in various sectors in Switzerland and abroad as a member of the Senior Management of Bank Vontobel's Investment Banking division until mid-2005 and advised various investor groups and boards of directors. From 2005 to 2012, Ms. Heller was Chief Financial Officer of Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN, IPO 2006).
Ms. Heller's previous mandates were on the Board of Directors of Orascom Development Holding AG, on the Board of Directors and Chairwoman of the Audit Committee and member of the Risk Committee of Bank Cler AG and on the Board of Directors and as a member of the Audit Committee of Visana Health Insurance Group.
Barbara Heller graduated from the University of Zurich with a degree in economics, specializing in corporate finance, empirical economic research and banking/insurance, and completed various further training courses in Switzerland and abroad. She is a frequent speaker at seminars and management education courses in the areas of corporate governance/ESG, financial management and corporate finance.
Christoph is a researcher at the Department of Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich and responsible for the scientific approach and foundation of SWIPRA’s consulting services, its survey projects and analyses. He is co-author of the SWIPRA Considerations for Corporate Governance and of the SFI Whitepaper on corporate governance.
Further, Christoph is conducting empirical research and lectures in the field of corporate governance and corporate finance.
After the successful completion of his coursework in the PhD program of the Swiss National Bank in Gerzensee, Christoph Wenk wrote his thesis in the field of empirical corporate finance and graduated in spring 2013. His research expertise is in the empirical analysis, in particular on topics of corporate governance and corporate finance as well as corporate valuation.
