ZURICH.MINDS FOUNDATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rolf Dobelli, Founder & Chairman

Rolf Dobelli (1966) is an avid admirer of science. He is a novelist, entrepreneur and initiator of ZURICH.MINDS. He is co-founder and chairman of getAbstract, the world's largest provider of business book summaries. He studied business at the University of St. Gallen, where he secured his Ph.D. with a dissertation on postmodern philosophy (go figure...). His novels are published by Diogenes and have been translated into several languages. Prior to founding getAbstract, he headed different subsidiaries of Swissair. Personal note: Rolf is passionate about flying. He has crossed the Atlantic twice in a small single-engine aircraft. He loves books and doesn’t read newspapers or magazines, with the exception of Science and Nature, which he reads religiously.

Pascal Forster, Member of the Board

Pascal Forster (1967) is co-host of ZURICH.MINDS and managing director with Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive search firm. He has more than 12 years experience of recruiting senior managers and executives for leading corporations and organizations. In addition, he has helped to set up a number of commercial and non-profit organizations, Entrepreneurs Roundtable being the best known. He received his B.A. in social sciences and his M.B.A. from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Thomas Ladner, Member of the Board

Thomas Ladner (1968) is one of the most sought-after business lawyers in Switzerland. In 2009 he has joined Exigen Capital as a partner to build up their European operations. Exigen Capital is a US based private equity firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Zurich. Before that, he was a partner at Meyer Lustenberger (which he joined in 2002), one of the top ten law firms in Switzerland, specializing in private equity transactions and M&A. From 2000 to 2004, he was lecturing on corporate law and contract law at the University of St Gallen (Switzerland), from where he also holds a Ph.D. Thomas serves as a professional board member of various companies in Switzerland and abroad with a combined yearly turnover exceeding CHF 12 billion. He has helped to set up a number of nonprofit organizations, with Entrepreneurs' Roundtable (founder and co-chairman) and Club zum Rennweg (co-founder and chairman) being the most prominent. Thomas is also a member of the board of the Swiss Management Association.

Hans-Jörg (Schoscho) Rufener, Member of the Board

Hans-Jörg Rufener (1964) is the owner of Switzerland's largest event agency, Rufener Events, with offices in Zurich, Buenos Aires, Hamburg, Barcelona and London. Rufener Events organizes more than 100 worldwide events per year (for FIFA, the Dalai Lama, UBS, IWC, etc.). He is founder and owner of various restaurants, bars, clubs and music labels. Hans-Jürg holds a post-graduate qualification in Scenography.