Event information
GC Summit Switzerland 2022 will be looking at Switzerland on the world stage and how GCs and senior in-house lawyers are coping with the legal and business challenges that domestic and international companies based in the country are faced with.
GC Summit Switzerland 2022 will include a series of panel sessions covering a variety of cutting-edge and up-to-date topics for discussion on ESG, M&A and dispute resolution in Switzerland. The panel discussions will be followed by an informal networking evening, including drinks and canapés.
Agenda
1.30pm: Registration & Lunch
2.00pm: Opening Remarks
2.05pm: ESG – a term or a fact? How ESG is driving change – what Legal and Tax functions should prepare for
The responsibility of companies to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects is not new. However, a recently there has been a noticeable shift from moral “best practice” obligations to binding legal requirements. The panel will discuss key legal requirements for companies doing business in Switzerland where ESG considerations will have to be taken into account. The specific focus addresses competition law and tax law including transfer pricing.
- Fabian Martens, partner, Pestalozzi
- Nils Harbeke, partner, Pestalozzi
- Eva Frehner, head group tax, Sulzer
- Romana Giesen, head group tax, Tax Swisscom
- Matthias Maurer, associate general counsel, Lonza
Moderated by Pestalozzi
3.00pm Setting out the markers: Key areas to note in the term sheet phase of an M&A deal
An initial step in a typical M&A transaction – in some cases before external counsel is instructed – is often for the parties to negotiate a term sheet. Experienced in-house counsel and Advestra practitioners share their thoughts on the main elements parties should focus on in this stage of a prospective deal.
The session will touch upon selected aspects relating to term sheets, such as:
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- Is a term sheet worth the time and effort?
- What should it cover?
- Are term sheets legally non-binding?
- How to manage liability in the term sheet?
- Daniel Raun, partner, Advestra
- Beda Kaufmann, partner, Advestra
- Robert Kuster, group head legal transactions, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
- Philippe Huber, vice president, group general counsel & chief compliance officer, SIG Group AG
Moderated by Advestra
3.50pm Coffee Break
4.05pm Dispute Risk Management
Prior to opening the floor to questions and discussion the speakers will present the critical preparation measures a company can take. They will cover both litigation and arbitration, with a particular focus on ESG-related disputes (climate change litigation, stakeholder claims including shareholder activism, and enforcement related to greenwashing) and technical commercial contracts.
- Daniel Lucien Bühr, partner, Lalive
- Matthias Gstoehl, partner, Lalive
- Melissa Magliana, partner, Lalive
Moderated by Lalive
4.55pm Remote Work (from Abroad)
Work from home was recommended or mandatory for many employees in Switzerland during the pandemic. There has been a return to normalcy in 2022 but many employers continue offering work from home or have reduced workspace, to the point that some remote work remains mandatory for some employees. However, remote work causes a range of legal issues, especially for employees who work from abroad. Our speakers will address the topic of “Remote Work (from Abroad)” and highlight key issues of international private law, data protection and secrecy law, labor law, tax law and social security law.
- David Vasella, partner, Walder Wyss
- Irène Suter-Sieber, partner, Walder Wyss
Moderated by Walder Wyss
5.50pm Closing Remarks
6.00pm Drinks and Canapes
7.00pm Event finishes
Speakers
Daniel Lucien Bühr, partner, Lalive
Eva Frehner, head group tax, Sulzer
Eva Frehner is a Head of Group Tax at Sulzer. She is a regular speaker at seminars and conferences and published articles on tax topics. She lectures on tax at the Universities in Austria (WU Vienna) and in Switzerland (Lausanne, St. Gallen and Zurich). A part of her PhD project at the University of St. Gallen is focused on the question ‘Is tax part of the ESG strategy?’. Eva is a Swiss Certified Tax Expert and obtained an LL.M. in International Tax Law from WU Vienna in 2011.
Romana Giesen, head group tax, Tax Swisscom
Romana Giesen is Head of Group Tax and also a board member of various group companies at Swisscom. In her senior role, staying ahead of emerging regulation and trends such as ESG is daily business.
Matthias Gstoehl, partner, Lalive
Nils Harbeke, partner, Pestalozzi
Nils Harbeke is head of Pestalozzi’s Tax Practice Group. Nils Harbeke has a particular strength in cross-border tax work and tax work for international clients, both inbound and outbound.
Beda Kaufmann, partner, Advestra
Beda Kaufmann joined Advestra as a partner in 2021. His practice focuses on international and domestic private M&A transactions, investments and joint ventures in various industries.
Melissa Magliana, partner, Lalive
Melissa Magliana specializes in international commercial arbitration. With experience in both common and civil law jurisdictions and holding legal degrees in US and Swiss law, she advises and represents clients in ad hoc and institutional arbitration proceedings under all major rules of arbitration. She also acts as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and as chair of arbitral tribunals and advises on other forms of dispute resolution and related proceedings, such as mediation and international legal assistance. Her expertise spans different sectors, including the construction, transportation, pharma and mining industries, with a particular focus on works contracts as well as shareholder, partnership and joint venture disputes arising in a post-M&A and construction projects context.
She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Arbitration Centre, where she acts as Secretary to the Court. She is also a member of the board of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), for which she acts as co-chair of the ASA Practice Seminar, and a co-chair of a CPR Task Force on the Arbitration of Life Sciences Disputes. She previously served as a co-chair of ASA below 40 and as a Steering Committee member of Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners. She is a frequent speaker and publishes regularly on matters relating to international dispute resolution.
Fabian Martens, partner, Pestalozzi
Fabian Martens is partner and a member of the Competition & Trade group at Pestalozzi. He has profound experience in Swiss and European competition law/antitrust and public procurement law. Fabian Martens regularly advices clients on compliance matters including ESG.
Daniel Raun, partner, Advestra
Daniel Raun is one of the founding partners of Advestra. He advises clients on M&A and other corporate transactions, including private equity and venture capital, joint ventures and carve-out transactions. He also has extensive experience in corporate and securities laws, including corporate governance.
Irène Suter-Sieber, partner, Walder Wyss
Irène Suter-Sieber is an employment law partner and member of the Management Board (Hiring Partner) at Walder Wyss.
She has extensive experience in representing clients in court in employment law related civil proceedings. She advises Swiss and international companies on all aspects of employment law, in particular, in the drafting of employment contracts, personnel regulations and employee participation programmes, in executive compensation matters, in the enforcement of restrictive covenants, terminations, restructurings such as transfers of undertakings and mass dismissals, international employee transfers, personnel lease as well as employment-related internal investigations, social security and data protection issues.
After completing her studies of law at the University of Zurich (lic. iur. 2006) and her piano studies at the Zurich School of Music (Musician MH, 2006), she was admitted to the bar (2009) and received her doctorate at the University of Zurich in 2012 (summa cum laude, awarded the Prof. Walther Hug Prize and Issekutz Prize). Before joining Walder Wyss, Irène Suter-Sieber worked at a leading Swiss law firm in Zurich for eight years.
Irène Suter-Sieber speaks German, English and French. She is registered with the Zurich Bar Registry and admitted to practice at all Swiss courts.
Walder Wyss is one of the most successful and fastest growing Swiss commercial law firms. We specialize in corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, intellectual property and competition law, dispute resolution and tax law. Our clients include national and international companies, publicly held corporations and family businesses as well as public law institutions and private clients.
We are a dynamic law firm with flat management structures. The team of around 250 legal experts – all of whom with a high level of professional qualifications, international experience and excellent knowledge in many languages – is augmented by approximately 100 employees working in support functions.
Growth and a close relationship to our clients are the factors that determine our success. Walder Wyss was established in Zurich in 1972 and has since grown continuously. With offices in Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne, Lausanne and Lugano, we provide our clients with a seamless one-stop-shop, personalised and high quality services in all language regions of Switzerland.
Our strong national and international network of correspondents and partners from a broad range of disciplines are selected according to the highest standards of professional competence.
David Vasella, partner, Walder Wyss
David Vasella is a partner on the Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Competition team. He is the co-head of the Regulated Markets, Competition, Technology & IP team, together with Hans Rudolf Trüeb. He advises and represents Swiss and international companies in all industries and at all stages of growth on questions concerning data and technology law. He specialises in data use, negotiating data-related contracts, data security issues, cloud projects and IT contracts and provides support in setting up platform models and data protection compliance in accordance with GDPR and Swiss law (including leading or supporting implementation projects and data protection audits). He regularly gives talks and writes publications on his areas of expertise, for example on datenrecht.ch, a Swiss platform on data law.
After graduating from the University of Fribourg in 2002 with a degree in law, David Vasella was admitted to the Zurich bar in 2004 and went on to receive his doctorate from the University of Zurich in 2011, for which he was awarded the highest distinction as well as the Prof. Walther Hug prize and the Issekutz prize. David Vasella is co-editor of digma (a journal on data law and information security), swissblawg (the biggest legal blog in Switzerland) and datenrecht.ch. He is a certified information privacy professional and manager (CIPP/E, CIPM).
David Vasella is listed in international rankings as a leading expert in data and technology (Chambers: “He is absolutely stellar when it comes to data protection”; Who’s Who Legal: “revered as the ‘go-to person for data protection’, with a wealth of experience in compliance matters”; Legal500: “committed and pragmatic” and an “outstanding lawyer with excellent analytical skills, a wealth of legal expertise, high client-focus. David is responsive, pragmatic and fully committed to serve his clients. Besides, he is a very likeable chap”).
Matthias Maurer, associate GC, Lonza
Matthias Maurer acts as Associate General Counsel, Corporate & Strategic Transactions of Lonza Group Ltd. Prior to joining Lonza, he was Group Legal Counsel M&A and Finance with Roche after spending several years with Homburger’s M&A advisory team. Matthias is a Swiss qualified lawyer, obtained legal degrees from University of Zurich (Dr. iur.) and University of St. Gallen (MA Law & Economics) as well as an MBA from INSEAD.
Philippe Huber, vice president, group general counsel & chief compliance officer, SIG Group AG
Philippe Huber is Vice President, Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer of SIG Group Ltd (SIX: SIGN). Prior to joining SIG Group, he was the Senior Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) after spending many years in private practice with a leading Swiss law firm advising Swiss and international clients on M&A transactions and general corporate matters including corporate governance. Philippe is a lecturer at the CAS Inhouse Counsel of the University of Zurich and a frequent speaker at conferences. He is a Swiss qualified attorney and obtained law degrees at the University of Oxford (MJur) and the University of Zurich (lic.iur.).
Robert Kuster, group head legal transactions, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
Robert Kuster is the Group Head Legal Transactions at Zurich Insurance, based in Zurich, Switzerland, and heads the Legal Teams for (i) M&A, Finance and Investments, (ii) Zurich Legacy Solutions, and (iii) Zurich Alternative Asset Management. He is a New York qualified attorney with broad international transactional experience, and focuses his practice on insurance M&A and joint ventures/distribution agreements, as well as investment and treasury related matters. Prior to joining Zurich Insurance, he worked in private practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York City, USA, and Brigard & Urrutia in Bogota, Colombia. He also lectures at the University of Zurich for the CAS ”Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Law”.
In association with...
Pestalozzi is a multicultural Swiss business law firm focusing on high-end work for domestic and international clients since 1911. Pestalozzi lawyers are strong and empathic personalities, known for their truly independent approach to advising and representing their clients. The firm guides and supports its clients in their strategic business decisions, anticipates their future challenges and helps them solve their critical issues. Being fully integrated, Pestalozzi encounters no internal limits in shaping the most competent and efficient teams for the clients’ needs. With over 100 professionals in Zurich and Geneva, the firm is at home in Switzerland’s two main commercial hubs – and has developed a wealth of experience in its key industries of Banking, Life Sciences, Commodity Trading and Insurance. While being locally embedded, Pestalozzi has also developed sought-after expertise in dealing with multi-jurisdictional transactions and disputes.
Advestra is a corporate law firm located in Zurich, Switzerland. The firm advises clients on a broad range of M&A transactions, such as acquisition and divestment transactions (including corporate auctions), public takeovers, mergers, demergers, joint ventures and financing rounds. It further advises on complex restructuring transactions and in situations of financial distress. Clients include private equity firms, public and private companies, sovereign wealth funds and other investors. The firm is also retained by entrepreneurs, growth companies and venture capitalists.
Apart from corporate and M&A, Advestra advises clients on capital market transactions (both equity and debt), financing transactions, matters relating to financial services regulatory as well as tax.
Walder Wyss is one of the most successful and fastest growing Swiss commercial law firms. We specialise in corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, intellectual property and competition law, dispute resolution and tax law. Our clients include national and international companies, publicly held corporations and family businesses as well as public law institutions and private clients.
We are a dynamic law firm with flat management structures. The team of around 250 legal experts – all of whom with a high level of professional qualifications, international experience and excellent knowledge in many languages – is augmented by approximately 100 employees working in support functions.
Growth and a close relationship to our clients are the factors that determine our success. Walder Wyss was established in Zurich in 1972 and has since grown continuously. With offices in Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne, Lausanne and Lugano, we provide our clients with a seamless one-stop-shop, personalised and high quality services in all language regions of Switzerland.
Our strong national and international network of correspondents and partners from a broad range of disciplines are selected according to the highest standards of professional competence.