Urs Roth had been working for Visana since 1995
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The president of the Swiss insurance firm Visana, Urs Roth, took his own life on Monday, the firm has announced. In recent years, several top Swiss executives have killed themselves.
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انتحار رئيس مجلس إدارة شركة فيزانا للتأمينات الصحية
“It is with great sadness that we inform you about the death of our Chairman of the Executive Board, Mr. Urs Roth, who took his own life yesterday,” Visana said in a brief statementExternal link.
Without any further explanations, the Bern group said it extended its condolences to Roth’s family and friends and said his deputy, Valeria Trachsel, would take over in the interim period.
Born in 1960, Roth joined Visana in 1995. As a trained lawyer, he climbed the ranks and was promoted to the management board in 2001. He became president in 2015.
Under his leadership, the number of insured persons at Visana passed the 800,000-mark in 2016, with business picking up. Visana recorded a CHF200 million net profit in 2017.
Several high-profile suicides have occurred in recent years among the top managers of Swiss companies.
In 2016, Zurich Insurance announced that Martin Senn, its former chief executive, had taken his own life, six months after he left the firm. This came three years after Zurich’s finance director, Pierre Wauthier, also died by suicide.
Also in 2013, Carsten Schloter, CEO of the state-owned telecoms company Swisscom, took his own life. In 2008, Alex Widmer, chief executive of Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, also killed himself.
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Suicide highlights Swiss executive stress
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Zurich Insurance has announced that Martin Senn, its former chief executive, has taken his own life, six months after he quit the Swiss insurer under a cloud. His death came three years after Pierre Wauthier, then Zurich’s finance director, also took his own life. Other high profile suicides include Carsten Schloter, chief executive of telecoms…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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Suicide highlights Swiss executive stress
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Zurich Insurance has announced that Martin Senn, its former chief executive, has taken his own life, six months after he quit the Swiss insurer under a cloud. His death came three years after Pierre Wauthier, then Zurich’s finance director, also took his own life. Other high profile suicides include Carsten Schloter, chief executive of telecoms…
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Senn spent ten years at Zurich, six of them as CEO until the 59-year-old abruptly left the firm on December 1 last year. “With the passing of Martin, we lose not only a highly valued former CEO and colleague but also a close friend. Our thoughts are with his bereaved family and friends, to whom…
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A police spokesman, citing information from the Forensic Medicine Institute, said third party involvement in his death could be ruled out. In announcing Wauthier’s death, Zurich Insurance, Switzerland’s largest insurance company, said it would not disclose further details out of consideration for his family. “The Board of Directors, Group Executive Committee and all of our colleagues…
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Communications Minister Doris Leuthard was present at the service, in addition to Swisscom President Hansueli Loosli and other members of the Swisscom management. Also present were the heads of the Swiss Federal Railways and Swiss Post, plus numerous representatives of business, politics and the Army. Schloter’s wife – from whom he had separated – and…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.