Roche nominates new chairman

Roche's board of directors has nominated Christopher Franz as its new chairman, a selection that will be voted upon at the firm's annual general meeting in March 2014.

Mr Franz is the current chief executive officer of the airline company Lufthansa Group, a position that he will be departing in May next year, having chosen not to renew his contract.

He is already a member of Roche's board, meaning he has experience and understanding of the firm's business performance and corporate culture, and he has expressed excitement about taking on the chairman role.

Current Roche chairman Franz Humer announced at the company's previous shareholder meeting that he will not be standing for re-election.

Mr Humer said: "With Christoph Franz, Roche is getting a chairman with outstanding personal qualities and an impressive record as head of a major global company."

This comes after Roche was recognised for its strong economic, social and environmental performance in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index last week.