Andy Rihs

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Andreas "Andy" Rihs (born November 2, 1942 in Stuttgart , legal resident in Meinisberg ; † April 18, 2018 in Zurich ) was a Swiss entrepreneur .

Life

Rihs, together with Beda Diethelm and his brother Hans-Ueli Rihs, took over the hearing aid manufacturer Phonak (today: Sonova ) from his late father in 1966 and ran the company as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until April 2000 and on an interim basis from April to September 2002. From 1992 until March 2011 he chaired the board of directors of Phonak / Sonova Holding.

Due to serious errors in the company's financial management in early 2011, he resigned as president in March 2011; but he remained a simple member of the board of directors. Furthermore, CEO Valentin Chapero and CFO Oliver Walker resigned. Since several managers had previously sold shares and options, including Rihs shares worth 37.5 million Swiss francs, a criminal investigation was opened against him and eight other members of management for alleged insider trading . In 2012, the Zurich Public Prosecutor dropped all criminal proceedings because there had been no violation of the insider criminal norm.

The Phonak Group sponsored the Phonak Cycling Team from 2000 onwards , which was dissolved in 2006 after repeated doping scandals. In 2009 Rihs returned with the BMC Racing Team , which is supported by the bike manufacturer BMC , which he owned at the time. Rihs was the owner of various companies that are particularly active in the real estate and bicycle sectors.

Through the "Sport und Event Holding AG" based in Lucerne, Rihs and his brother owned the Young Boys Bern .

Andy Rihs died in April 2018 at the age of 75 from complications from a leukemia disease.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The billionaire who is instantly with everyone. In: Bluewin.ch . April 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Sonova founder Rihs: "I made no mistakes" ( Memento from April 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). In: Swiss television ( Tagesschau ). March 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ Proceedings against Sonova tip discontinued. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . January 14, 2013.
  4. ^ Emil Bischofberger, Christian Zürcher: I can afford it until the end of my days. In: Tages-Anzeiger . July 16, 2016, accessed July 16, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Rihs, Andy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rihs, Andreas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 2018
Place of death Zurich