Giorgio Behr

Giorgio Behr (born September 18, 1948 in Schaffhausen ) is a Swiss entrepreneur , lawyer , auditor and university professor .

Behr is the founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Behr Bircher Cellpack BBC and President of the Swiss handball club Kadetten Schaffhausen . Until the end of 2015 he was also CEO of Behr Bircher Cellpack BBC for over 12 years . Between 1990 and 2005 he was also a professor of business administration at the University of St. Gallen . Since his resignation in 2005, he has been honorary professor and president of the Institute for Accounting, Controlling and Auditing (ACA) . In addition, he was President of the Board of Directors of Saurer AG, first as Vice President from 1995, and from 2003 to 2006 as President. From 2008 to 2017 he was chairman of the supervisory board of ZF Friedrichshafen , one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. After differences with the Zeppelin Foundation and the Lord Mayor of Friedrichshafen, Behr resigned from the supervisory board of ZF AG in 2017.

Life

Behr studied law at the University of Zurich , where he graduated in 1971 and received his doctorate in 1974 . He was admitted to the bar in 1976 , graduated as a certified public accountant in 1979 and did a research stay at the University of Washington in Seattle .

Behr began his professional career in 1971 as a commercial school teacher in Zurich and Schaffhausen, from 1972 at the auditing company Fides (now part of KPMG ), for which he worked in Germany and abroad until 1982 and specialized in corporate reorganization and restructuring . From 1982 to 1984 he worked for the Hesta industrial group (Zellweger-Luwa and Schiesser). In 1984 he founded his own consulting company , BDS Consulting, and went into business for himself . Parallel to his professional career, Behr started an academic career in 1989 and initially became a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen and from 1990 professor for business administration with accounting as a specialty.

In 1991 his professional career took a turn from restructuring to becoming an entrepreneur. At that time, Behr was commissioned to renovate the Beringen-based apparatus manufacturer Bircher. When no buyer could be found for Bircher, Behr, together with Anton Bucher-Bechtler and the management, took over the company, which was threatened with bankruptcy. In 1993 Giorgio Behr was part of the founding team of Bank am Bellevue .

After Behr took over a majority stake in the Cellpack Group, founded in 1935 and based in Villmergen , in 2001 , he incorporated the Bircher Group together with the Cellpack Group into the newly formed Behr Bircher Cellpack BBC Group in 2003 . He also served as a member of the board of directors and then as chairman of the board of directors of the Saurer Group (1994 to 2006). Since 1992 he has been a member of the board of directors of the Liechtenstein-based Hilti Group and was chairman of the supervisory board of the German automotive supplier group ZF Friedrichshafen from 2008 to 2017 .

Giorgio Behr represented Switzerland in the accounting committees of the UN (ISAR) and the OECD (CIME there he was elected Vice-President and was spokesman for the OECD representatives in ISAR / UN), in WP1 of IOSCO and the Swiss Exchange in EFRAG. From the founding (1984) of the standard setter for accounting in Switzerland, Swiss GAAP FER , he was a member of the committee of the FER and also President of the FER committee (1992–2005). He has been President of the FER Foundation Council since 2005. He was also President of the Accounting Working Group of the SWX Swiss Exchange (2002–2005). On behalf of the Federal Council, he was a member of the Mengiardi Commission in 1998 for the revision of accounting and audit law. In 2007 he was appointed president of a small group of experts to draft the new revision law (in force since 2007). He was then (with the assistance of Max Sterchi) an expert for the Federal Council on drafting the new Swiss accounting law (in force since January 1, 2013). From 1998 to 2001 he was a member of the board of the Treuhand-Kammer, the professional association of auditors and tax experts in Switzerland. From 2001 to 2003 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Treuhand Chamber and from 2003 to 2007 first Vice-President and then President of the Treuhand Chamber (at that time the term of office was limited to 2 years).

2008 made Giorgio Behr particular by takeover attempts of listed companies attracted attention and pushed it partly on violent rejection on the part of their respective companies. While he succeeded in taking over Groupe Baumgartner Holding , his takeover attempts at Sia Abrasives failed . The shareholders and management of Sia Abrasives opposed the planned involvement of the Swiss entrepreneur Giorgio Behr and instead preferred a takeover by Deutsche Robert Bosch GmbH.In November 2015, it was announced that the new owner was planning a major downsizing for the Swiss location of Sia Abrasives. This is contrary to the commitments made in 2008, according to which Switzerland should not be relocated. Such a measure was always shown by Giorgio Behr in the takeover battle for the company as a risk of a foreign solution. On the other hand, maintaining the location in Switzerland was always formulated as a core strategic goal for the Swiss entrepreneur Giorgio Behr, as Behr with its Swiss-based Behr Bircher Cellpack BBC Group would have more synergy potential in Switzerland than with the new owner the case is. In November 2008, Behr acquired a total of 6.36 percent in the Swiss industrial group Georg Fischer through its BDS Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG , making it the company's largest single shareholder.

In November 2009, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced that it had initiated administrative proceedings against Giorgio Behr and others on suspicion of possible breaches of the reporting obligation in connection with a significant increase in stake in Sia Abrasives. On March 16, 2011, the Financial Market Authority filed a criminal complaint against Behr with the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) for breach of disclosure obligations. On May 24, 2011, the legal service of the FDF closed the proceedings after Behr made a compensation payment of one million francs. In the opinion of the business magazine Bilanz , the outcome of the proceedings makes it clear that no intentional violation could be proven and that at most it was negligence.

When the free newspaper Schaffhauser Bock ran into financial difficulties in 2005 and jobs were at risk, Giorgio Behr took over the publishing rights and enabled the entrepreneur René Steiner to conduct his activities in an orderly manner and to save jobs. Today the Schaffhauser Bock is successful again and the number of readers increased from 38,000 ( WEMF ) to around 53,000. Meier + Cie's initial minority stake was dissolved in 2018. Since then, Giorgio Behr has controlled the Schaffhauser Bock 100 percent.

Giorgio Behr is married and has four sons. Some of these are already commercially successful. So Pascal Behr with his partner Michael Gabi and the company Cytosurge; In 2012, it received the ZKB Technopark Pioneer Prize from Technopark Zurich and Zürcher Kantonalbank for a technical project. In 2012, his fortune was estimated by the Swiss business magazine Bilanz at CHF 450 million.

various

Giorgio Behr is co-founder and president of the non-profit Foundation Museum Railway Stein am Rhein / Etzwilen - Singen . With his notable contribution, he made it possible to repair the Ramsen train station, the line in the Singen area and the acquisition of various vehicles. The VERY & RS operates the only steam train -distance the SBB that of Stein am Rhein via Rheinbrücke Hemishofen over the Rhine and the border to singing leads. On May 28, 2011, a passenger train crossed the border to Germany for the first time since 1969. Thousands (a total of around 10,000 visitors on the opening day) received the first passenger train since 1969 - as in the early days of 1875.

As co-founder and main sponsor of the non-profit foundation Nationales Handball Trainings- & Leistungszentrum NHTLZ Schweizersbild, Behr is also involved in promoting indoor sports in the greater Schaffhausen region. On September 9, 2011, the BBC Arena in Schaffhausen, the largest handball training center in Switzerland, was opened, a complex with four training halls and three game halls, a campus and an affiliated hotel, which is also very popular throughout Europe. The Suisse Handball Academy SHA , which was set up by Giorgio Behr and directed by Michael Suter, also gives young talents the opportunity to combine sport and training. Behr is President of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit foundation NHTLZ.

Giorgio Behr himself was with Gelbschwarz Schaffhausen at the beginning of the 1970s under coach Eugen Wüger a player in the National League A (NLA) and National League B (NLB) (today together Swiss Handball League SHL). After returning to his home club Kadetten Schaffhausen , he led them as a player- coach and coach up to the NLB (National League B) and built a successful youth department (under President and Cadet Honorary Member Kurt Baader). After a career and family-related timeout he took over in 1992 with a small team of former players, teammates and other cadet officers who Handball Division as president. Since then the cadets have been playing at the top of the NLA in Swiss handball. In 1993 the qualification for participation in the European Cup was achieved for the first time, in 1999 the cup victory and thus the first national title. The cadets won the championship title for the first time in 2005, five more followed until 2012. Today the cadets are record holders in both the Supercup and the Swiss Cup and one of the most successful clubs in terms of championship titles. Behr was also president of the legal authority for interregional leagues (ZDK SHV) for around 15 years and initiator and co-founder of the Suisse Handball League SHL, the amalgamation of NLA and NLB teams in men's handball. For four years he was president of the SHL and representative on the central board of the SHV.

Today Behr is also President of the Jury and the Board of Trustees for the award of the Dr. Kausch Prize at the University of St. Gallen. Giorgio Behr is also a member of the Board of Trustees and the program committee of Avenir Suisse . Giorgio Behr has been President of the IVS Chamber of Commerce for the Schaffhausen Region since 2006; During this time, the activities of the IVS were greatly expanded.

Awards

• 25 Years of Entrepreneurship - Festschrift for Giorgio Behr of the University of St. Gallen (2010), ISBN 3039091263 .
• Dr. Kausch Prize at the University of St. Gallen , a prize for life's work in the areas of accounting, auditing and controlling (2006)
• Honor for life's work in handball and the establishment of the BBC Arena with the SHA campus 2013 awarded by Schaffhausen Regional Sport at the athletes' gala
• Swiss Handball Award (2012) - Special Award for special handball services

Web links

• TV portrait of Giorgio Behr in the broadcast ECO of the Swiss television of 26 October 2009
• Interview with Giorgio Behr in the program Close Up of the Swiss sports television SSF, on August 22, 2011
• Report on the construction of the BBC Arena in the Sport Aktuell program on Swiss television on August 31, 2010
• Report on Giorgio Behr in the business magazine Bilanz , issue 18/09, October 9, 2009
• Portrait of Giorgio Behr ( memento from August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , September 15, 2008

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Benita Vogel: There were too many egoists in the establishment. Tages Anzeiger, October 14, 2015, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Thomas Schifferle: The high flyer. Tages Anzeiger, October 8, 2015, accessed September 18, 2018 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b}  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
4. ↑ Manager Magazin: Das Drama am Bodensee / March 22nd, 2018
5. ↑ The Board of Trustees. Retrieved September 18, 2018 . 
6. ^ ^{A b} René Staubli and Hannes Nussbaumer: The man who provokes the establishment. Basler Zeitung, December 23, 2008, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
7. ^ Dirk Ruschmann: Giorgio Behr: Unloved financier. Balance sheet, October 9, 2009, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
8. ↑ sia Abrasives: Takeover by global company Bosch - CHF 45 million Inv. (Zus) ( Memento from December 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ SIA Abrasives wants to cut 260 jobs. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 10, 2015, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
10. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
11. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
12. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
13. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
14. ↑ FDF criminal justice service concludes investigation into Giorgio Behr / sia Abrasives Holding AG case - accused pays compensation of CHF 1 million. Federal Chancellery, May 24, 2011, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
15. ^ Sia Abrasives / Bank am Bellevue: Money for children. Balance sheet, accessed on September 18, 2018 . 
16. ↑ Technopark: ZKB Pioneer Award. The 2012 award winners ( Memento from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
17. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
18. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
19. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
20. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
21. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
22. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
23. ↑ BBC Arena. Retrieved September 18, 2018 . 
24. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
25. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
26. ↑ Avenir Suisse: Board of Trustees ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
27. ^ Industrievereinigung Schaffhausen ( Memento from October 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
28. ↑ Gala magazine Schaffhauser Regionalsport. (PDF) Retrieved September 18, 2018 . 
29. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )