Samuel Koechlin

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Samuel Koechlin (born March 29, 1925 in Basel ; † January 25, 1985 there ) was a Swiss manager.

Life

Alphons Samuel Koechlin grew up in Basel . He was the son of Hartmann and Marguerite Koechlin-Ryhiner. Both his father and his uncle Carl Koechlin-Vischer were managers in the chemical company JR Geigy AG in Basel. Samuel Koechlin attended grammar school on Münsterplatz in Basel. This was followed by a law degree at the University of Basel . There he received his doctorate in 1949 with the thesis Protection and Rights of Minorities in Swiss Company Law. He supplemented his training with study and internship stays in Paris, London and New York. He started his career at a branch of the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (today Credit Suisse ) in New York. In 1952 he joined JR Geigy AG and worked for Geigy Corporation Inc. in New York. This was followed by assignments in various areas of the company, which is active worldwide in dye and agrochemicals and increasingly also in pharmaceuticals . His experience in the USA shaped his later work in management positions at the company. In 1963 he was promoted to director. He continued his career as chairman of the executive committee from 1965.

In 1967, the company he ran, JR Geigy AG, made more sales than its local competitors Ciba AG , Hoffmann-La Roche and Sandoz . Together with his uncle Carl Koechlin as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Geigy, he conducted lengthy negotiations with the rival company Ciba AG with a view to a merger that took place in 1970. At that time it was the largest merger of two Swiss companies to date. In 1972, Samuel Koechlin became CEO of the newly formed company Ciba-Geigy AG. He also managed the company during difficult times until a lung disease increasingly weakened him from 1980.

further activities

Private

He has been a keen rider since his youth. He took part in horse races. In the preliminary rounds he qualified for the 1956 Olympics in Stockholm. At these events he also met his second wife Pat Smythe, who shared his enthusiasm for equestrianism with him.

Koechlin was married twice and had a total of five children. His son Dominik Koechlin from his first marriage became a well-known Swiss manager.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tobias Ehrenbold: Samuel Koechlin and the Ciba-Geigy. A biography. NZZ Libro, Zurich, 2017. ISBN 978-3-03810-254-0
  2. ^ Samuel Koechlin. Prabook, accessed May 15, 2020
  3. ^ Samuel Koechlin. sports-reference / olympics, accessed May 15, 2020
  4. ↑ Tim Fitzgeorge-Parker: Obituary Pat Smythe. The Independent, February 29, 1996, accessed May 15, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Koechlin, Samuel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koechlin, Alphons Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss manager
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1985
Place of death Basel