New Head of Communications at Georg Fischer

Markus Sauter, who has been Head of Communications at Georg Fischer AG, Schaffhausen, for many years, has expressed the wish to retire in the spring of 2009. Markus Sauter joined Georg Fischer on 1 September 1990 as the Head of the Communications service division with responsibility for the Corporation's internal and external communication. He was in the public eye as the Corporation's partner for the daily press and business media. Through his strong personal commitment, he was instrumental in Georg Fischer being credibly perceived as a responsible company with an international outlook. The Executive Committee takes this occasion to thank Markus Sauter for his many years of successful service and wishes him and his family all the best.

Bettina Schmidt will succeed Markus Sauter as Head of Corporate Communications on 19 March 2009. She joined Georg Fischer on 1 October 2004 as the Head of Corporate Branding. In this function she is responsible for strategic brand management and for various corporate publications. Bettina Schmidt is a German citizen with a degree in business administration. She has many years of experience in international corporate communication in various industrial companies and is perfectly familiar with the Swiss market. As the current deputy to Markus Sauter, she is very well qualified for her new task.