To ensure a consistently high standard of operational and financial management, Swiss Philanthropy Foundation can counts on its team of highly qualified professionals. With experience in civil society and the private sector, these experts contribute their wide-ranging knowledge and skills, thereby guaranteeing the foundation’s independence towards to donors, beneficiaries and financial institutions. They engage with the Foundation as members of the following organs.
The eight members of the Board of Trustees are responsible for the overall supervision of the Foundation’s activities and meet at least four times a year. In late 2014, the Board adopted a Governance Charter that guarantees the transparency and professionalism of the Foundation with regard to the individuals and institutions it works with or serves.
The Finance Committee advises and assists the Board in its supervisory role on all matters relative to its investment policies, investment processes and asset allocation. It ensures these are in line with the Foundation’s mission and aims, both in terms of the Foundation’s own capital and the funds it manages.
A small team is responsible for the day-to-day management of Foundation, ensuring it is run as efficiently as possible. Members of the Board share their expertise with the management team on a daily basis.
Etienne Eichenberger
Chairman
Didier Cherpitel
Secretary
Xavier Isaac
Treasurer
Anne-Cathrine Frogg
Member
Sabrina Grassi
Director General
Bernard Vischer
Member
Elisabeth Tripod-Fatio
Member
François Marti
Member
Laurent Douek
Member
Maurice Machenbaum
Member
Laurent Hostettler
Administrative and Financial Director
Marie Dolla
Project Manager
Sonia Perrenoud
Project Manager
Aïssata Traoré
Intern
Alexandra Jequier
Temporary Project Coordinator
Etienne Eichenberger co-founded WISE-philanthropy advisors, the first company in Europe to providephilanthropy advisory services to entrepreneurs and their families, helping them define and implement charitable projects. He previously worked for Fondation Avina for social entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum. A graduate of the University of St Gallen, Etienne is also a Member of the Board of Fondation Hahnloserand a co-founder and former Vice President of Sustainable Finance Geneva. He servedas a Member of the Board of Swiss Philanthropy Foundation since 2006 and is currently its Chairman.
After completing a Diplôme d’études supérieures (DES) at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris, Didier Cherpitel worked for J.P. Morgan in Paris, Singapore, Brussels and London from 1970 to 1988. He was at various times Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Guaranty Ltd., London, CEO of J.P. Morgan France, and Managing Director of private banking for Europe. Didier served for four years as Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, and as a Member of the Board of several foundations, including the Fondation Mérieux and the Fondation FX Bagnoud.
He is currently Secretary of the Board of Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and Member of the Finance Committee.
Originally from Belgium, Xavier graduated magna cum laude in law from the Université catholique de Louvain. He served as the inaugural Vice President of the Swiss Association of Trust Companies (SATC) and remained active for many years as a committee member. He is currently Chief Executive Officer at Accuro. Xavier had over 20 years’ experience in management positions with ABN AMRO Bank and Trust in Luxembourg, Geneva and Jersey, before joining Investec Trust in 2005 as Managing Director of the Geneva branch and CEO as of 2009.
He is Treasurer of Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and President of the Finance Committee.
Anne-Cathrine Frogg is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Hugo Fund Services SA in Geneva, a firm focused on providing fund representation and distribution services in Switzerland. Prior to Hugo, Anne-Cathrine was a hedge fund portfolio manager at Mirabaud & Cie’s. Before joining Mirabaud in 2004, she was active in hedge funds analyst at Agora Capital Services, Banque Franck S.A. and Commodities Corporation/Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Anne-Cathrine is an independent board director for several hedge funds and investment management companies. She holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
Anne-Cathrine Frogg’s know-how and experience will strengthen the governance of the Finance Committee.
Sabrina Grassi joined the Foundation in 2015 and holds today the position of General Director. Previously she spent eight years in an international trade services company as a Key Account Manager of an international portfolio of public and private institutional customers. With her Master of Art’s degree in international relations and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in commodity trading, Sabrina draws on her experience in management and client relationship to counsel donors on the creation of their philanthropic fund, that she consequently manages and monitors. She handles as well the operational matters of the Foundation and acts as a liaison officer with the Board and the Financial Committee.
Bernard Vischer is an attorney admitted to the Geneva Bar, partner with Schellenberg Wittmer of which he was managing partner from 2000 to 2007 and now heads the “private clients” department. He is especially active in estate and wealth planning and advises regularly on family business governance and succession. He is also involved in various sustainable finance and charitable project.
Expert in communication, public relations and public affairs, Elisabeth Tripod-Fatio is at the head of De Facto, the agency she created in 2017. With a long-stanging experience in both the private and public sector, she worked for various communication agencies as Senior Account Manager and Director, but also as head of communications and relations with the press of the Head office of the economic development, the search and the innovation of the State of Geneva.
Passionate about governance standards and strongly involved in numerous causes in Geneva, the know-how and the experience of Elisabeth Tripod-Fatio allow to strengthen Swiss Philanthropy Foundation’s good governance.
François Marti is an independent consultant in the fields of energy and services. Until 2019, François was Chief Operating Officer of the North American region for Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) and was Vice President of the Industrial division between 2015 and 2019. Currently in charge of the group’s digitalization initiatives, he was also Vice-President of the Certification division for 3 years. In addition, François was also CEO of Fiat-Chrysler Services from 2005 to 2011. Since obtaining his master’s degree in international relations in 1994, his career has included working as a Senior Manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers IBM in Basel.
A graduate of the Universities of St Gallen and Middlesex in London, Laurent Douek has over 20 years experience in the IT services and software industry. He began his career as a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM Global Services, a global information technology services provider. Since joining SAP in 2006, he has managed large international accounts and sales of services and software in various industries. He is currently Vice President Sales for Middle and Eastern Europe at SAP. Laurent also volunteers with several nonprofits in the arts.
Maurice Machenbaum co-founded WISE-philanthropy advisors in 2004.WISE was the first company in Europe to provide philanthropy advisory services to entrepreneurs and their families, helping them define and implement charitable projects. Previously, he founded Casa Alianza, an international NGO which defends the rights of street children, and managed its programmes in Nicaragua. Before that, hewas a research officer with the International Committee of the Red Cross specialising in the issue of child soldiers, and Regional Director of Terre des hommes Lausanne for Latin America and the Caribbean. Maurice served as Treasurer of the World Scout Committee for six years and of Médecins du Monde Suisse for three years. He currently sits on the boards of Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and Cansearch.
Laurent Hostettler joined the Foundation in 2020 as Administrative and Financial Director.
With a 30-year career in commodity trading companies, Laurent has held the position of financial controller and member of the management team. He has contributed to the growth of the activities by bringing his knowledge, rigour and ability to develop and enhance monitoring.
Rich of this experience in dynamic and complex environments, Laurent brings today his strong knowledge in administrative management, accounting and financial analysis.
A graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce of Genève, Laurent has also worked as a volunteer accountant in two local associations between 2008 and 2015.
Marie Dolla joined the Foundation in May 2017 as a Project Manager after a first experience as an intern at Swiss Philanthropy Foundation in 2016. Marie holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Communication from the Institute of Business Administration (IAE) in Nice and has a two-year experience as Parliamentary Attaché in Paris.
She is in charge of institutional and events communication for the Foundation. Marie also manages activities in connection with the Transnational Giving Europe Network, while also providing administrative support to the Director of Operations in the management of the Philanthropic funds.
Wishing to acquire a field experience, Marie also carried out a two-month volunteer mission in an association in Cambodia.
In May 2018, after four years in Colombia, Sonia joined us as project manager with the main tasks of assisting the management of registered sheltered funds, as well as the general administrative management of the Foundation. She will also support special projects. With more than ten years working for international organizations such as the ICRC or FAO, Sonia brings us a solid accounting and financial experience, as well as a good knowledge of the field, which will be very useful for the validation of beneficiary organizations and reports.
Aïssata Traoré joined Swiss Philanthropy Foundation in January 2020, in order to carry out an internship as part of her Master’s degree in Political Science at the University of Geneva.
Following professional experiences in Switzerland and abroad during her university studies, Aïssata looked to Swiss Philanthropy Foundation to acquire experience in the field of philanthropy.
She coordinates the activities related to the European cross-border donations network “Transnational Giving Europe”, participates in the Foundation’s communication and assists in various administrative tasks.