Non-Profit Organizations

2020 – today

MEM-Passerelle 4.0

 

Vice chairman of the board

The vision of MEM-Passerelle 4.0 AG is to make a positive contribution towards the shortage of qualified labor in the Swiss industry by support professional individuals to make a successful career change towards new and more digital profiles that are needed by the market.
 
2019 – 2023

Europa Forum Luzern (Lucerne Dialogue)

 

Member of the board and chairman of FK92

Europa Forum Lucern (now Lucern Dialogue (https://www.lucerne-dialogue.ch) has a vision to be a key platform for “a strong Switzerland in a strong Europe”. It has been initiated in 1992 after the decision of the Swiss voters that Switzerland was not to be a member of the European Economic Zone. Hans Hess also chairs the support association FK92.
 
1999 – 2020

Swissmem

 

Chairman of Swissmem since 11/2010

Swissmem is the largest industry association in Switzerland uniting the Engineering, Machine-, Electro and Metal Industry and associated technology-oriented sectors in Switzerland. It represents around 1000 member companies, 330’000 jobs in Switzerland and a contribution of 7% to the Swiss GDP. Hans Hess was Vice-Chairman since 2007 and member of the executive committee since 2004 and the committee since 1999.
  swissmem.ch
 
2010 – today

Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW)

 

Member of SATW

The purpose of this academy is to comment on research and development in Switzerland, to assess the potential and risks of emerging technologies and to help promoting new technologies to the benefit of society at large.
  satw.ch
 
2009 – today

Technorama – Swiss Science Center

 

Member of the board

Technorama is the largest science center in Switzerland with focus on an educational contribution in science and technology for the youth. It allows hands-on experiences of hundreds of natural phenomena and technologies. At countless experiment stations, visitors can discover natural phenomena first-hand and with all senses. "Come to grips" –of the word and with the world - in both senses.
  technorama.ch
 
2009 – 2020

economiesuisse

 

Vice-Chairman of economiesuisse

economiesuisse is the largest umbrella organization representing the Swiss economy. economie­suisse has the support of more than 30,000 businesses of all sizes, employing a total of 1.5 million people in Switzerland. Hans Hess was member of the executive committee since 2009.
  economiesuisse.ch
 
2007 – 2020

Swisscontact Foundation, Switzerland

 

Trustee (from 2007 until 2010 member of the Executive Committee)

The Swisscontact Foundation is a Swiss public utility that supports development projects in developing countries around the world. Swisscontact provides the poor with access to markets, information, financial services, and ways to earn a living. Improved vocational training and workforce development programs, targeted support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and value-adding environmental projects provide them with a chance to change their lives for themselves. The goal is to find employment or successfully start a small business.
  swisscontact.ch
 

Past Memberships

2005 – 2017

Vontobel Foundation, Switzerland

 

Trustee and member of the Investment Committee

The Vontobel Foundation is a Swiss foundation of public utility that supports cultural, scientific and charitable projects in the following domains: people that need help (community projects), medical research projects, history (Swiss), nature & environment, culture (music/theatre/art).
  www.vontobel-stiftung.ch
2008 – 2011

ETH-Board (board of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) – ETH Rat

 

Member of the board of the ETH Domain

The ETH-Domain includes two of the leading technical universities in the world (ETH Zurich and EPFL) and four high-tech Research Institutions (PSI, EMPA, EAWAG and WSL) and has a budget of over CHF 2 billion. Members of the board of the ETH-Domain are nominated by the Swiss Federal Council (Bundesrat) for a period of 4 years. Their responsibility is to define the strategic direction of the domain, nominate the management teams of the institutions and the profesors of the universities, allocate the funds from the government to the six institutions and manage the governance of the domain on behalf of the Swiss Federation.
  www.ethrat.ch
 
2007 – 2010

Schweizerischer Arbeitgeberverband (Swiss Employer's Association)

  Member of the Executive Board of SAV, an association representing the interest of Swiss industrial companies towards politics, particularly in the area of entrepreneurship, social politics, labor market and labor market law, education.
  www.arbeitgeber.ch
 
2006 – 2010

WTTCHOst (Knowledge & Technology Transfer Iniviative), Switzerland

  Chairman of the board of WTTCHOst, an initiative to support knowledge and technology transfer between Swiss universities and the industry, particularly small/ medium-size Swiss companies; part of federal initiative for Wissens- & Technologie-Transfer.
  www.wttchost.ch