Ulrich Lehner studied business administration and mechanical engineering in Darmstadt, Germany. After completing his studies in 1972, he was a teaching and research assistant at the Institute for Business Administration at the Darmstadt Technical University. He earned a Doctorate in Economics in 1975. From 1975 to 1981, Ulrich Lehner was an auditor with Deutsche Treuhand- Gesellschaft AG in Düsseldorf. In 1981, he joined Henkel KGaA as Head of Domestic Affairs in the Central Accounting/Tax Department. After heading the Controlling Department of Fried. Krupp GmbH in Essen, Germany, from 1983 to 1986, he returned to Henkel KGaA as Finance Director. From 1991 to 1993, Ulrich Lehner headed the then-formed Management Holding, Henkel Asia-Pacific Ltd., in Hong Kong. From 1994 to 1995, he served Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf, as Corporate Vice President of the Finance and Controlling Department, and, from 1995 to 2000, as Executive Vice President, Finance/Logistics. He was appointed Deputy President in 1999 and President and CEO of Henkel KGaA in 2000. Ulrich Lehner was elected to the Board of Directors of Novartis AG in 2002. He is a member of the Audit and Compliance Committee. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Dresdner Bank, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, of Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, USA, and E.ON AG, Düsseldorf, Germany. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Board of Dr. August Oetker KG, Bielefeld, Germany, and of Krombacher Brauerei, Krombach, Germany. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Münster, Germany.

After completing his commercial studies in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Heini Lippuner began his career with Geigy Ltd in the Dyestuffs Division. Following a number of foreign assignments, he headed the Dyestuffs and Chemicals Division in Germany from 1968 to 1972. He served as a member of the worldwide Dyestuffs and Chemicals Division’s management committee of Ciba-Geigy Ltd from 1973 to 1982, and became the Head of this Division in 1982. In 1986, Heini Lippuner became a member of the Executive Committee of the Ciba-Geigy Group and took over as its Chairman and Chief Operating Officer in 1988. In 1996, he stepped down from this position and was elected to the Board of Directors of the newly created Novartis AG. Since 1999, he has also been a member of the Chairman’s Committee. Heini Lippuner is also member of the Board of Directors of Buehler AG, Uzwil, Switzerland, and of Asset Link AG, Reinach BL, Switzerland. In addition, he is Chairman of the Foundation Board of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Born in Ahlen, Germany, Wendelin Wiedeking studied mechanical engineering and worked as a scientific assistant in the Machine Tool Laboratory of the Rhine-Westphalian College of Advanced Technology in Aachen. His professional career began in 1983 as Director’s Assistant in the Production and Materials Management area of Dr.-Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. In 1988 he moved to the Glyco Metall-Werke KG in Wiesbaden as Division Manager, where he advanced by 1990 to the position of Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of Management of Glyco AG. In 1991 he returned to Porsche AG as Production Director. A year later, the Supervisory Board appointed him spokesman of the Executive Board (CEO), and in 1993 its Chairman. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Deutsche Telekom AG, Germany, and of Eagle Picher Incorporated, Phoenix, Arizona.

Rolf M. Zinkernagel graduated from the University of Basel with a MD in 1970. Since 1992 he has been Professor and Director of the Institute of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich. Rolf M. Zinkernagel has received many awards and prizes for his work and contribution to science, the most prestigious being the Nobel Prize for Medicine which he was awarded in 1996. In 1999, Rolf M. Zinkernagel was elected to the Board of Directors of Novartis AG. He has been a member of the Corporate Governance Committee since 2001. He is a member of the Swiss Society of Allergy and Immunology, the American Associations of Immunologists and of Pathologists, the ENI European Network of Immunological Institutions, the International Society for Antiviral Research, and a member of the Executive Board of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS). Rolf M. Zinkernagel was a member of the Board of Directors of Cytos Biotechnology AG, Schlieren/Zurich, Switzerland until April 2003. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of: The Lombard Odier, Darier Hentsch & Cie Bank, Geneva, Switzerland; BT & T, Jersey; Bio-Alliance AG, Frankfurt, Germany; Aravis General Partner Ltd., Cayman Islands; Cytos Biotechnology AG, Schlieren/Zurich, Switzerland; Bioxell, Milano, Italy; Esbatech, Zurich, Switzerland; Novimmune, Geneva, Switzerland, and Mann-Kind, Sylmar CA, US Rolf M. Zinkernagel is also a Science Consultant to: GenPat77, Berlin/Munich, Germany; Aponetics AG, Witterswil, Switzerland; Solis Therapeutics, Palo Alto, US, and Ganymed, Mainz, Germany.