At the AGM 2002 on April 11 the Sulzer Ltd Board of Directors will propose four new members for election as follows: 

• Mario Fontana (55), Féchy VD (CH), Board Chairman of Leica Geosystems and Bon Appetit group, Board member of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), among others, and until 1998 senior manager at Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto (USA) 
• Thor Hakstad (55), Oslo (NO), Board Chairman and general manager of the petrochemical division of Norsk Hydro ASA, Oslo, Norway's largest industrial corporation 
• Hans Hubert Lienhard (50), Hofheim (D), member of the Corporate Management Board of 
  J. M. Voith AG, member of the Board of various international industrial corporations, and until 1998 member of the Management Board of ABB AG Mannheim  
• Daniel Sauter (44), Zug (CH), until September 30 this year CEO and Board delegate of the international raw materials group Xstrata, Zug, formerly CFO of Glencore International AG, and currently Board member of Sika Finanz AG, Baar, Model Holding AG, Weinfelden, and shaPE Capital AG, Zug, among others 

Following the drastic reduction of the Sulzer Board of Directors last spring, the three current members Georges Blum, Jan Kleinewefers and Reto Domeniconi have now announced their retirement per date of the Annual General Meeting 2002. With the changes now proposed, within one year the Sulzer Board will have been almost completely renewed, with younger members, and significantly reduced in size. Leonardo Vannotti, who took over as Chairman preceding the AGM 2001, stands for re-election at the AGM 2002 for a further term of office. Together with Louis Hughes (USA), newly elected last spring, the Sulzer Board of Directors will comprise six members after the elections in April 2002.

In Board Chairman Leonardo Vannotti's opinion: "The proposed new Board members not only bring extensive international management experience, but also a thorough familiarity with Sulzer s markets. This internationally proven team will provide the knowledge and experience to support the Sulzer management decisively in implementing our strategic realignment."