Speaker details

Biography

Felix R. Ehrat, Ph.D., has been Group General Counsel of Novartis since 2011. He is a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis. Mr. Ehrat is a leading practitioner of corporate, banking, and mergers and acquisitions law, as well as an expert in corporate governance and arbitration. He started his career as an associate at Bär & Karrer Ltd. In Zurich in 1987, and served as senior partner from 2003 to 2011, and as executive chairman of the board from 2007 to 2011. Since 2011, he has also held various other leadership positions at the Novartis Group level, including in compliance and country management. He is chairman of Globalance Bank AG and a board member of Geberit AG and Avenir Suisse (a think tank for economic and social issues), all headquartered in Switzerland. He previously served as chairman and board member of several listed and non-listed companies based in Switzerland and elsewhere. After being admitted to the bar, Mr. Ehrat received his Master of Laws from McGeorge School of Law in the United States in 1986, and his doctorate in law from the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 1990. He has held leadership roles at international legal organizations including the International Bar Association and Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats.