Our Board

Thomas Trüb is a long-standing entrepreneur and manager. He was the driving force behind the international expansion of Ringier, Switzerland’s leading media group, where he was responsible for the new markets of Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. His first business ventures in Vietnam in 1992 left him captivated by Asia – which led him to found The Dariu Foundation in 2002.

Martin Werfeli serves on a number of corporate and foundation boards. He has decades of leadership experience at the Ringier Group, which he ran as Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2009. Before that, as head of the group’s finance division, he was responsible for the commercial management of the media house. After moving to the board of Ringier AG (until 2017), he shifted his focus to strategic advisory mandates and work with non-profit institutions. He is a recognised finance specialist with wide-ranging expertise in the strategic leadership of complex organisations.

Chai Schnyder is founder and president of the Fondation Rolf Schnyder and has worked for many years on education and medical support for children and their families. Her work takes her around the world, with a particular interest in Southeast Asia and in stateless children. From 2011 to 2014 she was chair of the board of the Swiss watch company Ulysse Nardin SA. She was born and raised in Malaysia and holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Nathalie Xiaodan Chin teaches computer science and digital law and develops learning content with a particular focus on pedagogy and practical relevance. With a background in law and technology, she designs inclusive, interactive education programmes that respond to different learning needs and combine active learning with technical expertise.

Johanna Walser has been Chief Communications Officer of the Ringier Group since 2019 and is a member of the extended group management. She joined Ringier Axel Springer Media AG in 2017 as Head of Corporate Communications, responsible for communications across the joint ventures in Central and Eastern Europe. She previously held several senior communications roles, including Senior Marketing Communications Manager at Distrelec (Daetwyler Group) and, in Malaysia, editor-in-chief of the KL Post and project manager at a PR agency affiliated with Burson-Marsteller. Before that she spent 17 years at OBI, latterly as Group Head of Corporate Communications. She holds a Master of Arts from RWTH Aachen University in German literature and art history and studied economics and geography.

Jack Ngare has been a trustee of the Shell Foundation since June 2023 and is Technical Director in the Office of the CTO at Google Cloud, where he supports global companies on digitalisation and AI-driven architectures. He was previously founding director of Microsoft’s Africa Engineering Centre, the first of its kind on the continent. His career also includes almost a decade at British Telecom with postings in Japan, the United States and Europe, and leading the fintech division of Equity Group. He sits on the advisory boards of several ESG start-ups and financial institutions. Jack Ngare holds a degree in computer science from the University of Leicester and a master’s degree from Harvard University.

Michael Baldinger is an internationally experienced leader with over 30 years in the global finance industry. He was most recently Chief Sustainability Officer at UBS, responsible for the firm’s global sustainability strategy. Before that, as CEO of RobecoSAM, he led the company’s transformation into a world-leading provider in sustainable investing. With 20 years in New York and senior roles in Europe and the United States, he brings broad experience in strategy, transformation, corporate governance and stakeholder engagement. As a trustee of The Dariu Foundation, he is committed to opening new opportunities for young people through digital education, entrepreneurship and technology.