WHT Chairman André Hoffmann was born in Switzerland and grew up in France. His commitment to the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust over many years reflects a deep investment in the next generation. He is acutely aware of the challenges facing the world today and supports young people in becoming knowledgeable and skilled leaders, equipped to shape more equitable and sustainable societies.
André Hoffmann is Vice Chairman of Roche Holdings, Switzerland, a highly innovative pharmaceutical company established by his great-grandfather in 1896. He also serves on the board of Roche’s fully owned subsidiary, Genentech Inc., in California. He has contributed to the development and success of Inovalon Inc., a data-driven, cloud-based analytics company based in Maryland that provides meaningful insights into the US health system.
Alongside his non-executive roles in the family business, Mr Hoffmann has a distinguished background in nature conservation and sustainability. He served on the board of WWF International for eighteen years, the last seven as Vice-President, as well as on the boards of Wetlands International and the Global Footprint Network, where he remains honorary chairman, and FIBA, a Mauritanian NGO now merged with Fondation MAVA.
He is President of Fondation MAVA, a leading European conservation foundation dedicated to conserving biodiversity, and President of Fondation Tour du Valat in the Camargue, France, a world-renowned research institute focused on the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands.
Mr Hoffmann firmly believes in business as a force for good, and has joined the board of SystemIQ to help positively disrupt critical economic systems. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum and of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.
He has been instrumental in establishing the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, his alma mater. Through these initiatives, he pushes companies to report not only on financial performance but on their real contribution to society in environmental and social terms, helping shift business thinking toward the long term.
His philanthropic activity extends to sustainable impact across many other organisations, particularly in the field of education. Mr Hoffmann studied economics at St Gallen University and holds an MBA from INSEAD.