Roche to Tap Lufthansa CEO as New Board Chairman 

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said Monday it will propose that Christoph Franz be elected its next board chairman.

The Basel, Switzerland-based company said Franz is being nominated to succeed Franz Humer in a vote at the annual shareholders' meeting in early March.

In a statement the company said that Franz would not renew his contract as CEO of the Lufthansa Group, which is due to end on May 31.

Humer said in the statement that Franz, who has strong ties to Switzerland, will bring "outstanding personal qualities and an impressive record as head of a major global company."

Roche, the world's biggest manufacturer of cancer drugs, employs 82,000 people worldwide and says it had more than 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.7 billion) invested in research and development last year.