Item 1

Election of New Members of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors proposes that Sally Bott, Rainer-Marc Frey, Bruno Gehrig and William G. Parrett be elected to the Board of Directors for a term of office to expire at the 2009 Annual General Meeting.

1.1. Sally Bott

A. Motion
The Board of Directors proposes that Sally Bott be elected as an independent member of the Board of Directors.

B. Explanations
Sally Bott (1949) serves as Group Human Resources Director of BP plc, which she joined in early 2005, and is a member of its Group Executive Committee. Sally Bott spent most of her career in finance. Between 2000 and 2005 she was a Managing Director at Marsh & McLennan, a US based global risk and insurance services business, and Head of HR for Marsh, Inc. From 1994 to 1997, she served for Barclays plc in different Human Resources roles. In 1970, she joined Citibank as a Research Analyst, where she subsequently took her first HR role as Director and rose steadily working primarily across investment and wholesale banking with a range of geographic responsibilities until 1993.

In addition, Sally Bott is a member of the Board of the Royal College of Music in London. She has a Bachelor in Economics of the Manhattanville College, USA, and followed courses towards a Masters in Economics at the New York University. She is a US citizen. Subject to her election, the Board of Directors intends to appoint Sally Bott as a member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

1.2. Rainer-Marc Frey

A. Motion
The Board of Directors proposes that Rainer-Marc Frey be elected as an independent member of the Board of Directors.

B. Explanations
Rainer-Marc Frey (1963) is the founder and Chairman of Horizon21, a thematically based investment manager which takes long-term investment views on various industry sectors. In 1992 he founded RMF Investment Group (RMF), one of the first hedge fund groups in Europe, and became Chief Executive Officer. RMF was acquired by Man Group Plc in 2002. Between 2002 and 2004, he held a number 7 of senior roles within Man Group Plc and was the largest individual shareholder. From 1989 to 1992, prior to founding RMF, Rainer-Marc Frey served as a Director at Salomon Brothers Inc. in Zurich, Frankfurt and London, where he mainly was involved with equity derivatives. Between 1987 and 1989 he worked for Merrill Lynch Inc. covering equity, fixed income and swaps markets with the primary focus on equity derivatives.

In addition, Rainer-Marc Frey is a member of the Board of Directors of DKSH, Zurich, and a member of the Advisory Board of Invision Private Equity AG, Zug. He holds a degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). He is a Swiss citizen. Subject to his election, the Board of Directors intends to appoint Rainer-Marc Frey as a member of the Risk Committee and of the Strategy Committee.

1.3. Bruno Gehrig

A. Motion
The Board of Directors proposes that Bruno Gehrig be elected as an independent member of the Board of Directors.

B. Explanations
Bruno Gehrig (1946) has been Chairman of Swiss Life Holding since 2003. Between 1996 and 2003 he served at the Swiss National Bank starting as a member of the Governing Board and becoming Vice Chairman in 2000. From 1992 to 1996, he was a Professor at the University of St. Gallen and concurrently served as a member of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission. Between 1989 and 1991, he held the position of CEO at Cantrade Private Banking Group. Bruno Gehrig worked for the former Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) between 1981 and 1989, where he started as Chief Economist before assuming responsibility for Securities Sales & Trading.

In addition, Bruno Gehrig is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Roche Holding AG, Basel, and the Chairman of the Swiss Luftfahrtstiftung, Zug. He studied Economics at the University of Berne (Switzerland), where he also did his PhD studies. He completed postgraduate studies at the University of Rochester, New York. He is a Swiss citizen. Subject to his election, the Board of Directors intends to appoint Bruno Gehrig as a member of the Audit Committee.

1.4. William G. Parrett

A. Motion
The Board of Directors proposes that William G. Parrett be elected as an independent member of the Board of Directors.

B. Explanations
William G. Parrett (1945) served his entire career with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a global organization of member firms that operates with 160,000 people in nearly 140 countries. He was Chief Executive Officer from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. Between 1999 and 2003, he was a Managing Partner of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. William G. Parrett founded the U.S. National Financial Services Industry Group (1995) and the Global Financial Services Industry Group (1997) of Deloitte, both of which he led as Chairman. In his 40 years of experience in professional services, William G. Parrett served public, private, governmental, and state-owned clients worldwide with distinction in order to achieve superior financial performance and growth.

In addition, William G. Parrett is an independent director of Eastman Kodak Co., USA, Blackstone Group LP, USA, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., USA. He also is the Chairman of the Boards of Directors of the United States Council for International Business and of United Way of America, a member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall, and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce. William G. Parrett has a Bachelor in accounting of the St. Francis College, New York, and is a certified public accountant. He is a US citizen.

Subject to his election, the Board of Directors intends to appoint William G. Parrett as a member of the Audit Committee.