Corporate Foundations Working Group: New co-lead on board – thanking Joelle, welcoming Elodie!

Corporate foundations are not like classical foundations. Their link to the corporate world brings unique strengths but also distinct challenges, especially when it comes to governance and independence. Navigating this complexity is exactly why peer exchange matters. The SwissFoundations Corporate Foundations Working Group gives them a space to navigate these specificities together through honest exchange and shared learning. As with all our working groups, it is driven by expert co-leads who shape its direction.

Joelle Pianzola from the ZKB Philanthropie Stiftung is now stepping down as co-lead, and we thank her wholeheartedly for her dedication and the energy she brought to the Working Group over the years.

Replacing her as co-lead of the Corporate Foundations Working Group is Elodie de Warlincourt (see picture).

Elodie de Warlincourt is Managing Director of the Hear the World Foundation, the corporate foundation of Sonova, where she leads initiatives to expand access to hearing care for children in low- and middle-income countries. She has more than 25 years of international experience spanning philanthropy, international development and humanitarian action, with previous leadership roles at the Swiss Re Foundation, the African Innovation Foundation, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Throughout her career, she has focused on building partnerships, and creating sustainable, high-impact solutions.

Elodie holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in International Management. She lives near Zurich, Switzerland, with her husband and their two daughters.

Elodie now joins the Working Group’s co-leadership team alongside Susan Simmons, Director of The Audemars Piguet Foundations; Gregory Renand, Head of the Z Zurich Foundation; and Dr. Kristian Tersar, Executive Director of the Osteology Foundation.

A warm welcome to Elodie, and our sincere thanks to Joelle!