Hans Hess

HANS HESS, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Leica
Geosystems Holdings AG, joined the Leica Group in 1989 as General
Manager of the Medical and Stereo Microscopy business unit. From 1993 to
1996, he served as President of Leica Geosystem’s Optronics Group. Since
1996, Mr. Hess has been the Chief Executive Officer of Leica Geosystems,
carving out the company from the former Leica Group in 1997, leading the
company through a leveraged buyout with Investcorp in 1998, and
ultimately taking the company public in 2000 on the Swiss Stock
Exchange. Since 1999, Mr. Hess has been the only executive member of the
Board of Leica Geosystems. Prior to joining the Leica Group, Mr. Hess
served as a Research and Development Engineer with Sulzer Brothers and
later as a Production Manager and Business Unit Manager with Huber &
Suhner. He holds a Master’s degree in Material Science and Engineering
from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (Dipl.
Werkstoff Ing. ETH Zurich) and a Master’s degree in Business
Administration from the University of Southern California. In May 2001,
he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business and Industry by Ferris
State University in Michigan. Mr. Hess holds the rank of full Colonel in
the Swiss Army and is a former commander of an Infantry Regiment of the
Swiss Army.