Leonteq : CHANGES IN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEONTEQ AG

Leonteq AG (SIX: LEON), the independent technology and service provider for investment solutions, today announced changes to its board of directors.

• Pierin Vincenz, chairman of the board of directors, decided to step down at the earliest possible date, after the company has successfully returned into profitability recently
• Patrik Gisel will leave the board of directors and propose a member of the Raiffeisen executive board as an appropriate successor to the committee for election by the shareholders
• Additionally, new independent board members will be proposed for election at an extraordinary general meeting before the end of 2017

After four years as a member of the board of directors of Leonteq AG and as chairman of the board of directors since early 2016, Pierin Vincenz (61) has decided to step down, effective as soon as a suitable successor will have been found and proposed for election to the shareholder base at an extraordinary general meeting before the end of 2017. Leonteq went through a restructuring program in the first halfyear 2017 and returned into profitability recently.

Pierin Vincenz, chairman: 'After a difficult period, we successfully managed Leonteq back into profitability. We took extraordinary restructuring efforts, and major decisions have been taken. I now would like to hand over to a newly composed team of directors. We will ensure an orderly transfer. At the same time, I also want to avoid any potential conflict of interest with my role as chairman of Helvetia Swiss Insurance Company, as Leonteq has plans to further expand its specialized business area Insurance & Wealth Planning Solutions.'

Further, Patrik Gisel (55), member of the board of directors of Leonteq, representing Raiffeisen Switzerland as the biggest single shareholder to Leonteq, will step down from the board of directors. Patrik Gisel said: «Raiffeisen considers Leonteq as an important long-term strategic cooperation partner for structured investment products but equally as a long-term financial investment. Due to the importance of this cooperation, Raiffeisen remains prominently represented in the board of directors and will propose a member of the Raiffeisen Executive Board as my successor.»

Lukas Ruflin, Vice-Chairman: «In the name of the board of directors, I want to extend our gratitude to Pierin and Patrik for their considerable contribution to Leonteq. Both delivered decisive impulses to Leonteq in an important development phase for the company.»

The company already launched a search process to appoint a suitable replacement as an independent chairman. Also, to improve the governance structure of the board, as announced earlier, Leonteq is in an advanced stage of recruiting additional independent directors and to propose all new directors for election to the shareholder at the earliest possible date at an extraordinary general meeting before yearend 2017.