Board MemberImmediate Former ChairmanGabe Shawn Varges has extensive Swiss and international experience as a compliance, governance, compensation, and regulatory executive, advisor, and thought-leader. He is Chairman of the GECN and Senior Partner in the Zurich and Geneva offices of HCM. He also teaches at various universities. He works around the world with boards of directors; CEOs; and heads of companies, state entities, regulators, and international organizations on the more strategic and challenging aspects of corporate governance, compensation, compliance, regulation, and supervision. Earlier, Mr. Varges was Head of Governance at FINMA, the Swiss bank, insurance, and securities regulator. He has played a key role in promoting, domestically and internationally, preventive principle-based approaches, such as through the strengthening of boards of directors, well-calibrated compensation systems, and independent compliance and risk management functions. Mr. Varges has served on various boards and is former President of Association of Corporate Counsel in Europe. His latest publications include “Engaging with the Chief Compliance Officer: A New Board Skill”, the “Double-Edge Sword of ESG”, “Board Assessments: From Compliance Exercise to Performance Assessment”, and three updated chapters in the forthcoming 2022 edition of the book, Corporate Compliance Guide: The Next Generation, C. Basri, Editor.
At ECS, Mr. Varges also serves as Chair of the Working Group Leadership, Communications and Talent Management.