Franziska Zimmermann

Switzerland native Franziska Zimmermann has repeatedly proven her capacity for representing business and government issues on the world stage. Having tackled positions in Switzerland, Belgium, and now Singapore, Franziska Zimmermann has developed an aptitude for international affairs that spans bodies such as the World Trade Organization, laws regarding intellectual property rights, and investment treaties.

She began her foray into international dealings when she spent a year in the United States as a high school student at Old Saybrook Senior High School in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She went on to graduate a few years later from Gymnasium Bern-Neufeld in Bern, Switzerland. Franziska Zimmermann continued her education at the University of Bern, where she earned a Master's degree in Law in 1999.

Zimmermann's first position after graduating was in government affairs as an Advisor on world trade for the Swiss government's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Non-Tariff Measures Division. At the same time, she served as a seconded national expert to the DG Enterprise Food Industry Unit of the European Commission in Brussels in 2004.

In 2005, she brought her skills into the area of Economic Development Cooperation in Trade and Clean Technology at SECO managing a diverse portfolio of the departments' flagship projects. The final position Franziska Zimmermann held in Switzerland was in Basel as Manager for Public and Government Affairs at Syngenta International AG from 2006 to 2010.

Since then, Franziska Zimmermann has moved to Syngenta's Asia Pacific Operations in Singapore, where she served as Manager of Public Policy and Partnerships until July 2012. She is currently transitioning into a new position.