One of the eight board members who oversee Rolex’s dividends and decide how roughly half a billion francs in annual donations is distributed among nearly 10,000 applicants has stepped down. More importantly, he was appointed by an heir to the Hans Wilsdorf family.
La fondation Hans Wilsdorf has traditionally reserved two seats for family representatives, giving the family essentially a quarter of the power over how Rolex’s capital is managed. Hans Wilsdorf, who had no children, named the family of his nephews, Diether Kübel and Hans-Helmut Kübel, as his heirs.
Kurt Weissen, a professor at the University of Heidelberg, was appointed by the family to represent its interests on the foundation’s board. He is stepping down after 26 years. He is affiliated with the university’s Center for European History and Cultural Studies and has written extensively on 15th-century Florence. Mr. Weissen held a seat that has historically gone to a German-speaking academic chosen by the family. His predecessor was Professor Wolfgang Stromer von Reichenbach, also a specialist in the Renaissance.
The other family-designated seat remains held by a descendant. Following the two Kübels, who served consecutively until 1996, the role passed to Heinrich Ulrich Martin Kübel and later to Anita Kübel, who still serves today.