
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Welcomes Franco Masciovecchio as Country Manager, Switzerland
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) today announced that it has named Franco Masciovecchio as Country Manager for Switzerland.
'We are pleased to continue to expand our leadership team in the DACH region. Franco's decades of underwriting experience will be instrumental as we continue to expand, bringing our technical acumen, financial strength and CLAIMS IS OUR PRODUCT philosophy to Switzerland and beyond,' said Andreas Krause, Head of DACH, BHSI.
Over more than three decades in the insurance industry, Franco has held numerous senior-level positions. He was most recently Head of Property & Construction, Europe, at another insurer. Franco is based in Zurich and can be reached at [email protected].
BHSI in Switzerland, currently offers property, casualty, product liability, executive and professional lines and cyber insurance as well as multinational solutions, with a focus on commercial and industrial risks in the corporate and upper middle market segments.View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250806769642/en/
CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT
JoAnn Lee / +1 617.936.2937
KEYWORD: SWITZERLAND UNITED STATES AUSTRIA NORTH AMERICA EUROPE GERMANY MASSACHUSETTS
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
SOURCE: Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
Copyright Business Wire 2025.
PUB: 08/11/2025 05:00 AM/DISC: 08/11/2025 05:00 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250806769642/en
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Relief Therapeutics Publishes 2025 Half-Year Report
GENEVAD, SE / / August 14, 2025 / RELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding SA (SIX:RLF)(OTCQB:RLFTF)(OTCQB:RLFTY ) (Relief, or the Company), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering innovative treatment options for select specialty, unmet and rare diseases, today announced the publication of its 2025 half-year report and provided a corporate update. "Relief continued to make steady progress across our pipeline and corporate initiatives," said Dr. Raghuram Selvaraju, chairman of the board of directors. "We advanced RLF‑TD011, our lead wound care candidate, with the receipt of Rare Pediatric Disease designation for epidermolysis bullosa and a productive Type B pre‑IND meeting with the FDA. We also progressed RLF‑OD032, our next‑generation liquid sapropterin formulation for phenylketonuria, toward a pivotal trial expected to begin this quarter. Our focus remains on advancing our core programs, with existing cash reserves projected to fund operations into at least late 2026, beyond the targeted regulatory submission of RLF‑OD032 for approval in the United States. In parallel, we are taking steps to establish a scalable, AI-driven health tech company through the proposed business combination with NeuroX." The report, available on the Company's website , includes interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2025, and a shareholder update. ABOUT RELIEFRelief is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing treatment paradigms and improving the lives of patients with rare and debilitating diseases. With core expertise in drug delivery systems and drug repurposing, Relief's clinical pipeline includes innovative treatments designed to address critical unmet medical needs in rare dermatological, metabolic and respiratory conditions. The Company has also successfully brought several approved products to market through licensing and distribution partnerships. Headquartered in Geneva, Relief is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the symbol RLF and quoted in the U.S. on OTCQB under the symbols RLFTF and RLFTY. For more information, visit CONTACTRELIEF THERAPEUTICS Holding SAJeremy MeinenChief Financial Officercontact@ DISCLAIMERThis press release contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "believe," "assume," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "will," or similar expressions. These statements are based on current plans and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changes in economic conditions, market developments, regulatory changes, competitive dynamics, and other risks or changes in circumstances. In particular, there can be no assurance that the proposed business combination with NeuroX will be completed, as it remains subject to the execution of a definitive agreement, completion of satisfactory due diligence, and other conditions. This communication is provided as of the date hereof, and Relief undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE: Relief Therapeutics Holding SA View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Basilea announces in-licensing of a novel clinical phase 3-ready oral antibiotic
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Allschwil, Switzerland, August 14, 2025 Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to acquire the global rights to ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil, a clinical phase 3-ready oral beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) combination for the potential treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis. Ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil is the combination of ceftibuten, an orally bioavailable cephalosporin antibiotic, and ledaborbactam etzadroxil, the orally bioavailable prodrug of the novel beta-lactamase inhibitor ledaborbactam. The combination demonstrates bactericidal activity against Enterobacterales, including multidrug-resistant pathogens, the major cause of cUTI.[1] In the USA, cUTI account for more than 600,000 hospital admissions each year.[2] This underscores the significant clinical burden and need for effective oral treatment options, which may shorten or entirely avoid hospitalization. In preclinical and clinical phase 1 studies, ceftibuten and ledaborbactam etzadroxil were shown to be safe and well tolerated.[3] David Veitch, Chief Executive Officer of Basilea, said: 'This agreement allows us to strengthen our late-stage clinical pipeline and supports our strategy of ensuring that we have a continuous stream of potential new product launches in the near-term future, positioning us for sustainable substantial revenue growth. Ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil holds strong promise in addressing the critical unmet need for the oral treatment of cUTI caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria and represents a compelling global commercial opportunity. We expect starting a registrational phase 3 program in cUTI in about 18 months.' Under the terms of the agreement, Basilea will make an upfront payment and potential milestone payments in 2025. Following the successful completion of the phase 3 clinical development program and after the grant of regulatory approval and start of commercialization, Venatorx is eligible to receive tiered mid-single-digit royalties and additional potential milestone payments of up to USD 325 million in total, if all agreed commercial milestone events are triggered over the term of the contract. The transaction is expected to result in approximately CHF 15 million of additional research and development expenses in 2025, including the full upfront payment, all potential pre-commercial milestone payments and expected R&D expenses in 2025. Basilea will provide updated financial guidance for the full-year 2025, reflecting this transaction, with the half-year earnings report on August 19, 2025. About beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) combinations Many Gram-negative bacteria express enzymes such as extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) that confer resistance against commonly used antibiotics. Beta-lactamase inhibitors block these enzymes and restore the activity of beta-lactam antibiotics against initially resistant Gram-negative bacteria, therefore BL/BLI combinations are an important addition to the armamentarium for the treatment of infections by multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. About ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil Ledaborbactam etzadroxil is the orally bioavailable prodrug of ledaborbactam, a novel broad-spectrum boronic acid beta-lactamase inhibitor, which is being developed in combination with ceftibuten, an oral cephalosporin antibiotic, which is approved in the US for the treatment of upper and lower respiratory tract infections and for urinary tract infections outside the US. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that ledaborbactam etzadroxil restores the activity of ceftibuten against strains of Enterobacterales expressing Ambler class A extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), class C cephalosporinases, and class A and D carbapenemases (KPC and OXA-48, respectively) as well as multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacterales.[4] Ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil has been granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) and Fast Track designations by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cUTI and uncomplicated urinary tract infections. Ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil is an investigational drug and is not yet approved in any country for commercial use. About complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) Complicated UTIs, which include pyelonephritis (kidney infections), are defined as urinary tract infections ascending from the bladder accompanied by local and systemic signs and symptoms and are one of the most common bacterial infections in hospital and community settings. Increasing resistance of bacteria causing complicated urinary tract infections has led to limited availability of effective oral antibiotic treatment options.[1] Currently, there are no approved oral beta-lactam or beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations that are effective against Enterobacterales expressing Ambler class A ESBLs, class C cephalosporinases, and class A & D serine carbapenemases (KPC and OXA-48). About Venatorx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Venatorx is a private, late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on improving health outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections and hard-to-treat viral infections. Venatorx also developed cefepime-taniborbactam, an intravenous-only antibiotic that successfully completed a Phase 3 study in adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis. The ceftibuten-ledaborbactam etzadroxil project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN272201600029C and the Department of Health and Human Services; Office of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. 75A50123C00050. For more information about Venatorx and its anti-infectives portfolio, please visit About Basilea Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. We are committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to meet the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections. We have successfully launched two hospital brands, Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections. In addition, we have preclinical and clinical anti-infective assets in our portfolio. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Please visit Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schröder, PhDHead of Corporate Communications & Investor RelationsBasilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd, Allschwil Hegenheimermattweg 167b4123 AllschwilSwitzerland Phone +41 61 606 1102 E-mail media_relations@ This ad hoc announcement can be downloaded from References T. P. Lodise, T. Chopra, B. H. Nathanson et al. Epidemiology of Complicated Urinary Tract Infections due to Enterobacterales Among Adult Patients Presenting in Emergency Departments Across the United States. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2022, Jun 24;9(7):ofac315. M. D. Zilberberg, B. H. Nathanson, K. Sulham et al. Descriptive Epidemiology and Outcomes of Hospitalizations With Complicated Urinary Tract Infections in the United States, 2018. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2022, Jan 10;9(1):ofab591 C. F. de Oliveira, M. B. Dorr, K. Lowe et al. Evaluation of Single and Multiple Dose Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Ledaborbactam Etzadroxil and Ceftibuten-Ledaborbactam Etzadroxil in Healthy Volunteers. Open Forum Infectious Diseases 2025, Jan 29;12(Suppl 1):ofae631.1425 J. A. Karlowsky, M. G. Wise, M. A. Hackel et al. Ceftibuten-Ledaborbactam Activity against Multidrug-Resistant and Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Positive Clinical Isolates of Enterobacterales from a 2018–2020 Global Surveillance Collection. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2022, Nov 15;66(11):e0093422 Attachment Press release (PDF)Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
From Polish To Presence: What Storytelling Demands Of Leaders
Slides that sparkle. Phrases engineered to trend. Strategic decks with bold pillars and even bolder adjectives. Somewhere in the race to produce the perfect message, leaders are slipping into performative storytelling — technically flawless yet emotionally vacant. It's not surprising that, according to a Gallup study, only 13% of employees strongly agree that the leadership of their organization communicates effectively. In my work with executives, I've seen leaders treat storytelling as another metric to hit. They deliver the right beats, smile at the right time, hit the applause lines — and leave no trace. It's like watching a movie trailer that never convinces you to see the film. Nancy Duarte has spent over three decades shaping how leaders communicate. As CEO of Duarte, Inc. and the author of six best-selling books — including Slide:ology, Resonate, Illuminate and DataStory — she's taught visual storytelling to some of the highest-performing brands and executives in the world. Her firm designed the makeover of Al Gore's slide presentation that inspired the Academy Award–winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Recognized globally for her expertise, she has advised CEOs, political leaders, and entrepreneurs whose work has shifted public discourse. We recently had a wide-ranging conversation about the power of storytelling. 'Most leaders aren't short on polish. They're short on presence,' Duarte told me. 'I've sat through so many presentations that were technically flawless, yet gave no clue why the leader cared about the message at all.' The Multiverse Problem: Micro Stories Without A Master Narrative Duarte describes today's communication environment as a 'multiverse of stories,' where micro-narratives fly across TikToks, Instagram Reels, and Slack posts. Leaders now must make each one fit into a coherent whole. Leaders who built their careers in an era of long-form storytelling — town halls, memos, full speeches — now work in an attention economy that measures interest in seconds. 'Micro stories are powerful, but if they're not tied back to the master narrative, the big picture gets lost,' she said. 'The core message should hold true across every platform. One person might bring it to life with visuals on LinkedIn, another might deliver it as a monologue at an event, but the essence stays the same.' Consider a CEO who shares a deeply personal customer moment at a conference. A week later, a short version of that story circulates widely, stripped of its emotional context. Internally, it's reduced to a bullet point. The same story now carries three meanings — none fully aligned. The Fog Index And The Clarity Test Duarte and I spoke about the Gunning Fog Index — a readability tool that estimates how many years of education a person might need to fully understand a piece of content. It's a quick way to see whether your language is clear or unnecessarily complex. We looked at two famous 2007 speeches: Bill Gates' CES keynote scored a Fog Index of 10.5, while Steve Jobs' Macworld address scored just 5.5. In practical terms, understanding Gates' speech might require roughly five more years of schooling compared to Jobs'. Both had their strengths. Gates built layered, detail-rich arguments; Jobs leaned on simplicity and narrative flow. Duarte's point wasn't to favor one over the other but to underscore the importance of knowing your own style — and being intentional about clarity. As she put it: 'When you're the one making it, and you're in there up to your elbows, you get really caught up in the technical features instead of the benefits.' Leaders don't need to strip away complexity, but they do need to speak in a way that connects. Compare this: 'A transformational growth agenda leveraging synergistic capabilities…' (Fog.) 'We're entering three new markets in two years — here's why it matters to customers.' (Clear.) I've seen executive meetings where dense shorthand lost half the room. The plan was robust — but buried in abstraction. Strategy Lost In Translation A 2025 Axios HQ report found that 33% of leaders had to set aside their own priorities to fix problems caused by poor communication. Another 30% were drawn deeper into projects than necessary, while 27% spent excessive time clarifying or reiterating objectives, goals, or organizational policies. The study estimated the cost of this inefficiency at $10,140 per employee per year. The same research revealed a striking perception gap. While 80% of leaders believe their internal communications are helpful, relevant, and provide the context teams need to do their jobs, only 53% of employees agree. That gap shows how easily clarity and connection can get lost when information moves faster than people can absorb it. 'When you try to produce too much content too fast, you end up in a race to the bottom,' Duarte told me. 'Messages get shorter, but also shallower. And in that rush, leaders lose the thread of what actually matters.' I've seen leadership teams chase engagement metrics over meaning. What sticks isn't the substance but the clever caption. A slogan fades quickly. A clearly articulated purpose endures. Can AI Be the Storyteller's Assistant? 'We've made storytelling look presentable,' she said. 'But we've forgotten to make it personal.' The result is messaging that sounds plausible but lands flat — especially when it's generated or augmented by tools designed to produce language without grounding it in belief. Duarte's critique is blunt: 'It's a race to the bottom. Chum and chum and chum.' By 'chum,' she isn't just talking about poor writing. She means the flood of technically fine but soulless output, stripped of originality and the leader's voice. 'I can load a model with my own IP and have it churn something out,' she said. 'It comes back fine, but I still spend hours rewriting it.' The tool can help, but it's a means, not the destination. And when leaders treat storytelling as just another deliverable, the voice that makes people care often disappears with it. The Risk Of Narrative Drift Every organization has a formal message — strategy decks, town halls, culture statements. Underneath those is the lived narrative, the one people actually believe. When those two stories diverge, trust fades. Duarte was direct: 'A really good leader would have his or her whole leadership team saying the same language. They might express it a little differently to their constituents, but there shouldn't be that much deviation.' Drift happens quickly when storytelling is fragmented by function or flattened by jargon. Marketing promotes a campaign. HR announces a change. Operations reorders the work. Everyone's speaking, but the signals conflict — and employees start filling in the gaps with their own stories. 'You stayed transparent and authentic,' she said, reflecting on how organizations must respond in moments of public pressure. 'If you're living your values and living your culture and you put something out there… and it has a reaction… you stayed true to yourself.' That, she added, is the real test: 'All the company values get pressed, and that's when employees say, you claim to value integrity, but look what you just did under pressure.' Anchoring Stories In Passion And Purpose For a story to resonate, leaders must connect with it personally. 'If you can't connect to it emotionally, your audience won't either,' Duarte emphasized. A product lead can explain a release roadmap in bullet points — dry. Or they can tell the story of the original customer email that inspired it. Through that lens, the same facts gain meaning. When I coach senior leaders, I've seen both sides. One spent months perfecting cadence, rehearsing until every pause and gesture felt choreographed. The result was flawless — and forgettable. Another, far less polished, spoke plainly about a difficult choice and why it mattered. Their voice caught. The room went still. That moment lingered far longer than any slide. In Duarte's experience, that personal connection shapes tone, pace, presence. When a leader truly cares, people lean forward. Without it, even the most polished delivery feels empty. Building A Story That Lives Beyond You Duarte stresses that a leader's story must survive without them in the room: 'If the only way the story works is when you're the one telling it, it's too fragile. It has to move through the organization without losing shape.' She believes the leader's role isn't just to announce strategy but to carry its arc through time and disruption. That arc can't just live in slides. 'All the little stories, all the bites, all the tweets… they should all align.' In Illuminate, she describes the leader as torchbearer — not the one with all the answers, but the one who carries forward meaning. 'Business is an epic tale — especially for those that rise and fall.' When leaders treat communication as episodic rather than cumulative, they lose what builds belief. 'Your values should be able to endure the pressure,' she said. 'Otherwise they're just slogans.' That applies to individuals too: 'You should be able to say one of the company values and tell a personal story about how you lived it today.' Storytelling, in that sense, isn't about shaping a message — it's about reinforcing what already matters. Leader's Story Check Before your next presentation, run your story through these filters. If it fails more than one, it may be performance — not presence. A story worth telling meets all six. It feels lived in, edged with humanity, and carries the leader's fingerprints — not just their polish. It's the kind of story they can't help but tell. Duarte left me with a powerful closing reminder: 'When leaders find the story they can't help but tell, everything changes. It's not about delivering the perfect line. It's about making people believe you believe it.' Trust is in short supply. Belief, too. In that climate, a story a leader can't help but tell becomes more than a message — it's a survival skill. It can reconnect the disengaged, cut through the noise, and give people something solid to hold onto. But only if it reflects what they already suspect to be true. In the end, presence matters more than polish. The slides can still sparkle — but the story has to breathe.