Distinguished shareholders, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome you very cordially to the 26th ordinary annual general meeting of Novartis AG. Before I start dealing with the agenda of today's AGM, I wish to first comment on the war and the dramatic development in the Ukraine. We condemn the invasion of the Ukraine by Russian troops, as well as the use of any force as a means to solving a conflict. Our thoughts are with the people in the war zone and our 500 employees in the Ukraine, as well as with our colleagues in the entire region who are doing whatever they can to support our colleagues in the Ukraine.
We are observing this development very closely and we are already working hard on developing emergency plans to be able to continue providing drugs and therapies to patients in need. Furthermore, we have decided to donate $3 million to provide immediate emergency aid. It is still too early to exactly assess the economic repercussions of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Rest assured that we will do everything we can to make a contribution to helping people in the Ukraine and to try and relieve the suffering in the region. As a global pharmaceutical company, it is our objective to help people worldwide to lead better and longer lives. We want to stand by and we need to stand by this commitment these days with all our might.
With that, I'd like to move on to today's AGM and the agenda. The Board of Directors has decided to hold this annual general meeting without any shareholders present and it has done so with a heavy heart. Organizing an annual general meeting for a company the size of Novartis requires long-term preparation and the board of directors had to take the decision as early as December last year. At the time, it was unthinkable to have an annual general meeting with shareholders present because of the pandemic. The safety of everyone involved is our top priority, be it our shareholders or our Novartis employees. Now, two weeks ago, the Swiss government has decided to abolish most of the precautionary measures. However, this was much too late.
We would not have had time to organize an ordinary general meeting with shareholders present within just a fortnight. However, we are streaming this AGM live in German and English and we hope to be able to provide a detailed overview of the last business year. I'm joined here on the podium with the following persons: Vas Narasimhan, our Chief Executive Officer, Charlotte Palmer, Secretary to the Board and Peter Andreas Zahn, the Independent Proxy. Furthermore, we have the representatives of our auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, present here today, as well as the Notary Public, Mrs. Andrea Schmutz. I appoint Mrs. Charlotte Palmer to act as keeper of the minutes and I declare that she will also act as the vote counter as the teller at today's annual general meeting.
The invitation to this annual general meeting was published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce, number 27, dated 8 February 2022. The invitation included a complete agenda. According to the Federal COVID-19 Ordinance 3, Article 27, shareholders were informed that they can only exercise their voting rights via the independent proxy. Now, prior to the AGM, Novartis has given all shareholders the opportunity to address questions to the board of directors via our virtual speakers desk. We will address all questions we received as we go through the meeting today. The annual general meeting has decided that resolutions and motions at this annual general meeting will be passed with a simple majority of share votes represented unless the law or our statutes provide otherwise. Mrs. Palmer is going to announce the share votes represented.
At today's annual general meeting, no shares are represented by any shareholder in person. The independent proxy therefore represents all shares represented and they are 1,440,500,679 shares, which is equivalent to 59.17% of 2,434,420,920 issued shares. Thank you very much, Mrs. Palmer. The results of votes and elections will be calculated based on the voting instructions given to the independent proxy and will be announced under the respective agenda items. I note that the invitation to today's annual general meeting has been published in time, that the AGM has been duly convened and that the provisions of the Federal COVID-19 Ordinance 3 are fully complied with. The AGM has a quorum for all items on the agenda.
We move on to item number one, approval of the operating and financial review of Novartis AG, the financial statements of Novartis AG and the group consolidated financial statements for the 2021 financial year. The annual report and the reports by our auditors have been available for inspection and were also available online on our website. In 2021 we have chosen to combine the Annual Review and the ESG Report, Novartis in Society to form an integrated annual report. For reasons of sustainability, we no longer print and distribute the report on paper. However, it is available online as an interactive website in English and as PDF in English and German. PricewaterhouseCoopers has audited the consolidated financial statements of the Novartis Group and the annual financial statements of Novartis AG and does not wish to make any additional comments.
Like last year, we have a video for you to present our annual review to visually illustrate what we have achieved in 2021.
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I hope this video has given you valuable insights into our activities last year. Our CEO, Mr. Narasimhan, has also prepared a video statement for you. In his message, he will focus on our strategy and the progress with our pipeline.
[Non-English content] Event. 2021 was another year of rapid change for the biopharmaceutical industry and the world as the pandemic continued to disrupt society and healthcare across the full spectrum of disease. While many challenges remain, there are reasons to be optimistic that a healthier future is within our grasp, including the ways our industry confronted this crisis with the power of technology and the extraordinary ability of science to overcome humanity's greatest tests. As we reimagine medicine at Novartis, our unwavering focus on our strategy enabled us to continue creating value for patients, healthcare professionals and systems, associates, shareholders and society. Last year, among many other achievements, we delivered strong financial and operational results, growing sales by 4% and core operating income by 6% in constant currencies, while increasing our profitability.
It's all thanks to our people, inspired by our purpose and determined to improve the lives of patients who rely on us. Their resilience and ingenuity enabled our company to navigate another year of the pandemic with minimal disruption to our business. Our impact on human health was once again extraordinary. In 2021, we produced 71 billion doses of medicine and reached 766 million patients worldwide. We also continued doing our part in the global pandemic response. Among many efforts, Novartis produced 40 million doses of mRNA vaccine to boost global supply. Together with Molecular Partners, a fellow Swiss company, we're proud to have developed a potential new treatment for COVID-19 as well.
It's a novel technology called a DARPin or a designed ankyrin repeat protein, that can target the spike protein in three different locations, likely making it effective against multiple variants. We exercised our option to in-license ensovibep and while trials are still ongoing, we're seeking emergency use approval from regulators around the world. Turning to our core business, we remain confident in our strategy. We're now a focused medicines company powered by technology leadership in R&D, world-class commercialization, global access to medicine and data science. We remain disciplined and shareholder-focused in our capital allocation while positioning Novartis for the future. In addition to strong investment into our business and R&D efforts, value-creating bolt-ons supplement our strong pipeline and our leadership position across advanced technology platforms.
We continue to post a growing annual dividend and we've announced a share buyback of up to $15 billion to be completed by the end of 2023, which speaks to our conviction behind the growth potential of our company and the strength of our pipeline. In 2021, we exited our non-strategic financial stake in Roche, a position we held for nearly two decades. We're pleased we were able to secure a very attractive financial return in a single transaction with no tax leakage. We also announced a strategic review of Sandoz. Our mindset is how do we set Sandoz up to lead the generic sector for the long term and ensure Novartis is strongly positioned as a world-leading innovative medicines business while creating value for our shareholders.
We're reviewing all options from separation to retention and we'll share an update by the end of this year. Turning to progress across our priorities, our performance in 2021 was underpinned by our sustained focus on operational excellence. Ongoing efforts to create nimble business services and technical operations organizations have contributed to our margin expansion. We've delivered consistent top and bottom-line growth since 2018 and our innovative medicines margin is up to 36.2%. Commercially, our broad portfolio saw 10 growing brands finish the year, each with over $1 billion in sales, led by Entresto and Cosentyx, which grew 40% and 17% respectively. Other key growth drivers were Zolgensma, which grew 46% and Kisqali, which grew 36%. Our multiple sclerosis treatment, Kesimpta, delivered over $370 million in sales. We're positioned to deliver transformative innovation for years to come.
In 2021, we received important medicine approvals, including for Scemblix in hematology. We advanced our pipeline, including over 20 potentially significant medicines that could be launched by 2026. We also continued building a leading position in next-generation technologies such as cell and gene therapy. We saw important data readouts, including for Kisqali in HR-positive and HER2-negative advanced breast cancer and for 177Lu-PSMA-617, an investigational targeted radioligand therapy for patients with advanced prostate cancer, which the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation. Leqvio, a first-in-class small interfering RNA therapy for cardiovascular disease, is now approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States. With just two maintenance injections a year, it's the first and only small interfering RNA therapy for LDL cholesterol reduction.
It's designed to make adherence simpler and improve patient compliance and we're pioneering new access approaches for this medicine in collaboration with health systems, including in the United States and England, to help address what remains the number one cause of human mortality. Building trust with society remains a central integrated focus for Novartis as well. Last year, decades into our commitment to eliminate malaria, we reached the milestone of delivering our 1-billionth course of Coartem to patients in low-income countries. 450 million of those courses were formulated for children. Few companies impact the world at such a tremendous scale. More broadly, we're improving and leading across a range of environmental, social and governance areas, including on those most important for our company, such as access to innovative medicines.
Our progress was underscored with multiple improved ratings and we once again ranked second on the Access to Medicine Index. We continue to go big on data science and digital technologies, integrating our data and digital teams within our business services organization to maximize efficiency as we scale the top value-driving projects across our company. Our culture is a foundational element of all of our achievements. The pillars inspired, curious and unbossed, draw on four decades of scientific research into what motivates knowledge workers and increases business performance. Just as our culture empowered our teams and helped us stay agile during this pandemic, it will further enable our work to reimagine medicine as we continue operating in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
In summary, last year, Novartis delivered strong financial and operational performance and made important progress across our priorities. We're clear-eyed about where we need to focus and execute to unlock our next phase of growth this year and beyond. We're prepared to maintain our growth momentum with our key brands while launching important new medicines around the world. We'll sustain focus on progressing our leading pipeline. We'll advance our productivity initiatives to drive returns. We'll continue working to optimize our portfolio, including through our strategic review of Sandoz. We believe our culture, data and digital efforts and rising leadership in ESG topics will drive performance and increase confidence in our outlook.
Reflecting more broadly during the pandemic, my belief that science-based progress is our best means of advancing the human cause has only been fortified. It's why I'm proud to lead a company committed to making real that very promise. It fills me with tremendous energy and optimism to bring us closer to our ambition to be the most trusted and valued medicines company in the world.
Now, this brings us to the questions on item one. In the run-up to the AGM, we have received various questions. The first question comes from Professor Dr. Günther Silbernagl. He addressed his question to Mr. Narasimhan. However, as the question concerns corporate strategy, I will answer it myself. Mr. Silbernagl wrote that a pharmaceutical company, like any other company, stood on the three pillars of innovation, flexibility and resiliency. Therefore, asks why Sandoz, a solid and growing business, should be given up in order to finance share buybacks or acquisitions with a considerable risk of bad investment. Mr. Silbernagl goes on to say that it makes no economic sense to him to sell Sandoz. Management should therefore fix the Sandoz business instead of selling it.
Well, first of all, I would like to state that the strategic review of Sandoz is not related at all to the proposed authorization to carry out share buybacks under agenda item 5. This is why I am answering this question under item 1. As Mr. Narasimhan explained in his video address, our aim in this strategic review is to evaluate how Sandoz can become a leader in the generic sector over the long term. We expect to be able to communicate the results of this extensive review by the end of the year at the latest. All possible options are being examined, such as a spin-off through an IPO, a sale or retention in the group. We expect this process to provide insights into which option creates the greatest added value for shareholders.
The two following questions are from Mr. Rolf Kurath, a representative of Actares. The first question of his also concerns the strategic review of Sandoz. Mr. Kurath explains that Sandoz was, by sales, the largest European producer of generics and biosimilars. "Generic medicines accounted for more than half of the packs sold in most European countries," he said. Sandoz was also one of the largest manufacturers of antibiotics in the world and the only remaining producer of active ingredients in penicillin in Europe. This meant that Sandoz was actually part of the service public. Sandoz was responsible for almost a fifth of Novartis group sales in 2021. The core profit margin was lower than in innovative medicine but it could stand up to the industry comparison in Europe.
As Novartis did not rule out the sale of this safe and socially important business, Mr. Kurath wants to know how the criterion of value creation for society was weighted when evaluating the options for the repositioning of Sandoz. I would like to ask Mr. Narasimhan to answer this question.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Sandoz is the leading generics and biosimilars business with a long and proud heritage. Sandoz has a broad portfolio with leadership positions in biosimilars, generics, antibiotics and oncology medicine. They reach approximately 500 million patients every year. Their work supports the sustainability of healthcare systems around the world. As the chairman explained, the ongoing strategic review is looking at how to best position Sandoz and Novartis for the future. How to best maximize value for our shareholders and society. We agree that Sandoz has an important impact on human health and the aim of the review is, in fact, to set the company up to increase and further sustain that impact and ensure a steady supply of affordable, high-quality medicines for the world.
We are exploring all options in the review from retaining the business to separation and we'll share more updates later this year.
Thank you, Mr. Narasimhan. The second question from Mr. Kurath on item one refers to our timetable with regard to climate neutrality by 2050. Mr. Kurath recognizes that Novartis is taking seriously the risk of climate change and refers to our reporting and our climate goals but he criticizes that we did not update and communicate our roadmap and status quo and submitted to the annual general meeting for an advisory vote, like the compensation report. He would like to know whether this is going to happen in the 2023 AGM. Well, we thank Mr. Kurath that he appreciates our efforts in the field of environmental protection.
T he reporting of Novartis on non-financial matters that we publish in the Novartis integrated report already largely meets the requirements of the respective new Swiss regulations that will apply from the 2023 reporting period. In accordance with these regulations, we will submit our report on non-financial matters to the 2024 AGM for an advisory vote. There, the shareholders will be able to comment on our goals and their implementation. Whether to submit for an advisory vote at the next general meeting, the Board of Directors will evaluate and decide in the course of this year. There is another question on item one from Dr. Stephan Bertel. He refers to the 34% reduction of greenhouse gases compared to 2016, as mentioned in the 2021 annual report.
He would like to know how much of this 34% was due to divestments or closures and the associated relocation of production to other companies. I would like to ask Mr. Narasimhan to take this question.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Generally, our CO2 baseline is being adjusted whenever the impact of an acquisition or a divestiture of a business represents more than 5% of our 2016 baseline. An example was the Alcon spinoff. This allows us to compare the data on a like-for-like basis. As you correctly mentioned, by 2021, we reduced our CO2 emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 34% compared to our 2016 baseline. In the same period, our business has grown by 20%. About 50% of our CO2 reduction is due to our sustainable environmental measures within Novartis and about 50% is related to divestments. However, it's important to note that in the case of divestments, emissions are then recorded as part of Scope 3 and we remain committed to eliminating these emissions through active engagement with our suppliers.
Thank you, Mr. Narasimhan. The final question on item one is from Mr. Stergios Kalaitzis. He doubts the correctness of my answers to his questions at the general meetings in 2018 and 2019 on investigations into corruption scandals in Greece. In particular, I said, he said, to claim that the matter was only a dispute between politicians. Let me clearly reject this reproach. At the 2019 annual general meeting, I mentioned that the case, among other things, had a political component but did not claim at all that the case was political only. To the contrary, I explained that Novartis had conducted an internal investigation which revealed no proof of attempted corruption of Greek government officials and this still applies today.
Mr. Kalaitzis would like to know whether Novartis initiated civil action to recover part of the fine imposed from the culprits. Well, all I can say is that legal proceedings are still pending in Greece. Novartis, therefore, has not yet made a decision on whether or not to claim compensation from responsible persons. Finally, Mr. Kalaitzis turned to the independent proxy, asking him to fulfill his duties by defending the interests of minority shareholders. Now, regarding this, I would like to reply that under Swiss law, the independent proxy is not authorized or entitled to defend the interests of specific minority shareholders. The sole duty of the independent proxy is to assure that the votes of those shareholders that elected to instruct the independent proxy are properly cast and recorded at the general meetings as instructed.
This brings us to the vote on item one. The Board of Directors proposes approval of the operating and financial review of Novartis, the financial statements of Novartis AG and the group consolidated financial statements for the 2021 financial year. I herewith note that the Board's proposals have been approved. Moving on to item two, discharge from liability of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. The Board of Directors proposes to discharge its members and the members of the Executive Committee for the 2021 financial year. On item one, we have not received any questions in the run-up to the annual general meeting. This brings us to the results of the vote. No persons who've been involved in any way in the business management have taken part in this vote.
I herewith note that the Board's proposal has been approved. Moving on to item three, appropriation of available earnings of Novartis AG as per balance sheet and declaration of the dividend for 2021. The course of business last year was explained in detail in our annual report and we have further provided explanation under item one. The appropriation of available earnings, as proposed by the Board of Directors, can be seen in the invitation and on page A-11 of the annual report. The Board proposes an increase in the dividend by CHF 0.10 to CHF 3.10 per entitled share. Should you approve this proposal, the dividend will be paid out from 10 March 2022. We have not received any questions on item three in the run-up to this AGM. Let's proceed to the results of the vote.
I herewith note that the Board's proposal has been approved and carried. Moving on to item four, reduction of share capital. Item four provides for the cancellation of shares repurchased in 2021 based on authorization dated 28 February 2019 and 2 March 2021 and the reduction of share capital in accordance with it. PricewaterhouseCoopers, in its special report to the Annual General Meeting, has confirmed that creditors' claims remain fully covered even following the reduction of the share capital. The Board of Directors proposes to state, in accordance with the special report of PricewaterhouseCoopers, that, from today's perspective, the claims of creditors are fully covered even after the proposed reduction of share capital. To reduce the share capital by CHF 15,349,834 from CHF 1,270,210,460 to CHF 1,201,860,626 through cancellation of 30,699,668 treasury shares repurchased in 2021.
To amend Article Four, Paragraph One of the Articles of Incorporation to read as follows: The share capital of the company is CHF 1,201,860,626, fully paid in and divided into 2,403,721,252 registered shares, each share with a nominal value of 0.50 CHF. In the run-up to the AGM, we have not received any questions on item four. This brings us to the results of the vote. I herewith note that the board's proposals have been approved. Moving on to item five, further share repurchases. The AGM has just approved the cancellation of shares repurchased in 2021. Novartis AG uses existing capital for specific purposes, for example, to finance internal growth, to pay out an attractive dividend, to finance acquisitions or to repurchase shares.
Share repurchase programs give the Board of Directors an opportunity to redistribute the company's equity to its shareholders. As explained under agenda item four, the 2021 AGM authorized the Board of Directors to repurchase shares as deemed appropriate from time to time, up to a maximum of CHF 10 billion. Up until 31 January 2022, shares with a total value of CHF 2.2 billion have been repurchased under this authorization, which means that CHF 7.8 billion remain. In order to allow for the full execution of the already announced share buyback of up to $15 billion and potential additional share buybacks, the Board of Directors proposes that shareholders, in addition to the remaining authorization of CHF 7.8 billion, authorize the Board of Directors to repurchase shares as deemed appropriate from time to time.
Up to a maximum of CHF 10 billion between the 2022 annual general meeting and the 2025 annual general meeting . In a second step, shareholders will be able, at the next AGM, to approve the reduction of share capital by cancellation of repurchased shares. On agenda item five, a question was submitted by Mr. Hans Rudolf Ott before the general meeting. He explains that stock buybacks tend to be viewed poorly by economists because they reflect a company's lack of ideas. Mr. Ott would like to know why the money is not retained for further ideas or for future ideas or purchases. I would like to answer this question as follows. Novartis has a capital allocation strategy that aims to invest in our core business and return unneeded capital to shareholders.
Our strategy is based on four priorities. Number one, investments in organic growth. That is to say, our own research and development. Number two, steady annual dividend growth. Number three, value-added bolt-on acquisitions. Number four, share buybacks. With our strong operating business, we have sufficient cash to continue investing in our business, paying an attractive dividend and making bolt-on acquisitions. In addition, we can return the cash from the sale of our stake in Roche to our shareholders via our recent share buyback. We therefore believe that our share buybacks are in the best interests of our shareholders and our company. Let's take a look at the voting result. I note that the Board's proposal has been approved. This brings us to item six, votes on compensation for the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.
The Board of Directors proposes approval of a maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Board of Directors, covering the period from the 2022 Annual General Meeting to the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Furthermore, there will be an advisory vote on the 2021 compensation report. PricewaterhouseCoopers have audited the compensation report of Novartis AG and does not wish to add anything to their report. On agenda item six, a third and final question was submitted by Mr. Rolf Kurath from Actares. Mr. Kurath mentions that the consideration of ESG criteria when determining remuneration has a major leverage effect for the integration of sustainability aspects. He criticizes that Novartis does not create transparency in the compensation report about how the ESG goals are defined.
Page 97 of the compensation report does not contain any quantitative data, only keywords such as people and culture and social trust. Mr. Kurath asks for an explanation as to why Novartis is not creating more transparency in this area. Well, we agree that the link between ESG and executive compensation is an important one. Indeed, it is. ESG is an integral part of our company strategy and as you mentioned, this is reflected in two of our five strategic pillars, which include both quantitative and qualitative objectives. Our 2021 annual report, starting on page 100, does provide a lot of detail on our performance against these targets, which are directly linked to our publicly available and measurable commitments. For example, our commitment to carbon neutrality and eventually achieving net zero in terms of climate emissions across our value chain.
Also, the targets regarding gender balance and improvements on pay equity and pay transparency with a view to our pledge with the Equal Pay International Coalition are quantifiable and achievements can be measured. However, we would like to thank you for your comments and the Compensation Committee will consider them. Let's take a look at the voting result on the compensation of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors proposes approval of a maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Board of Directors of CHF 8.6 billion. CHF 8.6 million, covering the period from the 2022 Annual General Meeting to the 2023 Annual General Meeting. I note that the proposal of the Board has been approved. We now proceed with the voting result on the compensation of the Executive Committee.
The Board of Directors proposes approval of a maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Executive Committee of CHF 91 million to be paid, promised or granted during or in respect of the financial year 2023. I note that the Board's proposal has been approved. We now move on to the voting result on the Compensation Report 2021. The Board of Directors proposes endorsement of the 2021 Compensation Report in a non-binding advisory vote. Again, I note that the board's proposal has been approved. We have reached item seven, reelections of the board chair and the members of the Board of Directors, election of two new members to the Board of Directors. Ann Fudge and Enrico Vanni have decided to retire from the Board of Directors.
Let me, at this stage, express my gratitude on behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Ann Fudge was elected to the Board of Directors of Novartis in 2008 and since then, she has used her broad experience in governance, economics and marketing to help shape the board's policy. Her strong social commitment and her dedication to ever more important issues like diversity and inclusion were one reason why Novartis has made substantial progress in these areas over the past few years. Ann Fudge has also helped to drive Novartis' ability to innovate and to develop the company further in terms of governance and environmental protection. Enrico Vanni joined Novartis in 2011 and has been the board's deputy chairman ever since.
His vast experience in the pharmaceuticals industry and his dedication to driving innovation have helped substantially to develop Novartis further in the past years. His attention to detail and his ability to always consider developments in a wider social context have helped Novartis as a company to focus more on the needs of the market and of society at large. He has also left a clear mark in the Compensation Committee, where he served as chairman for many years. He was always open to the interests of shareholders and our numerous stakeholders in society, which has led to an intensive dialogue and has helped Novartis to develop a compensation system which is modern and transparent.
Not least on behalf of the shareholders, I would like to thank Ann Fudge and Enrico Vanni for their intensive support and their valuable contributions over all these years and wish them all the best for their future. For Andreas von Planta, who has already announced that he will not stand for reelection at the 2023 annual general meeting, the board proposes reelection by granting an exception pursuant to Article 20, Paragraph 3 of the Articles of Incorporation, as he exceeds the 12-year term limit introduced last year. The board deems it in the best interest of the company to grant this exception in an effort to ensure continuity. With Enrico Vanni and Ann Fudge, two other long-serving board members do not stand for reelection at this annual general meeting.
Furthermore, Andreas von Planta will, after the 2022 annual general meeting, hand over the chair of the Governance, Nomination and Corporate Responsibilities Committee to Patrice Bula. No questions have been submitted on item 7 prior to the AGM. Let us proceed to the results of the elections. The Board of Directors has proposed my reelection as chair and member of the Board of Directors, as well as the reelection of the other 10 members standing for reelection. I take note that all of the board's proposals have been approved. Moving on to the election of Ana de Pro Gonzalo as a member of the Board of Directors. Ana de Pro Gonzalo has held executive positions in finance and general management in IT and other industries.
From 2010 to 2020, she was Chief Financial Officer of Amadeus IT Group, a leading technology provider and transaction processor for global businesses. Ana de Pro Gonzalo serves as an independent non-executive director on several listed company boards, as well as not-for-profit organizations. Her strong track record of leadership in global corporations and experience in finance, capital markets and technology will add greatly to the expertise of the Novartis Board of Directors. She is independent from Novartis according to the independence criteria set forth by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors proposes election of Ana de Pro Gonzalo as a member of the Board of Directors. We have not received any questions on item 7.12. This brings us to the results of the election.
I herewith note that Ana de Pro Gonzalo has been elected as a member of the Board of Directors. Moving on to the election of Daniel Hochstrasser as a member of the Board of Directors. Daniel Hochstrasser is partner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bär & Karrer. He co-leads Bär & Karrer's arbitration practice and brings more than 30 years of experience as a legal counsel. His primary focus has been on representing parties in complex disputes arising from M&A transactions, industrial and infrastructure projects, banking and finance, as well as license distribution and development agreements, particularly in the pharmaceutical field. His extensive track record in M&A and commercial litigation and international arbitration, coupled with his knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, will be a valuable addition to the expertise of the Novartis Board of Directors.
Due to the business relationship between Novartis and Bär & Karrer, Daniel Hochstrasser will fulfill the independence criteria outlined in the regulations of the Board of Novartis upon his resignation from Bär & Karrer as of the end of 2022. Until then, he will not belong to any Board committee of Novartis. If elected to the Board of Directors of Novartis, Daniel Hochstrasser will not be involved in any Novartis mandates, as was the case in the recent past. The Board of Directors proposes election of Daniel Hochstrasser as a member of the Board of Directors and in the run-up to the AGM, we have not received any questions on item seven, thirteen. Moving on to the results of the vote. I herewith note that Daniel Hochstrasser has been elected as a director.
Congratulations to all those elected and re-elected. Wish you best of luck. Moving on to item 8, re-elections to the Compensation Committee. The Board of Directors proposes re-election of Patrice Bula, Bridgette Heller, Simon Moroney and William T. Winters as members of the Compensation Committee, each until the end of the next annual general meeting. The Board of Directors intends to redesignate Simon Moroney as chair of the Compensation Committee, subject to his re-election as a member of the committee. In the run-up to the AGM, we have not received any questions on this item, so let's proceed to the results of the vote. I herewith note that the Board's proposals have been approved and congratulations to all those elected. Moving on to item 9, election of the statutory auditors.
Pursuant to Article 28 of the Articles of Incorporation, we need to elect our auditors annually. As explained at last year's AGM, our Audit and Compliance Committee conducted a tendering process in 2020 to select an external auditor to be proposed for election at the 2022 annual general meeting. Based on the results of this tendering process, the board of directors proposes election of KPMG AG as statutory auditors for the financial year starting on 1 January 2022. KPMG stands for election. In the run-up to the AGM, we have not received any questions on item 9, so let's proceed to the results of the election. I herewith note that KPMG AG have been elected. This brings us on to item 10, re-election of the independent proxy.
The Board of Directors proposes re-election of Peter Andreas Zahn, attorney at law of Basel, as independent proxy until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. In the run-up to the AGM, we have not received any questions on item 10. This brings us to the results of the election. I herewith note that Peter Andreas Zahn has been re-elected. Well, we have now dealt with all the items. This brings us to the end of this year's Annual General Meeting. I would like to thank you for your trust expressed in all the votes and elections. The next Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 7 March 2023 and I do hope to be able to welcome you to St. Jakobshalle. I herewith declare closed this year's Annual General Meeting. Thank you.