Zurich CEO suicide, Martin Senn proximity to Adrian and Diana von Bidder-Senn, Debian
February 26, 2025
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock.
As noted in the original blog about the death of Adrian von Bidder, the vast majority of suicides in Switzerland are tightly concealed.
Nonetheless, there was a widely reported wave of senior executive suicides that was too extraordinary to keep under wraps. One of those was the former head of Zurich Insurance, Martin Senn, originally from Binningen (BL).
Blick has a detailed report about Mr Senn's funeral.
"Martin was tricked"
Senn was unable to cope with the abrupt dismissal on December 1st. "The fact that he could not continue his work as CEO hit him hard - perhaps precisely because he had identified so strongly with his duties," says Pastor Niklaus Peter.
Senn's friend Marwan Shakarchi is more explicit: "Martin was tricked," he told the mourners. It had been agreed that Zurich would look for a successor for Senn and that the replacement would take place in the normal way. But the board of directors did not stick to this: "Corporations have no soul," said Shakarchi.
It sounds like the way people are deleted from open source projects. There is no wrongdoing, no reason. People just get a knife in the back, most recently it was the knifing of Sonny Piers at GNOME Foundation.
Yet the connections are compelling for other reasons. Looking closely at the note of condolence published for Adrian von Bidder (below), we can see that his widow, Diana von Bidder (EVP) has the maiden name Senn. Adrian's full name is given as Adrian von Bidder-Senn. Diana's early work at ETH Zurich is published under the name Diana Senn. It begs the question, how closely is Adrian's widow related to Martin Senn the former head of Zurich?
Adrian's parents' names are also listed, Andrea and Urs von Bidder and according to the phone book, they also reside in Binningen, the home town of Martin Senn.
Donations given in lieu of flowers at the funeral were given to a charity for Balkan women, AMICA Schweiz which is in Binningen.
Martin Senn was born in 1954. Diana Senn was born in 1978. The difference in ages could make her a cousin, a niece or a second cousin. The note of condolence for Adrian also mentions the couple Verena und Werner Senn-Stoll and Sandra Senn.
Adrian von Bidder-Senn, RIP
We know for a fact that Adrian died shortly after the confirmed Debian Day volunteer suicide. We also know for a fact that the demotions / humiliations tactics have been used against other volunteers in Switzerland, including the 2014 blackmailing of Daniel Baumann in Bern. █
Please see the chronological history of how the Debian harassment and abuse culture evolved.