10 Facts About Vera Michalski

Vera Michalski-Hoffmann was born on 5 November 1954 and is a Swiss billionaire businesswoman, significant shareholder in Roche Holding and publisher.

Vera Michalski is the president of several publishing houses in Switzerland, France and Poland, grouped together in the holding company Libella SA that is based in Lausanne.

Vera Michalski's mother, Daria Razumovsky, was a descendant of Austrian and Russian immigrants who had fled their homeland during the Russian Revolution.

In 1986, Vera Michalski created Les Editions Noir sur Blanc in Montricher with her husband, Jan Michalski.

In Poland, Vera Michalski owns Oficyna Literacka in Warsaw and Wydawnictwo Literackie Krakow.

In 1991, Vera Michalski bought The Polish Bookshop in Paris, called Librairie Polonaise, at 123 Boulevard Saint-Germain.

Vera Michalski does admit that she can take certain risks which other, less financially secure publishers might not, and she can publish niche-target works.

Vera Michalski speaks five languages fluently and some Russian.

Vera Michalski was awarded prestigious awards during her career, including the Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, the Meritorious for Polish Culture and the Polish "Bene Merito" honorary distinction.

Vera Michalski supports the promotion of classical music and is a member of Honors of the Swiss classical music festival Les Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad.