Swiss Commercial Association: Sascha M. Burkhalter becomes new CEO

As of January 2024, Sascha M. Burkhalter (48) will take over the leadership of the Swiss Commercial Association as CEO. He has been a partner and member of the Board of Directors of Schweizerische Treuhandgesellschaft (Zürich) AG in Zurich since 2019. He made his start at the Swiss Commercial Association in 2007 as a member and financial delegate of the Central Board of the Swiss Commercial Association. This was followed by numerous other positions within the association and its subsidiaries as well as in the organization's environment. Since 2012, Sascha M. Burkhalter has also been a member of the Board of the Southeastern Switzerland Section. "I warmly congratulate Sascha M. Burkhalter on his election as the new CEO" says Daniel Jositsch, President of the Swiss Commercial Association, delighted. "Thanks to his many years of activity and his profound knowledge of our complex association structure, Sascha M. Burkhalter has the ideal profile for this new task. I am firmly convinced that with Sascha M. Burkhalter we will be able to continue the chosen strategy of the Swiss Commercial Association with vigor and face the challenges of the new working world."

Prevailed against 70 competitors

Sascha M. Burkhalter prevailed over more than 70 qualified candidates in a publicly advertised application process. He convinced with his many years of experience for the kfmv cosmos, his know-how for business management topics and his dynamic and committed character, the association informs. His excellent networking in the Swiss education sector and his communicative qualities would ideally complement his profile, it adds. Sascha M. Burkhalter will also ensure stability and continuity within the association. The general decline in membership and cost pressure had forced the association to make several changes in recent years: A comprehensive structural reform reorganized the association in 2022.

Sascha M. Burkhalter: "Responding Agilely to Constant Developments in the World of Work".

"The appointment as CEO is a great honor for me. I would like to thank the Board of Directors for the trust they have placed in me and look forward to the new challenges ahead" says Sascha M. Burkhalter. "The strength of our association, which is now 150 years old, lies in our tireless commitment to fair working conditions, contemporary working models and the promotion of lifelong learning. As CEO of the Swiss Commercial Association, I want to remain true to this goal, then as now, and continue to respond quickly and agilely to the constant developments in the world of work." Sascha M. Burkhalter will take up his new role as CEO of the Swiss Commercial Association on January 1, 2024. He thus succeeds Christian Zünd, who will step down at the end of December 2023 and after eight years at the helm of the Swiss Commercial Association. Daniel Jositsch emphasizes: "On behalf of our association and all its employees, I would like to thank Christian Zünd already today for his successful work and the numerous milestones he has shaped over the years - from labor law achievements in the social partnership, to the founding of a cross-association political alliance (die plattform), to the redesign and reform of commercial apprenticeships."

Sascha M. Burkhalter has his roots in Thun and lives with his family in the Surselva in the Bündner Oberland.

Source: Swiss Commercial Association