Franziska Barmettler becomes the new CEO of digitalswitzerland
At the Annual General Meeting held on the premises of the TX Group, the digitalswitzerland location initiative announced the change in the chairmanship as of 1.6.24 as well as the management as of 1.11.24.
The evening began with a presentation by PD Dr. Alexander Ilic, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the ETH AI Center, who highlighted precisely one of the central pillars of digitalswitzerland's activities with his topic "The Swift Progression of GenAI".
Double change of leadership
The Annual General Meeting today elected Andreas Meyer as Chairman. Following his time at ABB and DB, he drove forward the digitalization of SBB in particular as CEO until 2020. As a founding member of "digitalzurich 2025" back in 2015, he worked towards extending the location initiative to the whole of Switzerland. He also coordinated the Federal Council's Digital Transformation Advisory Board for around three years. He succeeds Sascha Zahnd. As the first president after the merger of digitalswitzerland and ICTswitzerland, he led the organization through the transformation with strategically formative impulses.
Stefan Metzger, CEO of digitalswitzerland, is looking for a new professional direction. He has completed the operational integration of digitalswitzerland and ICTswitzerland, shaping the organization over the past two years and preparing it for the future. He will remain CEO until 31.10.2024.
Franziska Barmettler will take up her post as the new CEO on 1.11.2024. An economics graduate, she has been working at the interface between business, sustainability and politics for 15 years. She has shaped developments in the field of innovation and sustainability at the swisscleantech trade association, Migros and currently at IKEA. In addition to experience in association management and an understanding of future issues and change processes in the economy, she also has practical legislative experience as a politician.
Departures and additions to the Executive Committee
There were also changes to the composition of the Executive Committee. Following the departure of Anna Takihara, Jill Kümin and Philomena Colatrella, the Annual General Meeting approved the appointment of Christine Antlanger-Winter and Roger Süess as new members, with Colatrella remaining with the organization as co-lead in the area of digital health. Both the confirmation of the remaining members of the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee and the discharge of the governing bodies were approved in full.
Digitalswitzerland would like to thank Sascha Zahnd and Stefan Metzger as well as all other outgoing, remaining and new functionaries for their great commitment.
The evening concluded with a panel discussion between Pietro Supino, Chairman of the Board of Directors and publisher of the TX Group, and Marc Walder, founder of the digitalswitzerland location initiative and CEO of Ringier AG, who discussed the radical impact of current developments on the media landscape.
Source: www.digitalswitzerland.com
