Matthias Egli becomes new Managing Director of Swissolar

The Swiss Association for Solar Energy has seen a marked increase in membership, parallel to the positive development on the market, according to a press release. At the same time, numerous new tasks have to be mastered, such as the establishment of a professional apprenticeship. All this requires expanded capacities of the association's office. Against this background, the current Managing Director David Stickelberger has decided to step down after 25 years of service and hand over the main responsibility in the operational area of the association: "I am pleased to be able to hand over the management to new, competent hands after 25 years. In my new role at Swissolar, I will continue to work full steam ahead to ensure that solar energy becomes the second mainstay of Swiss energy supply alongside hydropower," says Stickelberger.

David Stickelberger is expected to form the new Executive Board together with his current deputy Andreas Hekler and Matthias Egli until retirement age. He will be responsible for the Market and Policy division. This solution will enable a smooth handover of responsibilities in a dynamic and challenging phase of the association's development.

New management as of May 1, 2023

The Swissolar board has elected Matthias Egli as its new managing director. He will take up his post on May 1, 2023. Born in Lucerne in 1978, Egli has broad professional experience in the energy, construction and ICT sectors. As a trained draftsman, he is very familiar with the day-to-day work in the construction industry. As a second-chance education, he completed a French-language degree in environmental engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He acquired business management skills with MBA studies at the University of Rochester New York and at the University of Bern: "It is fantastic what the solar industry and the association Swissolar have achieved in recent years. I am very motivated to further accelerate the strong growth of the entire industry with Swissolar in order to achieve the goals of the Swiss energy strategy," says Egli.

Matthias Egli has led teams from strategy development to operational implementation, developed projects and built up companies. In his spare time, he has been involved in the energy transition on various occasions, including as co-founder of the Sunraising and Smart City Bern associations and in his political work in the Bern city parliament. Matthias Egli currently supports energy projects and start-ups with his own company and lives with his family in Wabern near Bern.

Step from trade to industry association

For Swissolar President Jürg Grossen, the association is ready for the step from a trade to an industry association with the competently positioned management: "I am very pleased that we are able to engage a competent and experienced managing director in Matthias Egli and I am convinced that he, together with the new management and the entire Swissolar team, will successfully lead our association into the next decade. My great thanks go to David Stickelberger for his many years of successful commitment at the helm of Swissolar and for his willingness to continue his motivated work on the Executive Board. Many thanks also to Andreas Hekler for his great merits and the reliable, serious work as deputy managing director, which he is happy to continue. With this very competent management team, Swissolar is ready to take the next step towards becoming an industry association," says Grossen.

Source and further information: Swissolar