Consumer Industry Moves in Switzerland

Executive Moves

Aryzta

• Aryzta has announced that CEO Michael Schai is stepping down with immediate effect, with the Board and Schai jointly concluding that a leadership change is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders. Urs Jordi, currently Chairman of the Board, has been appointed interim CEO while retaining his chair role, bringing his proven turnaround and performance track record from Aryzta’s prior restructuring phase to ensure continuity and disciplined execution of the company’s strategy. Despite the CEO change, Aryzta has confirmed its guidance for the 2025 financial year, reiterating expectations of low- to mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and an adjusted EBITDA of at least EUR 300 million on a like-for-like basis, compared with EUR 320.9 million in 2024.

Calida

• The Calida Group plans to strengthen its Board of Directors by proposing the election of Caroline Forster and Nicole Loeb as additional members at the Annual General Meeting on 15 April 2026, broadening the board’s expertise in retail and the textile industry in support of its strategy to boost efficiency, product development and brand communication for Calida and Aubade. Caroline Forster, co-CEO of the globally active Forster Group since 2008, brings deep operational and strategic leadership experience in embroidery and technical textiles, as well as long-standing board and industry-mandate experience, including on the executive committee of economiesuisse until the end of 2024. Nicole Loeb, delegate of the Board of Directors of Loeb Holding and Chair of Loeb since 2005, adds strong entrepreneurial credentials in Swiss retail, a background in textile business management and influential roles in key bodies such as the Swiss Retail Federation and the regional economic advisory council of the Swiss National Bank, positioning both appointees to provide valuable strategic impulses for Calida Group’s further development.

Coop

• Coop’s Board of Directors has appointed 55-year-old Daniel Hintermann as Head of the Trading Directorate and Deputy CEO with effect from 1 June 2026, succeeding Daniel Stucker, who will focus on strategic projects within the Coop Group until his retirement in April 2027. Drawing on 14 years at Coop, including his current role as Head of the Logistics & Production Directorate where he successfully led major projects such as the expansion of the Schafisheim logistics hub with Switzerland’s largest bakery, Hintermann brings deep operational, supply chain and industrial expertise to the trading function. The vacated Logistics & Production Directorate will be taken over on 1 June 2026 by logistics specialist Philipp Wegmüller, currently CEO of Coop rail logistics subsidiary Railcare and deputy head of Logistics & Production, who contributes long-standing experience in transport, intermodal logistics and organisational leadership to ensure continuity and further strengthen Coop’s logistics capabilities.

Cremo

• Cremo has parted ways with its CEO Ralph Perroud with immediate effect as of 27 November 2025, after the board concluded that, despite the transformation programme launched since his arrival in 2023, the results to date and the outlook for the current financial year remain below expectations in a very challenging environment. The board has appointed Xavier Monange, currently Director of Transformation & Governance, as interim CEO, citing his strong knowledge of Cremo’s business and issues, as well as his ability to mobilise teams, as key assets to accelerate and strengthen the turnaround. The Fribourg-based dairy group, Switzerland’s second-largest milk processor, is facing a difficult 2025 financial year marked by operating losses and the need to absorb significantly higher milk volumes, which is putting additional strain on an already fragile financial situation.

Danone

• Isabel Petit, currently Managing Director of Danone Austria and Slovenia, will additionally take on responsibility for leading Danone’s business in Switzerland with effect from October 2025. She succeeds Sandro Tichelli, the current Swiss Country Head, who is stepping down from the position. Petit brings to the expanded role her extensive regional leadership experience and a strong track record in driving commercial performance and strategic growth within Danone’s portfolio.

Denner

• Denner has appointed retail specialist René Trapp as Head of Purchasing with effect from 1 April 2026, bringing him over from the Valora Group. Trapp, 53, has held various senior leadership roles at Valora over the past 13 years and contributes extensive experience in Swiss convenience and food retail that Denner aims to leverage to further develop and strengthen its purchasing strategy. He succeeds Stefan Eberhard, who had been leading the purchasing function on an interim basis following the departure of former Head of Purchasing Sascha Göbels and who will remain in the department in a senior role and act as Trapp’s deputy.
• After 13 years at Denner, CFO Adrian Bodmer is retiring. He will be succeeded by Roger Meier from Migrolino, who will further strengthen the discounter’s financial leadership. He brings extensive experience in building management control systems and in driving digitalization.

DKSH

• DKSH has appointed Patrik Grande as Head Business Unit Healthcare and a member of the Executive Committee, effective January 2026, succeeding Bijay Singh, who will begin retirement on 31 March 2026 after 11 years with the group. Grande brings over 20 years of global pharma leadership, including a two-decade career at Novartis, and has already delivered growth at DKSH by revitalizing Healthcare Thailand and strengthening the company’s commercial outsourcing platform as APAC Cluster Head.

dsm-firmenich

• dsm-firmenich is reshaping its Executive Committee to support its transformation into a fully consumer-focused company, appointing Alessandre Keller as President of Health, Nutrition & Care (HNC) from 1 January 2026, succeeding Philip Eykerman, who will move into the newly created role of Chief Strategy, M&A and Transformation Officer while remaining on the Executive Committee. In parallel, Maurizio Clementi will become President of Taste, Texture & Health (TTH) on 1 January 2026, following the retirement of long-serving leader Patrick Niels at the end of 2025, and will join the Executive Committee after 14 years with the company and a track record as EVP for Taste and a key architect of the TTH business. Keller, a Swiss executive with more than 25 years of global leadership experience across healthcare, nutrition and FMCG, and Clementi, a US-Italian leader known for building high-performing, customer-focused teams, together bring strategic vision, operational excellence and deep category expertise that will help dsm-firmenich accelerate growth in its core health, nutrition and taste segments.
• Ivo Lansbergen will step off the Executive Committee on 1 October 2025 to focus fully on the carve-out and leadership of Animal Nutrition & Health.

Emmi

• The Swiss dairy group Emmi has appointed capital markets specialist Patrik Schwendimann as Head of Investor Relations, with effect no later than April 2026, tasking him with leading the company’s investor-relations activities and strengthening its presence on the capital markets. Schwendimann brings more than 30 years of experience in investor relations and financial markets, most recently as Cluster Head Consumer Goods & Services and Senior Equity Analyst at Zürcher Kantonalbank, where he covered Emmi as lead analyst since its IPO in 2004.
• Emmi’s Board of Directors will propose the election of Alexander Kühnen to the Board at the Annual General Meeting on 9 April 2026, replacing long-standing director Monique Bourquin, who will not stand for re-election after 13 years on the board. Kühnen has been CEO of the Bahlsen Group since 2023 and previously held senior roles at international FMCG companies such as Unilever as well as in family-owned businesses including Bahlsen and Carl Kühne KG, bringing extensive leadership experience, strategic business development expertise and a strong track record in growth and innovation strategies in the consumer goods sector. With his appointment, Emmi aims to maintain a nine-member board under the chairmanship of Urs Riedener and to further strengthen its strategic capabilities, while acknowledging Bourquin’s long service and her ongoing mandates at several major Swiss companies and industry bodies.

Genève Aéroport

• Genève Aéroport has appointed Jean-François de Saussure as its new Director General, with effect from early November 2025, succeeding Gilles Rufenacht, who announced his departure after just over a year in the role. De Saussure brings extensive leadership experience from Swiss companies including SGS, SICPA and Caran d’Ache, where he served as CEO from 2012 to 2021, as well as his work as an independent strategy and governance adviser and board member at various organisations such as ISO.

Givaudan

• Givaudan is preparing a dual leadership transition, with long-serving CEO Gilles Andrier set to retire after 20 years at the helm on 1 March 2026 and to be proposed as Chairman of the Board at the 2026 AGM, succeeding Calvin Grieder, who will step down after 12 years on the board. Christian Stammkoetter, currently President Asia, Middle East & Africa at Danone, has been designated as the new CEO with effect from 1 March 2026, bringing over 25 years of global fast-moving consumer goods experience across personal care, food, beverage and nutrition, and a strong track record in driving growth, innovation and high-performing teams. Together, the planned succession is intended to combine continuity and deep company knowledge through Andrier’s move to the chair with fresh external perspective and broad international consumer expertise from Stammkoetter as Givaudan executes its 2030 growth strategy.

Granini

• Lydie Goetschin Brizzi has been appointed Managing Director of Eckes-Granini (Schweiz) with effect from 1 August 2025, taking over the leadership of the joint venture between Eckes-Granini Group and Nestlé Waters Schweiz, which markets major juice brands such as Granini and hohes C in Switzerland. She brings more than 15 years of experience in brand management, category development and sales leadership, having served since 2020 as Group Brand Manager at Eckes-Granini (Schweiz), where she drove innovation and portfolio diversification in fruit juice drinks, and previously held several senior roles at Nestlé including Brand Manager, Category & Channel Sales Development Manager for coffee, cocoa and malt beverages, and Key Account Manager.

Haco

• Effective 1 September 2025, Fabian Stierli became CEO of the Haco Group, succeeding Emanuel Marti, who will remain involved with strategic special projects until his retirement at the end of February 2026 and is expected to move into the Vice Chair role on the Board in spring 2026. Stierli brings international strategy and leadership experience from Bain & Company, Jacobs Holding and Barry Callebaut, including senior responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe, to help steer Haco into its next growth phase. Marti leaves a strong legacy after leading Haco since 2016, having driven internationalisation and growth and guiding the group through the pandemic period, while ensuring continuity through the transition.

Hochdorf

• Hochdorf has appointed 44-year-old Sandro Tichelli as its new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 January 2026, succeeding Ralph Siegl, who has led the company since 2022 and steered its carve-out from the former parent and sale to AS Equity Partners; until Tichelli takes office, AS Equity partner Oliver Banz will act as interim CEO. Tichelli, a Lucerne native, brings extensive leadership experience from the international food industry, most recently as Country Manager of Danone Switzerland and member of the DACH Executive Board, and previously in senior roles for Danone in Switzerland and Germany.

Lidl

• Lidl Schweiz is reorganising its management structure to sharpen its customer focus and has expanded its Executive Board with the newly created role of Chief Customer Officer. This position is being taken on by long-standing Lidl manager Bram van der Valk, previously Senior Director Marketing and Promotions at Lidl Schweiz, who will now be responsible for Marketing, Brand, Customer Relations and Sales, bundling all customer-facing areas under one leadership. With 20 years at Lidl, including almost four years at Lidl Schweiz where he played a key role in introducing Lidl Punkte and launching the “Qualité Suisse” range, van der Valk brings deep experience in customer management, purchasing and international retail that Lidl intends to leverage to take its customer-centric strategy to the next level.

Migros

• Migros Industrie has confirmed Constantin Schnupp as its Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 October 2025, after he had been serving as interim CFO since April while also holding the CFO role at group company Delica, which he will now relinquish. Having been with the Migros Group for four and a half years and previously overseeing finance at Delica, Schnupp brings deep knowledge of Migros Industrie’s businesses, strong finance and transformation expertise, and a proven track record from his interim mandate.
• Fotomuseum Winterthur director Nadine Wietlisbach, who has led the institution since 2018, will step down after eight years to take over as Head of Culture Funding at the Migros from early summer 2026, having sharpened the museum’s focus on socially relevant issues such as digital image cultures, diversity and participation.

Nestlé

• Nestlé’s long-serving Chairman Paul Bulcke is stepping down early and will be succeeded by Pablo Isla as Chairman with effect from 1 October 2025, with Isla bringing extensive experience as former CEO and Chairman of Inditex and deep expertise in global strategy, governance and digital innovation to help revitalise the company’s direction. At the same time, Nestlé has appointed Philipp Navratil as CEO following the dismissal of Laurent Freixe, with Navratil’s operational experience, notably within Nestlé’s coffee division and broader commercial leadership, he is expected to support a sharper strategic focus and stronger execution. Freixe has been dismissed with immediate effect after an investigation found he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate, in breach of the company’s code of conduct, and together Isla and Navratil are expected to help restore investor confidence and accelerate a strategic reset as Nestlé confronts portfolio challenges and seeks stronger growth and profitability.
• With Navratil’s departure, Nestlé has appointed Alfonso Gonzalez Loeschen as CEO of Nespresso and member of the Group Executive Board, with effect from 1 November 2025. Gonzalez Loeschen, currently CEO of Nespresso North America, brings more than 30 years’ experience with Nestlé across Mexico, Puerto Rico and the US, and has successfully driven double-digit growth and market share gains for the Nespresso Vertuo system across the US, Canada and Mexico.
• Nestlé has announced that Sanjay Bahadur, Executive Vice President and Head of Group Strategy and Business Development, will retire at the end of December 2025 after more than 40 years with the company, marking the departure of one of its longest-serving senior leaders. Following his retirement, the M&A function will move to report directly to CFO Anna Manz, with Philip Mellor, currently Head of Legal M&A, assuming responsibility for M&A and reporting to her, meaning the role will no longer be represented on the Group Executive Board.

Obi

• Obi is streamlining its leadership structure by parting ways with Chief Operating Officer Brigitte Wittekind as of 1 October 2025 and abolishing the COO role, with her former responsibilities for operations, supply chain and process efficiency redistributed among other board functions, while the executive board will continue under CEO Sebastian Gundel with CCO Jochen Ludwig, CFO Miguel Müllenbach and CPO Urszula Nartowska.
• At the same time, Obi is strengthening its Swiss business by appointing 39-year-old Lena Steiner as Country Manager for Switzerland, with effect from 1 October 2025, succeeding Felix Jostarndt and reporting to Mike Sgundek, Managing Director for Austria and Switzerland, as the Swiss market gains importance for Obi’s European growth ambitions. Steiner, who most recently led Saviva through a transformation and previously held various roles within the Migros Group, brings extensive experience in change management, digitalisation and organisational development, which Obi intends to leverage as it integrates newly acquired Swiss stores and pushes to become the number one DIY retailer in Europe.

Oettinger Davidoff

• Oettinger Davidoff has appointed Javier González as SVP Head of Global Marketing & Innovation, while long-time executive Edward Simon will end his dual marketing-and-sales remit on 1 January 2026 to focus solely on sales as SVP Chief Sales Officer. González joins from Avolta, where he served as Global Marketing & Digital Innovation Officer, bringing strong brand-building, customer engagement and digital/omnichannel capabilities developed over 15 years in travel retail.

On

• Katarina Berg has been appointed as Chief People Officer, with her start date set for 1 August 2025. Joining from Spotify, where she served as Chief Human Resources Officer, Berg brings deep experience in building and scaling a high-performance culture and is expected to lead On’s global people strategy, with a focus on workplace vitality, employee development and engagement.
• On has hired former Grey New York Chief Creative Officer Thiago Cruz as its global head of brand and creative, leading the Swiss running brand’s in-house creative studio from its headquarters in Switzerland. In this newly created role within On’s marketing organisation, he oversees teams of art directors, designers and copywriters developing global campaign assets, further strengthening the company’s internal agency capabilities and its lifestyle-driven brand push. Bringing over two decades of international creative leadership experience across Europe and the US, Cruz is expected to help On build on its momentum as a fast-growing challenger brand, following record sales growth and high-profile partnerships such as its multiyear collaboration with Zendaya.

Orior

• Nadja Hendel has taken on the role of Chief Human Resource Officer at Orior, with effect from August 2025, after previously serving as Head of Group HR within the company. Her appointment formalises and elevates the HR function at executive level, underscoring Orior’s focus on strategic people management, talent development and organisational culture.

Pistor

• Pistor has appointed 44-year-old Silvan Odermatt as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 January 2026, succeeding long-serving finance head and Executive Board member Peter Steinmann, who will leave the Executive Board at the end of 2025 and continue to lead strategic projects ahead of his retirement. Odermatt, currently Group CFO and co-Managing Director at holiday services provider Hapimag, brings recognised financial expertise, strategic thinking and long-standing leadership experience, and will oversee the Finance, Legal, Compliance and Quality Management functions while helping to drive Pistor’s further development as a member of the Executive Board.

Selecta

• Selecta is in the midst of a deep transformation under its new “Selecta 2.0” strategy, combining a renewed top management team with a significant restructuring of its Swiss operations. In October 2025, the group appointed transformation specialist Venkie Shantaram as CEO, succeeding interim chief Michael Rauch. Shantaram brings more than 30 years’ experience in leading large-scale strategic, operational and financial turnarounds, notably as CEO of Compass Group’s €5 billion Europe & Middle East division, and is tasked with driving growth, innovation and performance across Selecta’s 16-country self-serve retail network.
• At the same time, the Swiss business is implementing the “Selecta 2.0” programme, which foresees the reduction of around 80 positions in the home market (with up to 40 layoffs in field operations) and a reshaping of the group structure, including the departure of long-standing COO/CTO Roland Ludwig at the end of November and the phasing out of the Chief Commercial Officer role as Jan Marck Vrijland leaves in January, while the newly appointed CFO Jean-Noël Groleau and the move of the Cham headquarters to a new building underscore the scale of change underway. Management emphasises that these measures are intended to create a leaner, more agile organisation and enable a “positive, long-term transformation” as Selecta refines its strategy and positions itself as a technology-driven, customer-centric European leader in self-serve food and beverage solutions.

SIG

• SIG has appointed Mikko Keto as its new Chief Executive Officer, with his start date planned for the first half of 2026, following a period in which CFO Anne-Kristin Erkens has been leading the company on an interim basis after the departure of former CEO Samuel Sigrist in August 2025. Keto joins SIG from FLSmidth, where as Group CEO he delivered a comprehensive transformation, building on earlier senior roles at Metso, Nokia Networks and KONE. From SIG’s headquarters in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, he is expected to simplify and streamline the organisation and unlock its growth and innovation potential, leveraging the group’s strong engineering, sustainability and packaging-technology base to create a leaner, more agile business that delivers enhanced value for all stakeholders.

Sonova

• Sonova has officially appointed Eric Bernard as CEO, with effect from 15 September 2025, succeeding Arnd Kaldowski, who served as CEO since April 2018. Bernard, who joined Sonova on 1 July 2025, brings substantial industry leadership and a track record of driving innovation and growth in the global hearing and audiological sectors, positioning him to accelerate Sonova’s strategic momentum and competitiveness in hearing care solutions. The leadership transition, announced on 9 May 2025, reflects Sonova’s commitment to sustained innovation and operational excellence as it navigates market opportunities and growth across its diversified portfolio of hearing technologies.

SRG

• SRG has appointed Severine Schori-Vogt as Head of Human Resources, effective 1 December 2025, succeeding Piero Cereghetti, who is retiring after more than ten years in the role and will support selected projects during the transition. A long-time SRG executive with a legal/regulatory background, Schori-Vogt has held several senior internal leadership roles, most recently running the Development & Offering (E&A) directorate on an interim basis. She is expected to help steer the Enavant transformation, including the strategic move toward more uniform, SRG-wide HR leadership, building on her change and diversity track record.

Swatch

• Swatch has announced that CEO of the Swatch brand Alain Villard is taking a one-year sabbatical for personal reasons and has temporarily handed over leadership of the brand. As of 1 October 2025, Vivian Stauffer, previously CEO of sister brand Hamilton and a long-standing Swatch Group manager who began his career at the company in 2002, has taken over the management of the Swatch brand, bringing deep group know-how and international brand leadership experience to ensure a well-planned transition between the two watch brands.

Tetra Pak

• Effective 1 December 2025, Tetra Pak has reshuffled its Executive Leadership Team under CEO Adolfo Orive, appointing Marco Dorna as EVP Market Operations, Tatiana Liceti as EVP Packaging Solutions, Roberto Franchitti as EVP Processing Solutions & Equipment, Ola Elmqvist as EVP Services, and Martin Scott as EVP Sustainability & Communications. The appointees bring deep internal expertise across Tetra Pak’s value chain, Dorna adds market and commercial leadership from key-account and managing director roles (most recently Brazil), Liceti contributes long-standing Americas and market-operations experience, and Franchitti brings services-to-equipment know-how from leading the Services organisation since 2021. Elmqvist strengthens the Services agenda with decades of operational and supply-chain leadership across regions and business units, while Scott broadens his remit beyond communications to accelerate Tetra Pak’s sustainability priorities and stakeholder engagement.

Weleda

• Weleda has appointed Christian Bruechle as its new Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board, succeeding Raphael Savalle, who has held the CFO role since 2022. Bruechle has nearly 20 years of international experience in finance, transformation and general management, most recently serving as CFO and Managing Director DACH at beauty company Coty, where he was also responsible for the sustainability agenda.

Contact

Alan De Riz
Russell Reynolds Associates
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