SWISS will enlarge their three member Management Board with the addition of a Chief Operating Officer effective May 1st, 2024. Oliver Buchhofer will assume the new COO position, while Dennis Weber will succeed Markus Binkert as the carrier’s CFO.
On Tuesday (March 5, 2024), Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) announced an expansion of their three member Management Board with the addition of a Chief Operating Officer (COO). Effective May 1st, 2024, Oliver Buchhofer, who currently serves as Head of Operations, will assume the new COO role. On that same date, Dennis Weber, presently Head of Investor Relations at Lufthansa Group, will succeed Markus Binkert as the carrier’s Chief Financial Officer. With the additional COO role, SWISS’ Management Board will grow to four members, including the CEO, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Commercial Officer and the COO.
In Tuesday’s announcement, SWISS’ CEO, Dieter Vranckx, said,
“If we aim and aspire to be Europe’s leading premium airline, we must further strengthen our core activity. Our daily operations are the heart of our company, and the stability of these is crucial to our customers. So we need to give these operations greater weighting within our overall executive management.
“What we have seen since the corona crisis is that the operational challenges remain substantial – challenges such as staffing shortages at our system partners, spares shortages owing to supply chain bottlenecks and the present strike actions in neighbouring countries. We continue to put a firm focus on maintaining the stability of our flight operations; and we are putting an extra emphasis now on our punctuality, too. So it makes sound sense to strengthen our Management Board as well on the operational front.
“With his many years of flight deck service, Oliver Buchhofer is thoroughly familiar with our flight operations, and also brings extremely broad experience in various further areas of our operations to his new COO position. I have worked very closely with Oliver Buchhofer over the past few years; and I’m convinced that, with all his expertise, he will help give our core operating activity the appropriate weighting on our Management Board. I also offer him my warmest congratulations on his new appointment.”
In his new position as COO, Oliver Buchhofer (47) will be responsible for ensuring the company’s safe, secure and seamless operations. Buchhofer, a Swiss national, will also be involved in strategic planning, coordination and organization of areas such as cockpit and cabin crew corps, training, MRO and ground services. Prior to his current role as Head of Operations, Mr. Buchhofer was the airline’s Head of Flight Operations, with responsibility for SWISS’ 1,400 strong cockpit crew corps. Before joining SWISS in 2007, he served as a pilot with Austrian Airlines and Tyrolean Airways, and continues to fly for SWISS as an Airbus A330 captain. Oliver Buchhofer holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Zurich.
Additionally, Dennis Weber (44), a German national, will succeed Markus Binkert as SWISS’ Chief Financial Officer effective May 1st, 2024. Since 2018, Mr. Weber has been Head of Investor Relations at Lufthansa Group, where he is in overall charge of the capital market communications for the Group. Following studies in business administration in Bamberg (Germany) and Sydney (Australia), Weber began his professional career with Adidas AG. Before joining Lufthansa Group, he served as Head of Investor Relations at Hugo Boss AG from 2010-2018.
Further speaking on the appointment of Dennis Weber as CFO, SWISS’ CEO, Dieter Vranckx, said,
“I am delighted at Dennis Weber’s appointment, which broadens the diversity and enriches the skills and the expertise on our Management Board. With his professional background, Dennis Weber will bring a valuable new perspective, and is an ideal complement to our top management team. I wish him the best of starts in his new SWISS capacity.”
Source: Swiss International Air Lines