immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Geschäftsführung

  • CEO becomes a partner in assembly group

    CEO becomes a partner in assembly group

    The ERNE Group is taking on its CEO Giuseppe Santagada as a shareholder. The CEO, who has been in office since the beginning of 2024, is also joining the Laufenburg-based construction and property group as a minority shareholder, the ERNE Group announced in a press release. The family business is held by the fourth generation of the founding family.

    “The collaboration with Giuseppe Santagada has been based on partnership, commitment and equality since day one,” Daniel and Christoph Erne, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, are quoted as saying in the press release. Mr Santagada, who holds a doctorate in economics, contributes to the strategic development of the Group with his entrepreneurial vision and management experience. “Becoming a minority shareholder is an expression of our mutual trust and our responsibility towards our employees, customers, partners and family.”

    The companies of the ERNE Group specialise in the entire construction industry, from the extraction of raw materials to the planning and implementation of projects through to dismantling, disposal and recycling. In addition to its headquarters in Laufenburg, the company has further locations in Switzerland and Germany and is active in Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg.

  • Reorganisation of leadership in the kitchen and ventilation market

    Reorganisation of leadership in the kitchen and ventilation market

    The further integration of WESCO AG from Wettingen into the Franke Group, based in Aarburg, has resulted in a reorganisation of the management team: Gregory Oswald will return to Franke Home Solutions as Managing Director for the DACH market on 1 February 2026. As head of this division of the Franke Group, Oswald will be jointly responsible for the Franke brand and the WESCO brands berbel and Wesco – “an important basis for closer cooperation, while the brands continue to operate independently on the market,” according to a statement.

    Franke’s Home Solutions business unit is a global provider of intelligent systems and solutions for private kitchens. With 4,200 employees in over 30 countries, it generates net sales of CHF 932 million. Oswald, 45, already headed this division from 2022 to 2024. He then took over the management of the WESCO Group, which was acquired by Franke in September 2024. Founded in 1962, the WESCO Group is headquartered in Wettingen. The family-owned company specialises in extractor hoods and ventilation systems.

    Corrado Mura, interim CEO and President of Franke Home Solutions, explains that Gregory Oswald’s “deep understanding of the DACH market as well as product management and brand management, which he has gained in key positions within Franke Home Solutions,” will be crucial for the further development of the company. “His many years of experience will help us to optimally bundle our competencies and drive our growth in a sustainable manner.”

  • Stephanie Kiener succeeds Jasmina Ritz at Limmatstadt AG

    Stephanie Kiener succeeds Jasmina Ritz at Limmatstadt AG

    The Limmatstadt AG location promotion organisation is getting a new managing director in Stephanie Kiener. According to a press release, Kiener will take over the operational management of the Limmatstadt regional location promotion office based at the JED in Schlieren ZH in August. The successor to Jasmina Ritz at Limmatstadt AG has thus been decided. Ritz will oversee the transition process until the end of the year and will then retire from operational activities. She will continue to fulfil her role as Vice President of the Board of Directors.

    Stephanie Kiener joined Limmatstadt AG in November 2023. She had previously worked for the city of Baden for eight years, where she held various positions in location marketing, including Head of Tourism. She actively supported the separation of the city’s tourism division into the new public-private partnership TourismusRegion Baden AG, of which she was most recently Deputy Managing Director. Kiener knows the Limmat Valley inside out. She was born in Schlieren.

    “The opportunity to work together with stakeholders from the entire region and the Board of Directors to shape regional location promotion in a future-oriented way is a great motivation for me,” Kiener is quoted as saying. She is counting on “taking this path together and further strengthening the Aargau and Zurich Limmat Valley region with innovative approaches, fresh ideas and combined forces”.

    “Stephanie Kiener is our preferred candidate. We are now ideally positioned for the transformation process that has already begun,” said Lara Albanesi, President of the Board of Directors.

    A public dialogue event will take place on Tuesday, 4 June, from 7.30 to 9 a.m. at the LAB coworking office in Spreitenbach.

  • FE Agentur AG takes over management of Work Life Aargau

    FE Agentur AG takes over management of Work Life Aargau

    According to a press release, the canton of Aargau wants to give Work Life Aargau(WLA) a new impetus with a service agreement between the canton and the WLA association and the handover of management to an external company. On 1 July, the cantonal location promotion agency will hand over management to FE Agentur AG in Baden.

    The canton of Aargau launched Work Life Aargau in 2019 to support companies in attracting skilled labour and to position Aargau as an attractive place to work beyond the canton’s borders, according to the press release. Around 60 Aargau companies are members of the association. WLA is also supported by the Aargau Chamber of Industry and Commerce(AIHK) and the Aargau Trade Association(AGV). During the development and establishment of WLA, the cantonal location promotion organisation was in charge and managed the office.

    “Work Life Aargau is an important measure by the canton to support companies in attracting skilled labour,” says Dieter Egli, State Governor and Head of the Department of Economic Affairs and Home Affairs. The commitment of the business community and of the AIHK and AGV confirms the need for and benefits of WLA for the business location, Egli continued. The canton will continue to co-operate with the association within the framework of a service agreement. Over a period of 4.5 years, WLA will be supported by the canton with almost CHF 1 million. The aim is for Work Life Aargau to be privately financed from 2029.

    WLA’s offering has developed steadily since 2019. In addition to the online platform, the offering has been supplemented with workshops to support member companies at various levels in the marketing of skilled labour.

  • Michael Schiltknecht becomes the new CEO of Steiner AG

    Michael Schiltknecht becomes the new CEO of Steiner AG

    The real estate developer Steiner will be managed by Michael Schiltknecht as the new CEO. According to the company's press release , this will continue the transformation process that Steiner AG decided on in February 2011. At that time, Steiner decided to further develop the business model into a leading real estate company with the associated construction expertise. Schiltknecht succeeds Ajay Sirohi, who is leaving Steiner AG.

    In the 2021/22 financial year, which ended on March 31, 2022, the Steiner Group generated sales totaling CHF 763.6 million. According to a press release , operating earnings before interest and taxes reached an exceptionally high figure of CHF 49.7 million. Steiner was also able to acquire new development projects with a forecast market value upon completion totaling around CHF 1.5 billion in the year under review. This has increased the group's development portfolio to a volume of CHF 6.4 billion.

    Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Zurich and has branches in Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Tolochenaz VD and Geneva. According to the media release, the portfolio includes a wide range of projects in the areas of living, office, industry and logistics as well as own product innovations such as the brands Werkarena, Manufakt or Steiner Student Hotel. In French-speaking Switzerland, Steiner Construction is the market leader in the realization of real estate using the total/general contractor model. Steiner AG has created two new areas: Steiner Financial Initiatives for new investment solutions and Steiner Digital for digital collaboration platforms.

  • Andrea Leu will lead Group of Fifteen from July 1st

    Andrea Leu will lead Group of Fifteen from July 1st

    As of July 1st, the Group of Fifteen association will be headed by Andrea Leu. According to a media release from the merger of 24 companies in the real estate industry, the founder of the association, Heinz Specker, is stepping down as Managing Director of the Group of Fifteen after 20 years. He founded the club in 2002 together with Marina de Senarclens. Since then, Specker has established it as an important exchange platform for the Swiss real estate industry.

    “Heinz Specker, together with the board, positioned the Group of Fifteen as an important think tank. I will continue his work and take up topics that will have a significant impact on the future of the Swiss real estate industry and discuss their consequences for the industry," Andrea Leu is quoted as saying.

    The new managing director is the managing partner of Senarclens, Leu + Partner AG . The communications agency is active in the fields of technology, education and science. According to the press release, Leu is very familiar with the Group of Fifteen. Her agency has been responsible for managing the office since the founding of the Group of Fifteen and she organizes the annual symposium with around 400 participants.

    The date for the next symposium is already mentioned in the association's newsletter. The 22nd symposium of the Group of Fifteen will take place on January 25, 2023 in the garden hall of the Kongresshaus Zurich. The motto is: "I commute – therefore I am?!"