Michel Grunder is the new Head of Public Affairs at Farner Consulting

Michel Grunder, Partner and Head of Farner Berne, is moving from the capital to Zurich and succeeds Daniel Heller as Head of Public Affairs. Farner initiated the expansion of Public Affairs in 2017 with the addition of Andreas Richner (Head of Governmental Relations and member of Farner's Executive Board) and Ursula Fraefel (Senior Consultant).

Michel Grunder joined Farner in 2008. He gradually rose first to consultant and then to senior consultant. From 2011, he led the Bern office as a member of the management team and three years later as a partner of the company. During that time, Farner Berne significantly expanded an independent client portfolio - namely in the public sector and in the association landscape.

In addition to political consulting and campaigns at all levels of government, Michel Grunder distinguished himself in particular with integrated and multiple award-winning public sector campaigns, including for the Commission against Racism, the Federal Office of Communications, the Federal Office for Civil Protection and with the successful Made Visible campaign for TCS. He will now strategically expand the integrated approach in consulting, strategy and implementation in the field of public affairs as well.

Roman Geiser, CEO & Managing Partner of Farner: "Michel Grunder and the Bern team have expanded the location in the capital into a relevant revenue driver for the agency. We are very proud of this achievement, and with him as the new Head of Public Affairs, we will further digitalize and integrate our political consulting offering at the overall agency level."

Michel Grunder, Partner & Head of Public Affairs: "Political communication has developed enormously in recent years. In addition to professionalization, media opportunities and new opinion leaders have enriched debates enormously. I see this as a great opportunity to build on Farner's public affairs strengths and use our creative and digital skills to develop surprising, high-performing and majority-responsive solutions."

Farner partner Daniel Heller will serve as Vice Chairman of the agency's Board of Directors and continue to serve key clients in politics and business. In addition to selected key mandates, he continues to manage the Innovation & Startup Communications offering. The new Vice President also coordinates the agency's innovation activities company-wide.

Daniel Heller established the Public Affairs division for 28 years - first as Head of Department, later as a member of the Executive Board and since 2004 as Partner - and during this time positioned Farner as one of the best-known Swiss addresses for political communications consulting. As Head of Public Affairs, he discovered and nurtured many talents over more than two decades.

Michel Grunder's successor in the role as head of Farner Bern will be announced by the agency in the next few days.