New operational management team at Affichage
The outdoor advertising company Affichage is getting new leadership. NZZ manager Daniel Hofer is replacing CEO and Board Delegate Christian Kauter, and Thomas Rainer will take over as head of Affichage's international business.
Kauter will retire from Affichage, which owns the Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft APG among others, on June 30. At the beginning of 2009, the former Group CEO had agreed to continue to manage Affichage beyond his normal retirement date in May 2009 in order to create time for an orderly succession plan. As Daniel Hofer will not take up his post until October 1, Markus Scheidegger, a member of the Board of Directors, will step in as Chief Operating Officer for a three-month transitional phase, as Affichage announced on Wednesday. In addition to his role as CEO, Hofer will also manage the Swiss market. He joins Affichage from the NZZ Group, where he was most recently a member of the Executive Board and responsible for the "Zurich Publishers" business. He previously worked for Publigroupe for several years.
Thomas Rainer will now be responsible for Affichage's international business. He most recently worked for the German company Wall AG. Affichage's international business in particular had plunged deep into the red in 2009. This was compounded by write-downs abroad, which led to a net loss of CHF 59.1 million. The dividend was canceled.
Jean-François Decaux, the designated Chairman of the Board of Directors, was convinced that the new top management would give Affichage the necessary clout to successfully overcome the current problems and to operate very successfully again in the future on the basis of the strong Swiss home market.
Thomas Rainer will now be responsible for Affichage's international business. He most recently worked for the German company Wall AG. Affichage's international business in particular had plunged deep into the red in 2009. This was compounded by write-downs abroad, which led to a net loss of CHF 59.1 million. The dividend was canceled.
Jean-François Decaux, the designated Chairman of the Board of Directors, was convinced that the new top management would give Affichage the necessary clout to successfully overcome the current problems and to operate very successfully again in the future on the basis of the strong Swiss home market.
