René Gehrig, Interim Director of the Media Institute
René Gehrig, 54, will take over as director of the Media Institute—which is part of the Swiss Media Association—on a 60 percent basis starting in January for about half a year. Gehrig has been familiar with the media scene for decades.
For over ten years, Gehrig has also worked as a coach and consultant in Germany and Austria for various media companies. In Switzerland, he held various positions at Tamedia—including Head of Marketing and Head of Magazines—and served as a member of the executive board. As Regional Director at Publicitas, he was responsible for restructuring the Central Region. In addition, he served on the steering committee of the Education Department of the Swiss Media Association for several years until 2011. It was during this time, in particular, that the current training program leading to the Federal Diploma in Media Management was established.
The position of director of the Media Institute will be filled on an interim basis, as the association’s executive board will decide next year how the Media Institute’s services should be structured in the future to better meet the needs of media companies and publishers.
René Gehrig will take over operational responsibility for the Media Institute on January 12, 2015, from Fredy Greuter, who is leaving the association in January (Werbewoche.ch reported). As a member of the executive office team, he will support the strategic realignment process of the continuing education division at the Media Institute. His responsibilities also include overseeing the current course leading to the Federal Diploma in Media Management and the «Reading Makes You Grow» project. Furthermore, moderating and overseeing the Local Media Symposium in April and the Media Law Conference in May are key components of his responsibilities.
Fredy Greuter will take up his new position as head of communications at the Swiss Employers' Association in February.
