Current CKW CEO Felix Graf to become new CEO of NZZ Media Group
The Board of Directors of the NZZ Media Group has appointed Felix Graf as its new CEO. The current CEO of the CKW Group will assume his new role in June 2018. He succeeds Veit Dengler, who left the company in June 2017.
Felix Graf, CEO of Centralschweizerische Kraftwerke (CKW) and member of the Executive Board of Axpo Holding, is moving to the NZZ Media Group as CEO. The 50-year-old will take up his new role on June 1, 2018. CFO Jörg Schnyder will remain Chairman of the Executive Board ad interim until Graf takes office. In Felix Graf, the Board of Directors has chosen an experienced CEO who is familiar with the challenges of rapidly changing markets. With a doctorate in physics, he brings a wealth of experience in managing technology-driven change processes from various industries.
"Felix Graf's impressive track record is not the only convincing factor. The Board of Directors was also impressed by his leadership qualities, his down-to-earth attitude and his openness. He knows exactly what it means to lead a company through a transformation phase," says Etienne Jornod, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
"Digitalization has turned the media industry's business model, which has long been based on print advertising, on its head. Leading the high-quality offerings of the NZZ Media Group into the future under these circumstances excites me. I am very much looking forward to tackling this transformation process together with my new colleagues," says Felix Graf.
Graf has been a member of the CKW Executive Board since 2010. He has led the company as CEO since 2014 and is also a member of the Executive Board of Axpo Holding. Prior to that, he held various management positions at Swisscom from 2002 to 2009. Among other things, he was responsible for Swisscom's entertainment services, including the Bluewin portal and Swisscom TV, which he developed together with his team from strategy to mass market product. From 1998 to 2002, he led consulting mandates at McKinsey in various industries and countries. Graf holds a master's degree in physics and chemistry from ETH Zurich and a doctorate in physics from ETH Zurich. In 2007, he was appointed Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He is the father of two children and lives in Zurich.
