Chief Financial Officer Markus Binkert is to leave Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) after more than 19 years. He will take on new duties as CEO of the SV Group, which is active in various areas of the gastronomy and hotel management fields. Binkert will leave SWISS at the end of May. The search for his successor is under way.

“Our company has a lot to thank Markus Binkert for,” says SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx. “In the numerous key positions that he has held over the years, Markus has consistently contributed to SWISS’s success – in good times and in tougher ones such as the pandemic years. As a vital member of our Management Board, Markus has been instrumental in helping to ensure that our airline stands on the firm financial foundation that it has today, debt-free and well positioned to meet and master the challenges ahead.”

“Markus has Swissness in his blood, and has ensured time and again that SWISS embodies and reflects Swiss values,” CEO Vranckx continues. “During his time as our Chief Commercial Officer in particular, he dedicated himself to our brands and our product development, putting Swiss quality firmly centre stage and, in doing so, making a huge contribution to our commercial success. I offer Markus my sincere thanks for his exceptional commitment to our company and for his outstanding team spirit; and I wish him all the very best and every further success.”

After serving in the strategic consultancy sector, Markus Binkert joined SWISS as Head of Global Key Accounts & Business Sales Switzerland in 2005. He went on to hold further positions in Product, Marketing and Distribution before being appointed to the SWISS Management Board as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) in 2013. In his CCO capacity Binkert had a strong and lasting impact on the entire SWISS look: his signature can still be seen today in the company’s aircraft interiors, its airport lounges and its inflight culinary offerings.