Mario Corti (Manager)
Mario Corti Arnold ( born October 22, 1946 in Lausanne ) is a Swiss manager. He was the last chief executive officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board of SAirGroup.
Life
Corti grew up in Kirchberg near Bern, studied in Lausanne, was an officer in the Swiss army, and later worked in California in the aluminum industry and graduated from Harvard University in a second degree. Back in Switzerland, he worked then at the Swiss National Bank and the Federal Office for Foreign Economic Affairs, before joining as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer ( CFO) at Nestlé. During this time he was a member of the Board of SAirGroup. After the dismissal of the CEO Philippe Bruggisser by the Board President Eric Honegger in January 2001 and the resignation of the entire board of directors in March 2001, it the position of the Chairman and interim CEO was offered.
His first task was to shed light on the opaque financial linkages of the Group and to measure the extent of financial difficulties. In April 2001, he had a net income with a loss of 2.9 billion Swiss francs announce - it was just under 2.5 billion to contain provisions for the withdrawal from the numerous ruinous investments in airlines. Shortly thereafter, he presented a comprehensive restructuring plan: With Belgium and France, he was able to agree on an exit and initiated a program to improve results, which should save 500 million francs a year. In addition, a Task Force was set up, which should develop synergies between Swissair and Crossair. End of August 2001 he gave the half year figures, where all investments were fully consolidated for the first time. Corti decided that Group companies Nuance ( Tax Free Shops ) and Swissport ( Ground services ) to sell in order to strengthen the massively shrunken equity again. In addition, 1,000 jobs should be eliminated. Thanks to these measures and disposals had means to be free in the amount of approximately CHF 4.5 billion. The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States made the remediation aspirations a spanner in the works. The planned disposal of assets were impossible, as these had become almost worthless overnight. The demand - collapse plunged the entire aviation sector in the biggest crisis since its existence and the ailing SAirGroup in an acute liquidity crisis. Together with the two major Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse rescue scenarios were discussed. On 1 October 2001, the sale of the stake in Crossair the big banks (Plan Phoenix) was announced to it lay the foundations for a new national airline ( see Swiss). For Swissair and parts of SAirGroup the moratorium was requested.
The crossfire of criticism Corti came in the spring of 2002, when it became known that his five-year contract with Swissair was doped in advance with a total of CHF 21'219'298. Of which was about half from now worthless options and the purchase price for the acquisition of his house in western Switzerland to the official market price.
From a criminal action for creditors injury, multiple unfaithful agency, multiple false statements about commercial trade, mismanagement, Gläubigerbevorzugung and multiple perfect experiment to in connection with his role as the last head of Swissair Corti was in the first instance by the district court Bülach on 7 June 2007 as all 18 other defendants fully acquitted in the so-called " Swissair Criminal ". He received a compensation process of CHF 488'681 first, in 2008 it was increased to CHF 558'425. The prosecutor withdrew the judgment no further. The Canton of Neuchâtel, the Belgian State and two controlled by the Belgian State company, the Société Fédérale de Participations et d' Investissement and the Société Anonyme Zephyr -Fin, appealed against the acquittal of Mario Corti in two counts of an appeal. The Supreme Court of the Canton of Zurich said Corti free in June 2008. The plaintiffs in the appeals process have to pay a compensation process for the second method of CHF 123'686 and take over the court costs of CHF 15'000 Corti.
Mario Corti moved to Boston in 2002. There he let himself elected to the Advisory Board of the Harvard Business School, where he has done his MBA in 1975. Since 2004, Corti holds a license for the control of line machines, a license as a flying instructor came later. Today ( 2011) Corti lives with his wife alternately in Boston and Savannah (Georgia ) and is active as a flight instructor.