Philippe Bruggisser
Philippe Bruggisser ( born September 11, 1948 in Wohlen AG ) is a Swiss manager in the airline industry. He was in the years 1996 and 2000/ 01 Chief Operating Officer ( COO) of Swissair and 1997-2001 President of the SAir Group Executive Committee. Pursued by him growth strategy, which had to build a stand-alone aviation alliance goal was largely responsible for the bankruptcy of Swissair in October 2001.
Biography
Education and professional career
After attending primary school and the district school in Wohlen he graduated from 1964 to 1969 the seminar in Wettingen, interrupted by a one-year stay as a guest student in the USA. Subsequently, he studied economics at the University of Basel and business administration and law at the University of Geneva. His professional career began in 1976 as assistant general manager of the Union Bank of Switzerland.
In 1979 Bruggisser for Swissair and worked as a controller. In 1984 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Swissair North America range from 1987 to 1990 he was head of the controlling area. After a short stint as a project manager of a profit improvement program he took over in 1991 the Directorate chaired Swissair Investments AG, a position he held until 1995. In addition, he was from 1992 to 1994 Member of the Swissair management. Under Brugg Issers guide Swissair acquired the catering area of SAS Scandinavian Airlines. From 1995 he was a member of the Swissair Group management.
Swissair chief
In 1996 Bruggisser as Chief Operating Officer for the operational management of the Group and was also Deputy Chief Executive Officer. The following year, he conducted a comprehensive restructuring of the Group; it was the SAirGroup, the Swissair now a constituted of several subsidiaries. In 1997, Bruggisser the post of Group Executive President, the operational management of Swissair he gave up. In 1993 the project " Alcazar " - an association of Swissair, KLM, SAS and Austrian Airlines - had failed, he followed the advice of the management consultant McKinsey setting up its own alliance. This risky " Hunter strategy " called for the purchase of airline companies and investments.
The first step was 1996, a stake in the Belgian Sabena. In 1998, the airline alliance Qualiflyer Group was established under the leadership of Swissair. Other interests in the Italian Volare, the French Air Littoral and the German LTU added. The first positive annual results in 1997 and 1998 spurred the Board to continue the strategy. The crash of Swissair Flight 111 overshadowed the fiscal year 1998. Delta Air Lines announced in 1999 the cooperation with Swissair and Austrian Airlines left the Qualiflyer Group.
Despite these setbacks Bruggisser held unswervingly to the Hunter strategy. This was followed by investments in the South African Airways, the French companies AOM, Air Littoral and Air Liberté, the Italian Air Europe and the Polish LOT. He also initiated the acquisition of shares in the Portuguese TAP and Portugalia. Most of these companies were in need of repair, so that was necessary in addition to the purchase price of additional capital restructuring.
In July 2000 Bruggisser took over temporarily re the operational management of Swissair. He then came under public pressure, as the group's ailing financial situation was known. Thus, the daily loss was Swissair and Sabena in each one million francs, another million went every day at LTU and the French investments lost. The Board left the first time to calculate exit scenarios from the level of investments in other airlines and dismissed Bruggisser in January 2001 without notice. His successor Moritz Suter and Mario Corti could not prevent the collapse of the Group in October 2001 and its liquidation in March 2002.
More Stations
As a result, the press mainly Bruggisser and its expansion for the demise of Swissair blamed. Former employees but it designated as complying with integrity and praised his leadership qualities. Ultimately, he had tried to enforce only the strategy decided by the Board. Bruggisser withdrew initially largely from the public gaze. In November 2006, failed in his attempt to be elected to the Board of Directors of South African Airways.
The prosecutor of the canton of Zurich raised in March 2006 in connection with the Swissair bankruptcy case against Bruggisser and another 18 people. They were accused, among other things of forgery, mismanagement and creditors injury. Bruggisser was accused of multiple false certification and multiple and simple breach of trust. He dismissed all allegations, the district court Bülach acquitted him on June 7, 2007. He received a compensation process in the amount of CHF 80'947. The prosecutor withdrew the judgment no further; so is the acquittal judgment.
From 2009 to 2010 he was back in the air transport industry operates, as CEO and Board of Directors of VistaJet, a company specializing in the operation of private aircraft company.