The Board of Directors of leading Swiss construction services company Implenia AG has appointed Dr. Werner Karlen (41) as the new Chief Executive Officer of Implenia.
D i e t l i k o n, 2 October 2008 – The Board of Directors of leading Swiss construction services company Implenia AG has appointed Dr. Werner Karlen (41) as the new Chief Executive Officer of Implenia. Werner Karlen, currently the Chief Operating Officer of Phoenix Mecano AG, takes up his new role on 1 February 2009. He replaces Christian Bubb, Implenia's longstanding CEO, who is stepping down having reached retirement age.Werner Karlen graduated from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in 1974 as an operations and production engineer, before going on to earn a doctorate from the University of St. Gallen with a dissertation on «Research and Development Strategy in Power Station Construction». After working initially for ABB Kraftwerke AG as a sales engineer for gas-fired power stations, Werner Karlen moved to McKinsey & Co. in Zurich, where he managed challenging industrial projects for several years. He then took over as head of operations, and member of the group executive board, at Biella-Neher AG, based in Brügg, Canton Bern. Since 2002, Werner Karlen has worked for Phoenix Mecano AG, which is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. As COO, he is responsible for overall management of the group, which employs 5,000 people and turns over sales of CHF 600 million a year.
«We are very pleased that such a highly qualified and experienced manager of major industrial companies as Werner Karlen is to lead our business,» commented Chairman of the Board of Directors Anton Affentranger as he announced the appointment of Implenia's new CEO. The Board of Directors also expressed its sincere gratitude to Christian Bubb, who has led the company successfully for 14 years, turning it into the undisputed industry leader.
With the selection of Werner Karlen as CEO and the recent appointment of Beat Fellman (44) as the new CFO, there has been a change of generation at the highest level of Implenia's leadership. This has significantly rejuvenated the firm's Group Management, which includes Hans-Peter Domanig (Real Estate Division), Arturo Henniger (Infrastructure Construction), Peter Bodmer (Global Solutions) and Luzi R. Gruber (Tunnel and Total Contracting) . This management team is now in an ideal position to move forward quickly and rigorously with the further implementation of Implenia strategic development as a high-value-added service provider. «The fact that we have enhanced our experienced management team with the addition of young, outstandingly qualified leaders sends out a clear signal to our employees, as well as to our clients and investors,» adds Chairman of the Board Anton Affentranger. «It demonstrates our well-founded belief in Implenia's future as an independent, growth-oriented company.»
Contact:
Implenia AG
Anton Affentranger
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Tel.: +41 43 233 39 65