SRG Deutschschweiz: Andreas Häuptli succeeds Andreas Schefer

In Andreas Häuptli, a person who knows the media scene very well is coming to the helm of SRG Deutschschweiz, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. He was Managing Director of the Swiss Media Association VSM until spring 2021 (Werbewoche.ch reported). Now he will represent the media landscape from a different perspective: "I am a staunch advocate of the public service and stand unreservedly for independent media; they are the foundation of our democracy," emphasized Häuptli in the Regional Council, the electoral body of the Swiss-German regional association.

From his current position as Managing Director of TCS Zurich, the largest section in Switzerland, he is familiar with a comparable, multi-level association landscape to that which he encounters at SRG. After his apprenticeship as a typesetter at the then Aargauer Tagblatt his career increasingly developed in the direction of marketing and digitalization. While working, he completed a corresponding MAS and took a seat on the management board of the NZZ before moving to the VSM publishers' association. He has led TCS Zurich since 2021, but his interest in the media never left him, and the opportunity to contribute to the development of SRG prompted him to apply for the presidency.

In his new role, Andreas Häuptli will also chair SRG Deutschschweiz, the largest regional company of SRG SSR. It is divided into six regional member associations with a total of 16,000 members. Ex officio, the association president also sits on the nine-member Board of Directors of SRG SSR.

Häuptli succeeds Andreas Schefer, who has to relinquish the chairmanship due to the statutory term limit. Schefer is delighted with the outcome of the succession process, which was first initiated with a public tender: "In Andreas Häuptli, a proven expert on the Swiss media landscape is taking over the leadership of SRG.D, and I am convinced that he is ideally suited to the challenging tasks ahead."

Audience Council: Peter Spring succeeds Martin Peier

At its meeting in mid-November 2023, the Public Council elected its former Vice Chairman Peter Spring from Widen AG as Chairman of the Public Council from January 2024. The election became necessary after Martin Peier stepped down from his position as Chairman at the end of 2023 and will also leave the Council. In view of the new concept for the Audience Council from January 2025, Peter Spring will be responsible for shaping a transitional year with the Audience Council, which will also pose particular challenges in terms of monitoring current SRF programs against the backdrop of media policy upheavals. (pd/swi)