At the General Meeting on 26 April 2021, the PostFinance Ltd Board of Directors will recommend that Marcel Bührer be appointed as its new Chairman. He is to succeed Rolf Watter, who will step down from the role at the end of June 2021. With many years of experience and extensive knowledge of retail banking, payment transactions and the digital arena, Marcel Bührer is the ideal candidate to ensure the company’s success during the 2021–2024 strategy period.

Marcel Bührer, born in 1960, graduated with a degree in economics in 1988 and subsequently began his career at Fides Informatik, where he managed projects for various banks. In 1992, he founded a consultancy firm, where he performed various mandates focusing on turnarounds. He joined Credit Suisse in 1999, took over the management of the Banking Operations & Logistics division in 2000 as Head of Shared Business Services and was appointed Head of Payments & Operational Front Support in 2003. From 2005 to 2018, Marcel Bührer was CEO of Swisscard AECS GmbH, where he developed the heavily technology-based and innovation-driven card and mobile payment business with great success. After a career break, he was appointed Chief Technology Officer at the newly founded insurtech startup Companjon in 2020.
Marcel Bührer studied economics at the University of St. Gallen and graduated from the Swiss Board School in 2020.

Long-term succession planning

Rolf Watter has been Chairman of the Board of Directors at PostFinance since summer 2012. He will step down from the role at the end of June 2021, after chairing the Board for nine years. During his term in office, Rolf Watter has played a significant role in driving forward PostFinance’s digital transformation and in expanding its partner business. Recently, he was instrumental in shaping the work on the new SpeedUp strategy. Like the entire Board of Directors, he firmly believes the right course has been set to stabilize PostFinance in the long term, following the decline in its result over recent years.

To ensure long-term succession planning, Rolf Watter decided to begin handing over the chair after completing the strategy work in summer 2020. Marcel Bührer is the ideal candidate to provide the stability required for the entire 2021–2024 strategy period. His appointment will also ensure that the new chair of the Board is already in office once the next strategy period begins.