Corporate governance

As a family-owned company, we can remain agile while keeping a close eye on the market and upcoming trends. Our flexible organizational structure allows us to respond swiftly to our customers’ concerns and needs. Kistler follows the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance and has a certified quality management system in place as per ISO 9001.

Executive Committee

Marc Schaad
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Responsible for: strategic leadership of the company, implementing business plans, and monitoring operational performance

Marc, a native of Zurich, was born in 1971. After graduating from ETH Zurich with a degree in mechanical engineering, he worked as a Development Engineer at Rieter, the textile machinery company, in Winterthur. From 1997 onwards, he spent seven years at Schweiter Technologies (the manufacturer of textile winding machines) in Horgen, Switzerland: here, he was a Project and Development Manager and a Member of Management. From 2006 to 2008, Marc was responsible for corporate R&D testing and qualification at Schindler, the elevator and escalator company. After two years as Chief Technology Officer at Itema, the Italian company that ranks as the global market leader in weaving machines, he became Chief Technology Officer of the Kistler Group in 2010. Marc Schaad has been Chief Executive Officer of the Kistler Group since January 2025.

Timo Gutbub
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Responsible for: Group finance, controlling and accounting, order management, and corporate information and communication technologies (ICT)

Timo was born in Uster (Switzerland) in 1983. He holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich. From 2008 to 2010, he worked as a Project Controller at ABB, going on to become a Commercial Controller with the SR Technics Group. Timo joined Kistler in 2013, initially as Controller and, from 2016 onwards, as Head of Controlling. Timo Gutbub took up the position of Chief Financial Officer in October 2020.

Dr.-Ing. Marc Hehle
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Responsible for Corporate Research & Technology

Born in 1974 in Konstanz, Germany. He studied Mechanical Engineering and completed his doctorate at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). He worked at MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH from 2005 to 2018 – initially as a development engineer, later as a team leader in Research & Technology, and finally as a team leader in Process Optimization / Manufacturing Engineering in assembly. He joined Hug Engineering in Elsau, Switzerland, in 2019 – first as Vice President of Research & Development before becoming Chief Technology Officer in 2022. He joined the Kistler Group as Head of Research & Development Sensors in July 2023. Marc Hehle took over as Chief Technology Officer in January 2025.

Peter Höffgen
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Responsible for: the business platform, with three Business Units – Industrial Production, R&D, and Infrastructure and Generic Products

After graduating from the University of Siegen with a degree in industrial engineering, Peter worked for Siemens Automotive in Germany from 2000 onwards. Here, he held various positions including Sales Manager, Project Manager, and Head of Strategic Planning, Marketing and Communication in the Powertrain Division. From 2008 to 2014, he was Director Product Line Fluid Sensors at Continental. He then became Director Product Line Acoustic Performance at Forvia / Faurecia in France. In 2019, Peter joined Hug Engineering in Elsau (Switzerland) where he held the positions of General Manager Europe, Chief Sales & Project Officer and – for almost a year –interim Chief Executive Officer. In June 2023, he joined the Kistler Group as Head of Advanced Products and a member of the Executive Committee. Peter Höffgen took up the position of Chief Marketing Officer in January 2025.

David Stucki
Chief Sales Officer (CSO)

Responsible for: the global sales and service organization

David, a native of Zurich, was born in 1987. He completed his vocational training in mechanical engineering and went on to gain a Bachelor’s degree in communications. Between 2019 and 2021, he obtained his Master’s degree in marketing management and sales on an in-service basis while working at Kistler.

David began his career at Rieter, the textile machinery company, in 2003 – initially as a Mechanical Engineer and later in marketing. From 2011 to 2017, he held various marketing positions at BIG KAISER-Europe, a Japanese manufacturer of cutting tools. David joined the Kistler Group at the end of 2017 and was Divisional Marketing Manager for the Sensor Technology Division until 2020. He was appointed Head of the Test & Measurement Business Unit in 2021 and went on to become Head of Sales Excellence and interim Head of the DACH sales region. David Stucki has been Chief Sales Officer of the Kistler Group since January 2025.

Claudio Valeri
Head of Production and Logistics

Responsible for: Group production and logistics

Claudio was born in Bülach, Switzerland, in 1965. He studied mechanical engineering at the School of Engineering, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, and completed a postgraduate degree in industrial engineering. Claudio worked for Bucher Industries AG from 1988 to 2003, initially as a Production Engineer and later as Head of Logistics and Production. Between 1996 and 2003, he was initially General Manager of Bucher-Schoerling Italia for four years, and then General Manager of the Bucher-Guyer AG PROMEC Business Unit. From mid-2003, he was General Manager of the Automotive Business Unit at Dätwyler Sealing Solutions. Claudio Valeri has been with the Kistler Group since 2008, in the role of Head of Production & Logistics and as a member of the Executive Committee. From 2021 to 2023, he was also a member of the Board of Directors of Oskar Rüegg AG.

Extended Executive Committee

Tilman Kley
Chief People Officer (CPO)

Responsible for: human resources

Tilman was born in Nürtingen (Germany) in 1979. After graduating with a degree in business law, he worked as an HR officer at T-Systems in Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Germany). In 2007, he joined Ericsson's R&D Center in Aachen as an HR business partner and in 2010, he went on to become Head of HR Switzerland for Ericsson in Bern. From 2015 to 2022, Tilman held various HR roles at Autoneum Management AG in Winterthur (Switzerland). He has been Chief People Officer of the Kistler Group since August 2022.

Susanne Korfitsen
Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Responsible for: corporate information and communication technologies (ICT)

Susanne was born in St. Gallen (Switzerland) in 1976. She holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (specializing in business engineering) and a degree in IT business management from the University of St. Gallen – School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences, International Affairs and Computer Science (HSG). During her education, she held various positions as a project manager/support staff member at MGB and ISS Holding AG. Between 2004 and 2008, Susanne worked as an external consultant/project manager in the ICT environment, and she was involved in setting up itwo AG. From 2008 to 2018, she held various management positions in the Business Applications Division at Zurich Insurance. Susanne Korfitsen joined Kistler in 2018 as Head of ICT Business Applications, and she took on the role of CIO in 2023.

Thomas Kärcher
Head of Compliance and Corporate Staff

Responsible for: compliance and various areas of corporate staff (M&A, Legal, Risk Management, QHSE/ESG)

Thomas was born in Erlenbach (Switzerland) in 1962. After graduating from the University of Zurich with a lic. phil. II degree (in economic and social geography), he entered the consulting sector (BHP, Zurich / 1990–1994). Thomas served as Managing Director of Stadtmarketing Winterthur from 1994 to 2002, and then became Managing Director of the Volkart Foundation in Winterthur from 2002 to 2005. Since then, he has held various positions within the Kistler Group.

Thomas Kärcher is the Kistler Group's representative on the Board of the Winterthur Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Association (HAW).

Roberto Gorlero, Head of Corporate Region West at Kistler

Roberto Gorlero
Managing Director & Head of Corporate Region West

Responsible for: EMEA and LATAM sales regions

Roberto was born in Alassio (Italy) in 1963. After studying industrial electronic engineering at the University of Genoa from 1982 to 1987, he worked as a Proposal Engineer at the Carlo Gavazzi Group from 1987 to 1992. From 1992 to 1998, he was Key Account Manager for the Oil & Gas Division at Foxboro USA. He then held the position of Sales Manager at Invensys Italia until 2004. Roberto joined the Kistler Group in September 2004, and has been General Manager and Managing Director of Kistler Italy and Spain ever since then. He was also Sales Manager for Southern Europe (Italy, Balkans, Spain, Portugal, and Türkiye) between 2008 and 2020. In 2021, Roberto took on the additional role of Head of Corporate Region West, overseeing 12 sales offices around the world covering 90 different countries in EMEA and LATAM. Roberto Gorlero has been a member of the Italian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce since 2016.

Michael Raber
Head of Corporate Region East

Responsible for: Asia Pacific sales region

Michael was born in Saarbrücken (Germany) in 1962. He graduated from Saarland University with a degree in electrical engineering (Dipl. Ing.). Michael began his career at Landis+Gyr Switzerland as a Development Engineer, going on to become Head of the Measurement and Materials Laboratory. In 2000, he moved to Asia where he managed the establishment of Landis+Gyr's first production facility, followed by the company's local Competence Center in China. In 2008, he joined 3S Swiss Solar Systems (which later became a subsidiary of Meyer Burger); here, he built up the regional sales and service network as General Manager Asia Pacific. Michael Raber has been with Kistler in Hong Kong since 2010, first as Continental Head APAC and now as Head of Kistler's Corporate Region East.

Alban Brisset
Chief Operation Officer (COO) China

Responsible for: business activities in the China sales region

Alban was born in France in 1979. He graduated from the École polytechnique in Palaiseau (France) in 2001, and obtained his Master's degree in automotive engineering from RWTH Aachen University (Germany) in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, he held various Program Manager positions with Saint-Gobain, first in France and then in China. In 2008, he joined Inoforges Suzhou as General Manager. Then in 2011, Alban moved to Forvia / Faurecia where he held various positions in Sales / Strategy and General Management, both in China and France. Alban Brisset joined the Kistler Group in January 2024 to take up the position of COO China.

Kim Pfluger
General Manager North America

Responsible for: business activities in the North America sales region

Kim was born in Solothurn, Switzerland, in 1986 and holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich. He began his career with the Kistler Group in 2012 as an engineer in sensor development and was subsequently promoted to Head of WIM Sensor Development. Seeking more responsibility and international experience, he moved to the United States, where he took on the role of Engineering Director for North America. In 2021, his responsibilities expanded to include oversight of all manufacturing operations in the US. In April 2025, he was appointed General Manager for North America. In this role, Kim is responsible for leading all regional activities and driving growth across all business units.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors supervises and supports the Group’s active business, advises on strategic matters, and approves corporate planning and the allocation of financial resources.

The Board of Directors of the Kistler Group (left to right):

Lino Guzzella, Member of the Board of Directors
Ursula Oesterle, Member of the Board of Directors
Fabian Chiozza, Member of the Board of Directors and Group Chief Financial Officer, VAT Group AG
Matthias Altendorf, Member of the Board of Directors and President of the Supervisory Board of the Endress+Hauser Group, founder and owner of Bionic Leadership
Valentin Vogt, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Conrad Sonderegger, Member of the Board of Directors
Reto Bolt, Member of the Board of Directors and COO Industry Segment, HUBER+SUHNER AG