WITENA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Alessio Lucchini manages research and operations activities at Witena Executive Search, helping the search consultants better serve their clients. Over the last 20 years he has been a member of search teams for a wide variety of organisations, market sectors and roles, including multinational corporations, entrepreneurial businesses, and family-owned companies.
Alessio was head of research at another top international search boutique and head of research for Korn/Ferry International's Swiss operations, where he led the research activities of offices in Geneva and Zurich. He started his search career as a research analyst with Ray & Berndtson Switzerland, where he was promoted to head of research and quality assurance.
Alessio studied psychology and philosophy at the University of Zurich and subsequently pursued a career in fine arts. He held several exhibitions in prestigious galleries.
In his leisure time, Alessio is interested in many subjects in the fields of art, science, and philosophy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Dominik Suter knows from his own experience the challenges industrial companies face. He has a 20-year track record as a CEO, member of the board of directors and consultant who has successfully steered many companies - which were often in distressed circumstances - back onto the road to success. At Witena Executive Search, he has been providing executive search services at top management and supervisory board level in the industrial, energy and medical technology sectors since 2015 and he is committed to heterogeneity on leadership bodies.
Dominik has many years' leadership experience as a CEO and member of group management of a number of global industrial companies operating in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. His most recent position was heading up a leading international manufacturer of motor homes and caravans in Germany, while at the same time holding a group management position in which he was responsible for strategy and organisation. After graduating, he spent six years as a corporate consultant focusing on strategy implementation and operational excellence for industrial and service companies.
Dominik studied law and business administration at the University of Zurich and gained a PhD summa cum laude. He also completed a certified training program for members of the board of directors.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Project Manager
Elinora Selimi has consistently directed her professional career towards the field of project management. At the beginning of her career, she was part of the Swiss project management team of a leading consulting and planning firm for infrastructure and real estate projects across Europe.
At Witena, she brings a broad spectrum of knowledge and intercultural competence, connecting clients and candidates alongside the lead partners. In her role as Project Manager, she oversees the execution of national and international search assignments at the senior management level across various industries and markets. Additionally, she is responsible for the company-wide Process and Quality Management.
Elinora Selimi completed her studies with distinction as a certified businesswoman and was awarded in the Swiss federal ranking. Furthermore, she has continuously pursued further education, subsequently obtaining a diploma as a business specialist and is soon to complete her studies as a business economist at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences.
A passionate reader, Elinora Selimi dedicates her leisure time to her extensive collection of books, reflecting her love for literature, cultures, and languages. To balance her interests, she spends a significant amount of time engaging in outdoor sports and enjoys exploring unknown destinations through travel.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
As a Project Assistant, Livia supports the consulting activities of the Witena partners and accompanies both clients and candidates throughout the entire recruitment process. Before joining the Witena team, she graduated from the Hotel Management School in Zurich and subsequently had the opportunity to gain international experience. Besides work Livia likes to spend her free time with friends, traveling or if possible both combined. She enjoys good food and is always up for board games.
Lukas Scheier, Senior Researcher at Witena, brings extensive expertise in various domestic and international markets, with a focus on selecting highly qualified executives for various key positions at board- and senior management level.
Prior to his role at Witena, Lukas gained valuable professional experience in the Professional Services industry at the renowned strategy consulting firm Boston Consulting Group.
Currently, Lukas is nearing the completion of his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the ZHAW School of Management and Law in Zurich.
In his leisure time, he enjoys engaging in outdoor sports activities, particularly sailing and windsurfing.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Matthias Rüegg is familiar with the current challenges facing the business leaders of financial service providers from his own experience in the field. As a member of the executive board within a globally leading insurance group and with two decades of industry experience behind him, he has in-depth expertise of the insurance markets. At Witena, he offers executive search at supervisory board and top management levels, and for selected key functions with specific focus on the insurance, health insurance, fin- and insurtech sectors.
Before joining Witena, Matthias worked for the Swiss operations of Zurich Insurance Switzerland. Most recently appointed to the executive board as Head Retail Transformation & Innovation, he was previously responsible for customer management and the digital business.
Prior to that, he held various management positions within AXA Switzerland in the areas of strategy and product management, marketing & sales, and partner management. Most recently he was responsible for the Swiss private customer non-life business. Before that he gained consulting and auditing experience at PWC Switzerland.
In parallel with his executive management roles, he was also a member of various supervisory boards and chairman of the board of directors of a legal protection insurance company.
Matthias studied business administration and also holds an executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen. He has also completed numerous in-house and external training courses at renowned institutes (including IMD, HSG, and Henley Management School), which he complemented with various management training courses and an intensive board of directors course at the Swiss Board School. He has also been active as a lecturer and speaker at universities of applied sciences, focusing on business model development, innovation management, and leadership. He is an advocate of heterogeneous teams and is committed to diversity.
Besides work, Matthias' sources of energy are his family, his friends, nature, and sport. He is a passionate freerider in winter and enjoys mountain biking and jogging in summer.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Michael Oesch has more than 25 years of national and international executive search experience, with a focus on the industrial, aerospace, defence and high-tech industries as well as technology and communications. At Witena Executive Search, he conducts search assignments in these industries at supervisory board and top management level.
His many years of experience and expertise includes filling every kind of position in top-level management as well as successfully carrying out search mandates in various European countries.
Before joining Witena, Michael spent almost ten years as an owner and CEO of an executive search boutique in Zurich. Prior to that he was a partner in a Switzerland-based international recruitment consultancy firm for four years. The beginnings of his career in consultancy included positions at some of the world's leading executive search firms, thereof six years as a principal consultant at Korn/Ferry International.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Applied Science Zurich. In addition to his mother tongue of German, he is fluent in English and has a good knowledge of French.
Michael is married and has two grown-up daughters. In his free time, he loves going for walks with his wife and dogs, seeing live bands in the big concert arenas, watching TV blockbusters with his family or rummaging through his vinyl record collection.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Oliver Berger has focused on filling top positions in financial services, private equity, real estate and life sciences for more than a decade. At Witena, he additionally provides "Board Advisory" across a broad range of industries.
Oliver Berger most recently worked for Korn Ferry International, the world's largest executive search and people advisory firm. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant for renowned executive search boutiques and in outplacement, where he learned a lot in the field of psychology and diagnostics. His many years of experience include the successful execution of search mandates in the leading European business nations.
From the very beginning of his career, he focused on leadership, first as a lecturer in adult education, then in management consulting as a coach and as a trainer for executives. Today, he is still fascinated by how the topic of leadership is evolving and supports executives in particular as they move into the Executive Committee and transition to the Non-Executive Board.
Oliver Berger studied law at the University of Basel and the University of Freiburg im Breisgau and graduated with a Master's degree. He also holds a diploma in coaching and organisational consulting from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and regularly publishes specialist articles in relevant media.
In his private life, Oliver Berger spends a lot of time with his family, especially travelling, doing sports and in the mountains. He keeps fit with disciplined early-morning exercise and supports Swiss manufacturers and craftsmanship with his company "Tell swiss made".
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
- Member of the Partners & Project Managers Team
- Partner
Samuel Berger has a broad expertise in the technology and communications markets and a profound understanding of the digital shift with a focus on IT security, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies. As a former executive board member of technology companies, he is aware of the scope and limits on corporate decisions, where there is a difficult balancing act of adapting established business models to new, technology-related market requirements.
Samuel provides executive search in the technology, communications, and software sectors, focusing on executive and top management positions as well as key commercial roles, such as chief sales officer or chief business development officer.
Across industries, his focus is on technology management leadership positions such as chief information, chief digital, chief technology, chief security officer, and new technology ventures.
In his most recent position, he was chief sales officer and a member of the executive board of Futurae Technologies AG, a very successful cybersecurity company founded at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.
Samuel is an advisory board member of various technology companies and strongly aims to promote Switzerland as a prime location for technology. As a passionate advocate for the Swiss start-up scene, he argues the need for courage and decisiveness to help promote innovation and new projects.
He studied at the Universities of Zurich and Fribourg and graduated in economics and communications.
In his private time, Samuel enjoys his life to the fullest. He relishes spending time with his family in the great outdoors, playing tennis, and savoring the Swiss mountain air. His heart also beats for balmy evenings and crowded markets in the south of France, good food around large tables surrounded by friends, good music, and trips to foreign countries.