Benedikt Weibel

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Benedikt Weibel (1992)

Benedikt Weibel (born October 15, 1946 in Thun ) is a Swiss manager . From 1993 to 2006 he was chairman of the management of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and thus its general director.

biography

Benedikt Weibel (far right) at the groundbreaking ceremony for Bahn 2000

Weibel grew up in Solothurn , where he graduated from high school. He then studied business administration at the University of Bern . Between 1971 and 1975 he worked as an assistant at the Business Administration Institute at the University of Bern. In 1975 he moved to SBB as secretary to the then President of the Executive Board , Roger Desponds . His ascent began with his appointment as SBB General Secretary in 1983.

In 1986 Weibel became director of the passenger transport marketing division, in 1990 head of the transport department and on January 1, 1993 the Federal Council appointed him head of SBB. Since the transformation of the state railway into a special statutory stock corporation of the federal government in 1999 he led the company as chairman of the management. He had surprisingly announced his resignation on February 24, 2006. On December 31, 2006, he resigned from this post. His successor was the 45-year-old lawyer Andreas Meyer , who gained management experience at Deutsche Bahn .

In addition to his work as SBB boss, Weibel also presided over the Union internationale des chemins de fer from February 1, 2003 . From January 1, 2003, he was also a member of the board of directors of the French state railway SNCF . After his resignation, he returned to the University of Bern as a lecturer. He also became a delegate of the Federal Council for Euro 08 . In addition, he acts as Chairman of the Board of Directors of WESTbahn .

Weibel is now active as an author, publicist and on administrative boards.

Weibel is married, has three adult children and lives near Bern . He is an enthusiastic hobby athlete (including mountaineering with a mountain guide license, cycling, jogging and Nordic walking), which is why he justified his resignation with the fact that as an athlete one should stop when he is still in full possession of his strength. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland , which often did not take the same position as Weibel on SBB's employment policy. Weibel is a lecturer in practical management at the business administration department of the University of Bern.

Balance as SBB boss

Under Weibel, SBB was trimmed to be “ready for the market” and new service contracts were determined. At the same time, the cost pressure increased, to which the SBB responded with job cuts and outsourcing.

During the 14 years of the Weibel era, SBB was able to expand its range of services, including the introduction of Bahn 2000 on December 12, 2004, with the biggest timetable change in Swiss railway history.

On June 22, 2005, there was a total blackout in the traction network. In the evening hours of this summer day, 2000 trains stood still across Switzerland and around 200,000 passengers were blocked. It took days for rail traffic to normalize again and the damage to SBB amounted to 5 million francs.

Weibel always described 1994 as the most difficult year under his leadership: On March 21, 1994, nine people were killed and 19 others injured in a train accident in Däniken . The explosion of a gasoline train in Affoltern, Zurich, and a chemical accident in the Lausanne train station made this year the blackest of his career for Weibel. He then ordered a comprehensive safety program for the entire company.

Books

Awards (excerpt)

literature

Web links

Commons : Benedikt Weibel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SBB from 2007 without Benedikt Weibel . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . Issue 4/2006, ISSN  1421-2811 , p. 178.
  2. ↑ Ex-SBB boss Weibel will challenge Austria's state railways from 2011. Article in the Tages-Anzeiger , June 19, 2009.
  3. ↑ Questions to Dr. Benedikt Weibel . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International . No. 3 , 2013, p. 146-149 .
personal data
SURNAME Weibel, Benedict
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss manager
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Tuna