The Fiber Optics division has grown rapidly in recent years and has expanded its portfolio with two acquisitions. As part of the succession plan involving the present COO Fiber Optics, Urs Ryffel, who will take on the position of CEO of the HUBER+SUHNER Group as the successor to Urs Kaufmann, Fiber Optics will be separated into two divisions. The FO Mobile Com & Industry division will focus on solutions for the mobile communication (Fiber to the Antenna), network equipment suppliers and industrial customer segments. The FO Wireline & Data Center division will concentrate on applications in the core network, FTTH and data center markets. Together these two divisions will constitute the Fiber Optics segment also in the future.
Experienced managers from within its own ranks
To manage these two divisions, experienced individuals with impressive track records from within the company were appointed: Fritz Landolt, who came to HUBER+SUHNER just over two years ago, will manage the FO Mobile Com & Industry (FO MCI) division. Martin Strasser, who has been employed by HUBER+SUHNER for 14 years, is taking over the management of the FO Wireline & Data Center (FO WDC) division. Both new divisional managers will assume their responsibilities on 1 October 2016 and will be promoted to the Executive Group Management on 1 January 2017.
Fritz Landolt (Swiss citizen, born in 1967) has a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, completed postgraduate telecommunication studies and holds an EMBA from the University of Zurich. His current tasks include responsibility for outdoor products and the Fiber to the Antenna market. Before joining HUBER+SUHNER in early 2014 Fritz Landolt was employed by Sunrise and Huawei. Among other things he was responsible for setting up and operating the Sunrise mobile communication network. For the management of the new FO Mobile Com & Industry division, Fritz Landolt will be able to rely on his extensive market expertise and his well-founded technological know-how.
Martin Strasser (Austrian citizen, born in 1974) holds a doctorate in technical sciences from the TU Vienna and has been employed by HUBER+SUHNER since 2002. He is currently responsible for the Fiber Management products as well as the FTTH and Data Center markets. Prior to this he successfully developed the Fiber to the Antenna business. The appointment of Martin Strasser as head of the new FO Wireline & Data Center division enables HUBER+SUHNER to focus on continuity in these growth markets as well.