HSG, Militär, Schnupftabak: Peter Spuhler will in Asien und Amerika wachsen – setzt in seinen Firmen aber voll auf Schweizer

Stadler Rail und Rieter have appointed new CEOs, both of whom are Swiss and studied in St. Gallen – similar to most of their peers in the executive team. Experts warn that this lack of diversity could be risky. At a celebration in January 2025, Stadler's management team, comprising eleven men with short haircuts, gathered. The atmosphere was one of camaraderie, akin to a sports team's training camp.

The few women present were responsible for refilling glasses, and some even partook in smoking tobacco, a traditional gesture. The company celebrated the inauguration of its first Flirt-Evo train for the regional railway company Regionalps. Despite defining the USA as a key growth market, Stadler has struggled to find American leaders at the highest levels.

Only two Germans, out of eleven Swiss executives, hold international positions. Rieter, where Spuhler holds a 33% stake, also recently named a new CEO. However, unlike Stadler, Rieter's executive team and board are composed entirely of Western Europeans – three Swiss, two Germans, and one Frenchwoman. European investors contribute the majority of Rieter's revenue, while Asia only contributes 53 million francs.

Experts argue that homogeneous teams can fall prey to groupthink and fail to consider the perspectives of distant or culturally different markets. Therefore, having international leaders can be highly valuable for a company. Still, the importance of diversity is contingent upon the nature of the business. While larger Swiss companies should generally have more international executives, finding suitable individuals for Rieter's Asian markets may prove challenging.