CSEM appoints new Chief Financial Officer

Sara Girardi has a solid background in finance, having worked as Finance Director for Otis SA, Fribourg, where she was in charge of all economic activities. She started her professional career in 2005, as an external auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers SA in Geneva. She also worked for STMicroelectronics N.V. and Oriflame Cosmetics SA. She holds a degree in economic and social sciences from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and a Swiss federal diploma as a certified accountant from the Académie Suisse d’expertise comptable in Lausanne. She has been involved in voluntary work in Honduras since 2008.

CEO Alexandre Pauchard, comments on the new addition: "Sara is an innovative, analytical, and strategy‑oriented expert with over 18 years of experience in the finance industry and will join us as we continue CSEM's path to success. We are delighted to have found such a competent successor for André, who has done an outstanding job over the last 27 years and will start his well‑earned retirement in the summer of 2024. André has played a decisive role in developing CSEM into an internationally recognized and financially stable center of innovation. We would like to thank him for all his hard work."

"I'm looking forward to the new challenge," explains Sara Girardi. "The position as CFO at CSEM will open up new horizons and I'm looking forward to tackling the challenges ahead with the current teams. For me, being able to shape the company's strategy and work together with a large number of SMEs and start-ups in a wide range of markets was a deciding factor. In addition, I have a really strong interest in technology, and at CSEM, I'll be virtually at the source of innovation," the 45-year-old explains.

About CSEM–Facing the challenges of our time

CSEM is a Swiss technology innovation center developing advanced technologies with a high societal impact, which it then transfers to industry to strengthen the economy. The non-profit orientated, public-private organization is internationally recognized, and works to support the disruptive activities of companies in Switzerland and abroad. CSEM operates in the domains of precision manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable energy. To accomplish its mission as gateway between research and economy, CSEM's more than 550 employees from 46 countries collaborate with leading universities, scientific institutions, research institutes, and industrial partners. With its six sites in Allschwil, Alpnach, Bern, Landquart, Neuchâtel and Zurich, CSEM is active all over Switzerland.