Executive Leadership Team
Members of the Executive Leadership Team
The Board of Directors appoints the Executive Leadership Team, which is responsible for the Group’s operational management and for implementing the strategies and policies of the Board of Directors worldwide. All members of the Executive Leadership Team served in the same roles at SMG AG until the IPO.
Christoph Tonini
Chief Executive Officer
since 2023, born 1969
Other current assignments: Member of the Board of Directors of Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, Marquard Media Group AG, Radio Zürisee AG, Lift AG, and Properti AG. Chairperson of the Board of Directors of SMG AG and Flatfox AG.
Previous assignments: CEO of TX Group from 2013 to 2020 (formerly Tamedia until 2020); previously held various positions within the Tamedia Group and Ringier. Member of the Boards of Directors of SMG AG, TX, Goldbach Group, Goldbach Medien, Zürichsee Medien, Mühlemann & Pop, and Bontique AG.
Education: Engineering degree from the ESIG; Executive MBA from the University of St.Gallen.
Boris Gussen
Chief Financial Officer
since 2021, born 1969
Other current assignments: Member of the Board of Directors of SMG AG, moneyland.ch AG, IAZI, Informations- und Ausbildungszentrum für Immobilien AG. Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Ricardo AG.
Previous assignments: CFO of Scout24 Schweiz AG, Finance Director of Ringier AG, and Head of Controlling of eBay Inc, among other roles.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences Aachen; MBA from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne; Diploma in finance strategy from the University of Oxford.
Jessica List
Chief Corporate Officer
since 2022, born 1983
Other current assignments: Member of the Board of Directors of SMG AG.
Previous assignments: Head of Group M&A and Strategic Projects, member of the extended Group Executive Board, and CFO Africa and Asia of Ringier AG, among others. Prior to that, M&A and Equity Capital Markets Advisory at Leonardo & Co and at Sal. Oppenheim jr.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of Basel and master’s degree in banking and finance from the University of St.Gallen.
Martin Waeber
Managing Director Real Estate
since 2021, born 1971
Other current assignments: Member of the Board of Directors of Flatfox AG and IAZI, Informations- und Ausbildungszentrum für Immobilien AG. Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Casasoft AG. Managing Director of acheter-louer.ch & Publimmo Sàrl.
Previous assignments: Managing Director of ImmoScout24 and Chief Operating Officer of Scout24 Schweiz AG. Among other roles, Chief Marketing Officer of eny Finance, and Director of Marketing and Sales of the Touring Club Schweiz.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from FH Fribourg University of Applied Sciences and an executive master’s degree in communications management from the University of Lugano.
Alberto Sanz de Lama
Managing Director Automotive
since 2023, born 1969
Other current assignments: none.
Previous assignments: CEO of Herold Data. Among other roles, Managing Director of LexisNexis, Country Manager of eBay, Co-CEO of AutoScout24 Group Germany, and Brand Manager of Procter & Gamble.
Education: Degree in business administration from the University of Zurich and MBA in business administration from INSEAD.
Francesco Vass
Managing Director General Marketplaces
since 2021, born 1974
Other current assignments: Member of the Board of Directors of Chimpy AG. Member of the Board of Directors and CEO-Delegate of Ricardo AG.
Previous assignments: CEO of Ricardo AG and of tutti.ch AG. Prior experience also includes leadership roles at Sunrise/UPC Cablecom and Zattoo, as well as a consulting role with McKinsey & Company.
Education: Degree in electrical engineering from ETH Zurich and MBA in business administration from INSEAD.
Other Activities and Vested Interests
Please refer to “Members of the Executive Leadership Team” above for other activities and vested interests of the members of the Executive Leadership Team.
Permitted Additional Activities
Under Article 23 of the Articles of Association, members of the Executive Leadership Team may, subject to approval of the Board of Directors, hold a certain number of mandates in other companies with an economic purpose, including within their respective groups. This includes one mandate in a listed company and up to five mandates in other companies with an economic purpose that do not qualify as listed companies.
Mandates in companies that are under common control or subject to the same beneficial ownership, and mandates held at the request of the Company or its group companies (including mandates in joint ventures and pension funds), are considered as a single mandate.
Mandates in companies that are controlled by the Company or that control the Company, as well as mandates in associations, charitable organisations, foundations, employee welfare foundations, and similar organisations are not subject to the above limitations. However, no member of the Executive Leadership Team may hold more than 15 mandates in legal entities that qualify as companies with an economic purpose.
The limits set out above may be exceeded for short transitional periods. As of the reporting date, all members of the Executive Leadership Team were in compliance with the provisions of Article 23 of the Articles of Association.
Management Contracts
SMG Swiss Marketplace Group Holding AG has not entered into management contracts with companies or natural persons that do not belong to the Group.