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Peter Spuhler

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Swiss industrialist and politician

Peter Spuhler
Official portrait, 2007
Member of the National Council (Switzerland)
In office
6 December 1999 – 31 December 2012
Succeeded byVerena Herzog
ConstituencyCanton of Thurgau
Personal details
BornPeter Christoph Spuhler
(1959-01-09) 9 January 1959 (age 65)
Seville, Spain
CitizenshipSwiss
Political partySwiss People's Party
Spouse
Andrea Schaffner ​ ​(m. 1986, divorced)​ Daniela Hoffmann ​(m. 2008)​
Children4
ResidenceWarth-Weiningen, Switzerland
EducationUniversity of St. Gallen
OccupationEntrepreneur
Military service
Allegiance  Switzerland
Branch/serviceSpecial Forces Command (Switzerland)
Rank Captain
UnitGrenadier

Peter Christoph Spuhler (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈpeːtər ˈkrɪstɔf ˈʃpuːlər]; born 9 January 1959) is a Swiss business magnate, industrialist and politician who most notably served on the National Council (Switzerland) from 1999 to 2012 for the Swiss People's Party.

In 1989, Spuhler took-over Stadler Rail, which was founded by the grandfather of his first wife Ernst Stadler, and has served as its chief executive officer 1989 to 2017 and again on an ad interim basis from 2020 until 2023. He built the company almost from ground-up to a multinational concern with notable projects such as Caltrain in California. His net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion by Forbes magazine.

Early life and education

Spuhler was born 9 January 1959 in Seville, Spain, the older of two children, to Paul Spuhler (1920-2014), a chef, and Margrit Spuhler (née Bossard; 1920-2017). His father was the head chef of the Dolder Grand in Zurich, Switzerland from 1960 to 1987. He has one younger sister, Maya Spuhler.

After completing his Matura in Zurich, as well as compulsory military service, Spuhler studied business administration at the University of St. Gallen from 1980 to 1986. In his youth he played ice hockey for the Grasshopper Club Zürich.

Professional career

Stadler Rail

After marrying into the Stadler family, Spuhler took up his position in 1987 at Stadler Fahrzeuge AG, which was then managed by Irma Stadler, the widow of company founder Ernst Stadler. Two years later, he took over the company with its 18 employees and a turnover of approx. 4.5 million Swiss francs, according to his statement with a bank loan from the Thurgauer Kantonalbank for around 5 million Swiss francs. He restructured it and, with the Stadler GTW, opted for a new vehicle that was more suitable for modern local transport. In order to continue to be successful in rail vehicle construction, Spuhler bought the Werk Altenrhein from Schindler Waggon AG in 1997. The new holding structure favored expansion into Germany and Eastern Europe. On 1 April 2018, Spuhler handed over the management of the Stadler Rail Group to Thomas Ahlburg. Since then, he has concentrated on the Stadler Rail Group as president of the board of directors. As of May 2020, due to differences in the strategic and organisational development of Stadler Rail AG, he took over the position of Group CEO ad interim until 2023, when Markus Bernsteiner took over as the new CEO.

Other roles

Spuhler is a member of the board of directors of the Aebi-Schmidt Group and is on the board of directors of two other companies: Gleisag (Rorschach) and Walo Bertschinger AG (Zurich). Since April 2019, he has been a member of Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG and also sits on the supervisory board of Robert Bosch GmbH. He is also a member of the Mittelthurgau Employers' Association in Weinfelden, the IG Freiheit, the Thurgau Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Weinfelden) and the Information Service for Public Transport (Bern). Spuhler is also involved in the Tele D Foundation (Diessenhofen) and is vice president of the Betriebs AG of the ZSC Lions.

Political career

From 1999 until 2012, Spuhler sat as a member of the National Council of Switzerland, representing the canton of Thurgau for the Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), and also sat on the Swiss government's parliamentary committee for economy and taxation. Unlike the vast majority of the SVP/UDC caucus, Spuhler is supportive of the freedom of movement of workers between Switzerland and the EU,

In November 2020, Spuhler was offered the position of Switzerland's honorary consul to Russia, but declined the office.

Personal life

In 1986, Spuhler married Andrea Schaffner, a granddaughter of Ernst Stadler, who founded Stadler Rail. They had two children;

  • Lucas Spuhler (born 1991)
  • Laura Spuhler (born 1994), married to Rolf Hächler.

They were divorced in the 2000s. In 2008, Spuhler married secondly to Daniela Hoffmann (born 1977), who owns the construction companies Esslinger Ltd. and Barizzi Ltd., in Zurich, which she took-over from her parents. They had two children;

  • Ladina Spuhler (born 2009)
  • Laurin Urs Spuhler (10 September 2015 – 30 October 2015), died in childbed.

Spuhler and his family resides in Warth-Weiningen.

References

  1. "Ratsmitglied ansehen". Federal Assembly. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  2. "Peter Spuhler". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  3. "Stadler wins big contract for Caltrain bilevel EMUs | Trains Magazine". Trains. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. Death notice of Paul Spuhler-Bossard https://www.todesanzeigenportal.ch/?Bhdj1p37RRFFyCwFUNMir00kde2ZCWva4E0QxrN6HxN94BXywoYJdS67xgneLyCqh6D2dkSpDvIhOC2uI2e13dTiKBx6B0ceOXWGfvbBc13E4B9GRodKZWzPdBWO
  5. Death notice of Margrit Spuhler-Bossard https://www.todesanzeigenportal.ch/?HmAxo3kOY3T7timnteMB4o5UjwUIC3N0O0IKNkSlMtdZF8x8kRB7Eu7I1aBkVsWp0QLC17lrA5fNr9sRgsu7gx8J7aYd8pYqQEYGatOoNWPXcXDJEc67sHORO9OP
  6. Staub, Inge (13 January 2015). "Paul Spuhler hat die «Dolder»-Küche geprägt". St. Galler Tagblatt (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Interview with Irma Stadler". Pressebureau Christof Lampart (in German). 9 October 2012.
  8. "Irma Stadler im Alter von 96 Jahren verstorben". Radio TOP. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  9. "Gülsha: «Gib mir Geld, dann verbessere ich die Welt»". Focus Blind Date (in Swiss German). SRF. 14 July 2016. Event occurs at 7:00. Embedded audio player: "Focus Blind Date mit Gülsha und Spuhler – das ganze Gespräch".
  10. "Peter Spuhler übergibt die Funktion des Group CEO an Thomas Ahlburg" (Press release) (in German). Stadler Rail AG. 20 September 2017.
  11. "Chefwechsel bei Stadler Rail: Peter Spuhler zurück als CEO". Handelszeitung (in German). 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. "Spuhler tritt als Chef von Stadler Rail zurück". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  13. Burroughs, David (31 August 2022). "Stadler appoints new CEO as order intake soars". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  14. Delic, Melita (29 March 2019). "Personelle Veränderungen in der Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG und in der Robert Bosch GmbH" (Press release) (in German). Robert Bosch GmbH. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  15. "Peter Spuhler". The Swiss Parliament. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  16. Spuhler, Peter (20 May 2011). "«Die Personenfreizügigkeit ist etwas Gutes»" (video). Interviewed by Marco Metzler. Relevant statements begin from 3:11 – via YouTube.
  17. "Russland ernennt Stadler-Rail-Chef zum Honorarkonsul". blue News. Keystone-SDA. 3 November 2020.
  18. "Peter Spuhler nimmt Amt als russischer Honorarkonsul nicht an". Handelszeitung (in German). 3 November 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  19. https://www.blick.ch/wirtschaft/stadler-patron-peter-spuhler-62-baut-sohn-lucas-30-als-nachfolger-auf-spuhler-junior-fuehrt-bald-1400-leute-id16905789.html
  20. https://www.blick.ch/wirtschaft/stadler-patron-peter-spuhler-62-baut-sohn-lucas-30-als-nachfolger-auf-spuhler-junior-fuehrt-bald-1400-leute-id16905789.html
  21. "Peter Spuhler's daughter Laura: wedding in Celerina, Marc Sway as a guest". Ground News. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  22. "Unternehmen". Esslinger AG (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  23. "Daniela Spuhler-Hoffmann: Die unerschrockene Frau vom Bau". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  24. "Peter Spuhler SVP, Stadler Rail & Frau Baby tot Trauer um Sohn". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  25. "Peter Christoph Spuhler in Warth - Auskünfte". Moneyhouse (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2024.

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