At its meeting on 29 September 2025, the Board of Directors of Genève Aéroport appointed Jean-François de Saussure as its next Chief Executive Officer. A seasoned executive with solid experience in business development, innovation and institutional relations, Jean-François de Saussure has spent his professional career with emblematic Swiss companies SGS, SICPA and Caran d'Ache, where he was Chief Executive Officer from 2012 to 2021. A specialist in corporate governance and a fine connoisseur of the local economic and institutional fabric, Jean-François de Saussure was able to convince the Board of Directors with his strategic vision to support the development of Genève Aéroport towards an attractive, accessible and sustainable multimodal mobility platform, serving the population of Geneva and the region. He will take up his position on November 1, 2025.
After graduating in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva in 1989, Jean-François de Saussure began his professional career in 1990 at Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS). For twelve years, he successively held the positions of subsidiary manager in various countries in Africa and South America, then head of business development. In 2003, he joined the Vaud-based company SICPA Product Security SA as Director of Business Development. He also oversees institutional and government relations, and provides regional leadership for Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In 2012, he took over the general management of Caran d'Ache. During his nine years in this position, he contributed to the development and visibility of the brand. Under his leadership, the company is expanding e-commerce, expanding its distribution network and strengthening its commitment to customer experience, innovation and sustainability.
Since 2021, he has been working as an independent consultant in strategy, organisation and development, and sits on the board of directors of various companies, both in Switzerland and internationally. Jean-François de Saussure is a graduate expert in governance and is a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). He is also a volunteer director of several foundations and public interest associations active in Geneva. Between 2015 and 2021, he was a member of the Economic Council, then of the Committee of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services (CCIG).
After having participated in the development of Swiss economic flagships and their international influence in highly regulated environments, Jean-François de Saussure will put his experience and skills at the service of Genève Aéroport, which is in a historic investment phase to meet major transformation challenges.
" With his strategic vision as well as his managerial and commercial experience, Jean-François de Saussure appears to be an asset in implementing the orientations defined by our Board of Directors ," says Christian Lüscher, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Genève Aéroport. " Over the course of his career, he has demonstrated his ability to innovate, to unite teams to achieve ambitious objectives and to gain the trust of economic, political, associative and social partners. It will also make a valuable contribution to the further efforts initiated in the area of customer experience," adds Christian Lüscher.
For his part, Jean-François de Saussure welcomes his appointment with enthusiasm : " I am delighted to shape, alongside the Genève Aéroport teams, the future of this flagship institution in the canton and the region, namely an attractive, accessible, contemporary multimodal mobility platform geared towards customer satisfaction. I will be committed to ensuring the quality of services in a context of architectural change, to ensuring the commercial development of the new platform and to guaranteeing its harmonious integration through a sustained dialogue with the neighbouring municipalities, associations and social partners. I have an ambitious, innovative and sustainable vision for Genève Aéroport, so that we can be proud of this Geneva emblem and that it continues to serve the inhabitants, businesses and stakeholders of international Geneva in the best possible way."
Jean-François de Saussure will take up his position as Chief Executive Officer on November 1, 2025. He will succeed Gilles Rufenacht, to whom the Board of Directors of Genève Aéroport expresses its deep gratitude for his commitment.