Change at the top of Swiss Sailing Team AG: Christian Scherrer to succeed Tom Reulein
by Swiss Sailing Team 12 Nov 2021 22:27 AEDT
After 11 years of dedicated work and support for Swiss Olympic sailing, Team Manager Tom Reulein has decided to leave SST AG, with effect from the end of this year.
He will be succeeded by former Americas' Cup sailor and sailing expert Christian Scherrer. The change at the top will be accompanied by a reorganisation that will give SST AG a flatter management structure in order to ensure more effective support for elite Swiss sailors.
New career focus after 11 years at SST AG
After working through two Olympic cycles, Tom Reulein has decided to step down as Team Manager at Swiss Sailing Team AG, with effect from the end of this year, after which he will pursue new career opportunities. Reulein, who was born in Germany, can look back on a successful year in 2021 as he ends his 11 years of dedicated work at SST AG. Under his direction, elite Swiss sailing and Olympic sailing have become even more professionalised and have further consolidated their outstanding global position by achieving solid results.
"It was an honour for me to be able to manage Swiss Sailing Team AG for so many years", says Reulein. "My own goal was always to get the most out of the resources at my disposal in order to support my sailors and their coaches. Since the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, my colleagues Marco Brunner and Marco Versari and I have been able to extensively further develop the funding and support structure for our elite sailors and up-and-coming sailors. I'm very pleased to now be able to hand over a strong SST AG organisation to my successor, and I wish him and the entire team continued success on the road to Paris in 2024."
The Board of Directors of Swiss Sailing Team AG together with the Central Executive Committee of Swiss Sailing thank Tom Reulein for his outstanding work and great dedication to Swiss sailing and also wish him all the best and continued success both privately and professionally.
Flatter management structure will ensure a greater focus on sport aspects
Swiss Sailing Team AG is taking advantage of the change at the top to make some adjustments to its management structure. Reorganisation measures here have led to the creation of a part-time CEO position, which Christian Scherrer, who is already well known in the world of Swiss sailing, will assume in January 2022.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Sailing Team AG, Alex Schneiter, is happy to welcome Christian Scherrer aboard: "With Christian Scherrer, we have a CEO who has outstanding connections as a result of his many years of experience both on the Swiss sailing scene and in the international sailing world." Christian Scherrer for his part is also enthusiastic about his new position: "I'm really looking forward to supporting the Swiss Sailing Team in its Olympic efforts - although it's just as important to support younger and even the youngest sailors, who are the future of our sport."
Within the framework of the reorganisation, Marco Brunner, who has served for many years as Office Manager at SST, will become Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SST AG. Riccardo Giuliano was recently named Head Coach Juniors, and a new Head Coach Elites will also soon be appointed. As a result, the operational management structure will now focus even more strongly on the athletes at SST AG.
"Our greater focus on sport aspects will enable us to establish an even more professional framework for our up-and-coming sailors and elite sailors in terms of individual support and training conditions", Alex Schneiter explains. "This in turn will enable us to achieve our ambitious goals."
Christian Scherrer - Sailor with a passion
Christian Scherrer was discovered by Pierre Fehlmann at the age of 21 and spent his first season as a professional sailor on the Maxi Yacht Merit Cup. After that, he served as watch captain on the Merit Cup in the Whitbread Round the World Race (1993-94).
He has competed in four America's Cup campaigns and was part of the winning Team Alinghi in 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2004 he graduated from Zürcher Hochschule Winterthur with a "Diplom" (Master's Degree) in Sport and Management. In 2006, he won, together with Peter Gilmour, the ISAF World Match Racing Championship, and in 2008 he and Sebastien Col finished as the runner-up for the title.
Christian Scherrer has been involved at the highest level of professional sailing for over 25 years. He is also very much in demand as a consultant, event organiser, sailing commentator, keynote speaker and coach. As an event manager, he spent many years managing the St. Moritz Match Race and the Volvo Match Race Cup. He is the founder and partner of Bluboats GmbH, and since 2007 the sailing expert for the Swiss national TV (SRF). Since 2015 he is the Class Manager for the GC32 foiling catamaran and the manager of the GC32 Racing Tour.
Christian Scherrer is 51 years old, married, has two children and lives in Uerikon am Zürichsee.