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Christoph Franz (born 2 May 1960 in Frankfurt) is a German engineer and manager who served as chief executive officer of
Advisory Board
University of St. Gallen. * International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Member of the Assembly (since 2017)
Christoph Franz (born 2 May 1960 in Frankfurt) is a German engineer and manager who served as chief executive officer of Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
from 2011 until 2014.
Early life and education
Franz studied industrial engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt and completed his studies with a Ph.D. in economic sciences at the same university. He also studied at the École centrale de Lyon and conducted post-doctorate research at the University of California, Berkeley.Career
Franz joined Lufthansa in 1990. During that time, he was involved in Lufthansa's turnround following the Gulf War, when he served in the office ofJürgen Weber
Jürgen or Jurgen is a popular masculine given name in Germany, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands. It is cognate with George. Notable people named Jürgen include:
A
*Jürgen Ahrend (born 1930), German organ builder
* Jürgen Alzen (born 19 ...
, the then chief executive.
In 1994 Franz moved to German railway operator Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
. From 2004 until 2009 he was CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Swiss International Air Lines.
From 1 January 2011 until 30 April 2014 he served as CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG as successor of Wolfgang Mayrhuber. During his time in office, he sought to fight back against the budget airlines by eliminating duplication between Lufthansa's point-to-point short-haul services and Germanwings. Also under his leadership, Lufthansa completed the sale of its UK subsidiary British Midland International
British Midland Airways Limited (trading at various times throughout its history as British Midland, bmi British Midland, bmi or British Midland International) was an airline with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close to ...
to International Airlines Group.
In 2011, Franz accompanied Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Angela Merkel on an official trip to Kenya, Angola, and Nigeria.
In 2013, Franz stepped down as chief executive of Lufthansa midway through the airline's restructuring programme to become chairman of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche the following year. He had been a member of Roche's board since 2011.
Other activities
Corporate boards
* Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), Member of the Advisory Board *Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.
is a drug manufacturer operating in Japan. It is a subsidiary controlled by Hoffmann-La Roche, which owns 62% of the company as of 30 June 2014. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. Osamu Nagayama is the current representative director and c ...
, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2017)
* Zurich Insurance Group, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2014)
* Stadler Rail
Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is also focused on niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock ...
, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2011)
* Swiss International Air Lines, Member of the Board of Directors (2009-2016)
* JetBlue, Member of the Board of Directors (2008-2011)
Non-profit organizations
*Avenir Suisse
Avenir Suisse is a Classical liberalism, classical liberal think tank focused on Switzerland’s future in political, economical and social areas. Its main goal is to stimulate the public debate and to provide new ideas through the publication of ...
, Member of the Board of Trustees
* Baden-Badener Unternehmer-Gespräche (BBUG), Member of the Board
* European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), Member
* Lucerne Festival, Member of the Board of Trustees
* University of Zurich, Swiss Institute of International Studies (SIAF), Member of the Board of Trustees
* University of Zurich, Department of Economics, Member of the Advisory Board
* University of St. Gallen, Member of the advisory board (since 2018)University of St. Gallen. * International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Member of the Assembly (since 2017)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franz, Christoph 1960 births Living people Businesspeople from Frankfurt German airline chief executives Lufthansa people Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni