Executive Board | Board of Directors
Executive Board
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Mathias Prüssing
Chief Executive Officer
Mathias Prüssing, Comfone’s CEO since January 2008, brings with him ten years experience in the telecom industry. An Attorney of Law, Mathias Prüssing furthered his professional training by completing an Executive MBA in General Management.
Before joining Comfone, Mathias Prüssing enjoyed executive-level involvement in a number of high profile telecom service providers within Switzerland. Most recently he was CEO of Infonet Switzerland. After the acquisition of Infonet Services Corporation by BT, he was a driver of the integration process between Infonet Switzerland and BT.
Previous to his work at Infonet, as Head of Corporate Development for Swisscom Solutions, he was responsible for Swisscom’s growth strategy. This position followed his role within the Participation Management and Business Development department of Swisscom. Mathias Prüssing’s significant leadership skills, flexibility and experience of working within the field of telecommunications bring a wealth of assets to Comfone.
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Matthias Rüfenacht
Chief Operating Officer
Matthias Rüfenacht, Comfone’s Chief Operating Officer, graduated in Electrical Engineering and then carried out further postgraduate studies in Software Engineering.
Following work in Development and Systems Engineering at Ascom, he joined Swiss telecom incumbent Telecom PTT, in the field of research and development for computer aided testing. Matthias Rüfenacht then stepped into the world of mobile communication as Head of Rating at Swisscom Mobile where he gained in-depth experience of all aspects of global roaming.
In 2002, he joined Comfone as Head of Operation and Customer Care and later on as Chief Operating Officer for the innovative WeRoam service. In this role he was responsible for the development and operation of an international WLAN Roaming Service for mobile operators and service providers.
In his current role since 2006, Matthias Rüfenacht is responsible for all service related aspects of Comfone including implementation, operation and customer support.
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Daniel Heutschi
Executive Vice President, Product Management
Daniel Heutschi, Comfone’s Executive Vice President, Product Management, graduated from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, with a Masters degree in Economics.
Following his studies he joined UBS AG in the Junior Key People (JKP) trainee programme within the department of Corporate Clients and Mergers & Acquisitions. Later at UBS, as Business Account Manager he took on responsibility for managing the accounts of a number of high profile business customers.
In 2004, Daniel Heutschi joined Comfone as Junior Product Manager. A year later, as Senior Product Manager, he was responsible for the development and growth of Comfone’s trendsetting Key2roam service, which currently lays claim to more than 100 mobile operator network members from around the world.
As Head of Product Management, Daniel Heutschi is responsible for market analysis, product management, strategic marketing and business planning for Comfone’s complete service portfolio.
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Hermann Jaun
Chief Technical Officer
Hermann Jaun, Comfone's Chief Technical Officer, graduated in Electrical Engineering and completed further postgraduate studies in Software Engineering. Having begun his career in hardware and software engineering, in 1989 he joined a software engineering firm where he was responsible for project development.
Before moving into the field of mobile communications, Hermann Jaun was responsible for developing a digital audio broadcasting system, which was introduced as an integrated solution to radio stations throughout Europe.
In his previous role at Comfone as Director of IT and Operations, he gained in-depth experience of all aspects of global roaming, from signalling, TAP file transfer and validation, fraud control, billing and management of roaming relations over Comfone's International Roaming Platform.
In his role, Hermann Jaun is responsible for the development of new services, including all infrastructure requirements enabling the operation and development of customer project.
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Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg
Executive Vice President, Strategic Development
Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg, Comfone’s Executive Vice President, Strategic Development, has an impressive professional background in the mobile telecommunications sector and in managing international sales teams to achieve successful results.
Of Dutch origin, Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg completed his education in the Netherlands specialising in Marketing and PR. Previous to joining Comfone in January 2009, Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg was CEO at Comsys, a Dutch company specialising in interactive telephony services, where he managed and implemented the international growth strategy within the telecom sector.
Previous to this position, as CEO and Founding Director of 3G Media Consult, he played a pioneering role in developing mobile content solutions. In 2004 Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg was named one of the best entrepreneurs in Europe by Eurowards. An active Board Member for the Global Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) since 2005, he is currently Chairman of the MEF for the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region.
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Markus Sager
Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales
Markus Sager, Comfone’s Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales, graduated in Electrical Engineering prior to completing further postgraduate studies at the Lucerne University of Applied Science in Business Development and Management.
Following his work in Software Development and as Product and Sales Manager at EROWA AG, Markus Sager joined AGIE Sales Ltd. as Marketing & Sales Manager. He then was promoted to Managing Director of Agie Charmilles Sales Ltd, which is part of Georg Fischer Corporation.
In 2009 Markus Sager joined TOGEWAconsult AG, a subsidiary of TOGEWA Holding AG and partner of Comfone AG, as Managing Director for Business Plan Development. He gained in-depth knowledge of the mobile roaming business and all its global services.
In his current role, Markus Sager is responsible for all Marketing & Sales related aspects of Comfone including management of the global Sales team, development and implementation of all marketing activities and Key Account Management.
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Marco Zahnd
Chief Financial Officer
Marco Zahnd, Comfone’s Chief Financial Officer, has had an active career as Controller and Auditor in various business sectors. He carried out his Bachelor degree in Business Administration in 1995.
Prior to joining TOGEWA Group in 2000, Marco Zahnd had worked as Financial Auditor for Ernst & Young, as Financial Controller for REHAU and later as Internal Auditor for Swisscom AG.
He joined TOGEWA as Project Leader with the task to set up the Group’s financial structure and controlling processes. In July 2001 Marco Zahnd was promoted to Group Controller of the TOGEWA Group where he gained in-depth knowledge of the mobile roaming business and all its financial aspects.
In July 2006, Marco Zahnd took over the position of Comfone’s CFO. Within this role he is responsible for all financial aspects of Comfone. Furthermore, he is also responsible for the entire finances of the TOGEWA Group.
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Board of Directors
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Walter Heutschi
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Walter Heutschi is known throughout the telecom industry for promoting GSM technology. He has worked to shape the GSM standard in mobile communications and was a leading advocate of GSM and inter-standard roaming.
With a Master in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration, Walter Heutschi joined PTT, predecessor to Swisscom. In 1992 he was appointed CEO of the Mobile Telecommunications Unit. Under his leadership Swisscom's mobile-subscriber base grew from a handful to 2.5 million.
In 2000, Walter Heutschi, together with three associates, acquired Comfone, a company specialising in roaming services for mobile operators, and founded the holding company, TOGEWA Group. Walter Heutschi and his colleagues launched the innovative WeRoam service in 2001, a service aimed at the rapidly growing technology of Wireless LAN. In the fast-moving telecoms environment it is crucial to be forward-looking and aware of market trends which Walter Heutschi persists in being.
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Géraldine Philippe
Géraldine Philippe graduated as an Attorney of Law from the University of Bern. She joined Swisscom in 1995 and was responsible for building up the legal service at Swisscom Mobile, where she was in charge of all legal matters concerning the international mobile telecommunications business. In 1997 she was instrumental in shaping the mobile regulations within the Telecommunications Act of Switzerland.
As a longstanding member in the GSM Association’s Legal Group, Géraldine Philippe contributes to discussions on contractual and other legal issues relating to the international GSM standard.
Géraldine Philippe created the legal structure of Comfone and each company of the TOGEWA Group. Today, all legal matters concerning the operation of TOGEWA Group and its companies are her responsibility.
Recognised as a legal specialist in all roaming matters, Géraldine Philippe's expertise is also sought after by international bodies requiring advice, expertise and consulting within the realm of roaming.
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Toni Stadelmann
Toni Stadelmann holds a degree in Electrical Engineering. Joining Swisscom in 1975, he deepened his knowledge in the telecom industry as he assumed various executive positions at Swisscom Mobile, including Head of Planning, Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Director of International Business and deputy Director.
An active member in international organisations promoting the standardisation of GSM, Toni Stadelmann played an important role in founding the GSM Association and he was elected to the Executive Committee of the GSMA from 1996 to 2002.
As chairman of the Inter-Standard Roaming Task Force he introduced the controlled opening of the GSM Association to roaming to other mobile standards, which with the formation of the GSM Global Roaming Forum represents an important milestone in the development of worldwide mobile communications.
Toni Stadelmann's vision is to achieve seamless, secure and open roaming between all mobile standards (GSM, 3G, WLAN, WiMax, etc).
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