SIA: Susanne Zenker new president
The Head of Development at SBB Real Estate is giving up her current job to become the first woman to head the Swiss Association of Engineers and Architects.
The delegates of the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA) have elected Susanne Zenker to the presidency for the first time in its almost 190-year history. They also strengthened the Executive Board with Sarah Kristin Schalles and adopted the SIA action plan "Climate, Energy and Resources".
Architect Zenker trained at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and is Head of Development and a member of the Executive Board of SBB Real Estate. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Swiss Building Culture Foundation. "The sustainable design of living space is a challenging and multifaceted task," said Zenker in her speech. "In the SIA, we therefore need to network our knowledge even more in order to remain effective. This is what I would like to do as President". She will take over the presidency from July 1 and will leave SBB Immobilien at the end of June 2024. Zenker is handing over the management of SBB Real Estate Development and all tasks associated with this function to an interim manager with immediate effect.
Zenker replaces the interim Co-Presidents Urs Rieder and Alain Oulevey at the SIA. They had led the association for the last 16 months.
Sarah Kristin Schalles newly elected to the Executive Board
The delegates also elected Sarah Kristin Schalles to the Board. Schalles is a qualified architect from Geneva and Managing Director of the Swiss Association for Sustainable Neighborhoods. In this role, she will deal with challenges at the interface between architecture, spatial planning and sustainability. "On the Board, Schalles would like to support the members in dealing with new topics in their day-to-day work and is committed to diversity and the integration of all parts of the country," it continues. (aw)
