Organization

Stephan Zizala has served as Chief Executive Officer of u-blox since January 1, 2023. He joined u-blox in October 2022. Prior to joining u-blox, from 2014 to 2022, Stephan led the business line Automotive High Power of the Automotive division of Infineon Technologies AG. He was responsible for high-voltage Silicon and Silicon Carbide, as well as low-voltage power semiconductor products used in electrified, automated, and smart cars. From 2009 to 2013, Stephan headed the business segment of industrial and multimarket microcontrollers. He joined Infineon in 2001 and held several marketing and management positions in various business units, such as microcontrollers, security ICs, and wireless baseband ICs. Prior to joining Infineon, Stephan worked as an associated member of staff in Infineon’s mixed-signal development team doing project work for his PhD thesis. His industry expertise includes further positions at Synopsys Inc. and Siemens AG. Since 2016 Stephan has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Schweizer Electronic AG and currently serves as Deputy Chairman. Stephan Zizala was born in Augsburg, Germany, in 1972. He holds a Dipl.-Ing. and Dr.-Ing. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Technische Universität München (Technical University Munich), Germany.

Andreas Thiel is Head of Product Centers at u-blox AG, a role he took on in early 2019. From 1997 to 2012, he was Executive Vice President R&D Hardware of u-blox AG, and from 2007 to 2012 he served as Executive Vice President (R&D Hardware) of u-blox Holding AG. From 2012 to 2019, he acted as Executive Director Cellular Product Development. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from Aachen University (RWTH) in Germany. From 1994 to 1997 he was a research assistant and project manager at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). In 1997, he co-founded u-blox AG.

Jean-Pierre Wyss co-founded u-blox AG in 1997. Since the incorporation of u-blox Holding AG in 2007, Jean-Pierre Wyss served as a Member of the Board of Directors and, until 2011, as CFO. Currently, he is Head of Production and Logistics of u-blox AG. From 1995 to 1997, he was a research assistant and project manager at ETH. Jean-Pierre Wyss is a Member of the Board of Ardo Medical AG, Switzerland. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and a Finance for Executives diploma from INSEAD in Singapore. He is a citizen of Switzerland.

Roland Jud has been appointed CFO of both u‑blox Holding AG and u‑blox AG in 2011. He holds a degree in economics from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), a diploma as Swiss Certified Auditor (CPA) and a diploma as Certified IFRS/ IAS Accountant. From 1992 until 1999 he was auditor and consultant at KPMG. He served as Group Controller and Deputy CFO at Gurit‑Heberlein Holding AG, Switzerland from 1999 to 2008. Thereafter, he was Head of Accounting, Reporting and ICS at Ascom Holding AG, Switzerland until 2010. From 2010 until 2011 he held the position of CFO and Member of the Executive Committee at Nexgen AG, Switzerland. Roland Jud is a Member of the Advisory Board of c‑crowd AG, Zürich.

Markus Schaefer joined u-blox as Member of the Executive Committee for Global Marketing and Sales in September, 2019 and is based in Thalwil, Switzerland. He holds a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from RWTH Aachen, Germany and an MBA in Leadership from Tiffin University, Ohio, USA. He worked at Infineon Technologies from 1995 to 2009 in Application Engineering, Marketing and Sales, mainly based in San Jose CA, USA. He served as Senior Director of Global Sales and Marketing at NXP for RF and Power Management from 2009 to 2014 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. From 2014 to 2019, Schaefer held the position Head of Sales EMEA and India at MACOM Technologies based in Duesseldorf, Germany. He is a citizen of Germany.

André Müller was CEO of Cicorel SA (Switzerland) and member of the Cicor Technologies gGroup Committee from 2006 - 2009. From 1998 - 2007 he was CEO and as of 1999 Chairman of the Board of HCT Shaping Systems SA (Switzerland). From 1993 - 1996 he was Vice President and from 1996 - 1998 General Manager of ESEC SA (Switzerland). Prior to that, he held different positions in research and development divisions in the aerospace industry. Mr. André Müller is Member of the Board of Essemtec AG (Switzerland), DW Holding AG (Switzerland) and Bangerter Microtechnik AG (Switzerland). He holds a degree in engineering (ETH). He is a citizen of Switzerland.

Thomas Seiler has been a Member of the Board of Directors since the incorporation of u-blox Holding AG in 2007. He served as CEO of u-blox AG from 2002 to 2022 and as Head of Marketing and Sales from 2002 until 2019. In 1987, he was appointed Member of the Executive Committee of Melcher Holding AG, Switzerland, where he acted as CEO from 1991 to 1998. Thereafter, he served as CEO of Kistler Holding AG, Switzerland, from 1999 to 2001. Thomas Seiler is a member of the Board of Directors of Alpstock AG, Switzerland. Thomas Seiler holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and a MBA diploma from INSEAD, France. He is a citizen of Switzerland.

Jean-Pierre Wyss co-founded u-blox AG in 1997. Since the incorporation of u-blox Holding AG in 2007, Jean-Pierre Wyss served as a Member of the Board of Directors and, until 2011, as CFO. Currently, he is Head of Production and Logistics of u-blox AG. From 1995 to 1997, he was a research assistant and project manager at ETH. Jean-Pierre Wyss is a Member of the Board of Ardo Medical AG, Switzerland. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and a Finance for Executives diploma from INSEAD in Singapore. He is a citizen of Switzerland.

Mr. Looser is an independent non-executive member of the u-blox Board of Directors.

He has vast experience in private equity investments and consultancy. Prior to founding Berg Looser Rauber & Partners in 2009, he was a managing director at Accenture from 2001 – to 2009, after a career at McKinsey & Company (1987 – 2001), with extensive work in the area of finance and accounting. Mr. Looser is a Board member of Kardex Group, Straumann Group as well as LEM, and is a member of various associations and foundations. Mr. Looser holds a master’s degree in physics from ETH Zurich and a master’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of St. Gallen. He is a citizen of Switzerland.

 

Mr. Borchert has more than 25 years of international experience in the telecommunications, IT and IT services industries. Presently, he serves as CEO of Nokia Shanghai Bell and President of Nokia Greater China. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Borchert was leading the European operations of Nokia. Earlier leadership positions with Nokia and Siemens include roles in global sales, strategy, marketing, portfolio management, business unit management and key account management. Mr. Borchert also serves as President of DIGITALEUROPE, Europe’s largest industry association for the digital sector, and as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of several joint venture companies of Nokia. He holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a citizen of Germany.

Ms. Sonnenmoser has extensive experience in finance, capital markets and M&A. She currently serves in the Board of Directors of Leoni AG (Germany), a global supplier of wires, cables and wiring systems, and is an independent senior advisor for Innio Jenbacher GmbH & Co KG/ Al Alpine (Luxembourg). Most recently, she served as a Board member of Swiss Steel Group AG (2020 – 2022) and was a member of the Executive Committee of Ceconomy AG (2019 – 2021) where she oversaw strategy, capital market action and M&A. Previously, she was a member of the executive committee of Zumtobel Group AG (2014 – 2018), responsible for strategy and capital market affairs. Before that, she held various finance positions at Volkswagen Group (1995 – 2014), including accounting, controlling, innovation strategy and process optimization. Ms. Sonnenmoser holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Augsburg and an Executive MBA from the University of Dayton, Ohio. She is a citizen of Germany.

Ms. Eckstein has more than 35 years of industrial experience in the field of semiconductors, Electronics and Photonics. Since 2019, she has been serving as President and CEO of Enics Group, a leading global electronics manufacturing service provider headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Previously, she held multiple top-level management positions in leading global companies including Operating and Digitalization Officer at Weidmüller Group (2013 – 2018) and COO of Osram Lighting (2008 – 2013), before that at AMD/Global Foundries, Altis Semiconductors and Siemens/Infineon. She is a member of the Boards of Directors at Jenoptik, KK Wind, Saferoad and BE Semiconductor. Ms. Eckstein holds a degree in electrical engineering from Siemens Academy. She is a citizen of Germany.

“Working at u-blox is exciting and rewarding. Here you are surrounded by highly competent, helpful and fun colleagues; here you get to know the hero behind the wireless technology embedded in our everyday life; and here you become passionate about how much our technology and products can make an impact. What is truly amazing is that at u-blox quality is really part of our culture. It is a mentality built into processes at every step – from design, testing, and manufacturing to sales and service. This makes it a lot easier for me as a Quality engineer, as our quality organization always strives for continuous improvement and even better customer satisfaction. I also enjoy the open communication and trustful atmosphere at u-blox, which really enables the seamless cooperation between different sites and functional organizations. Great teamwork, well-structured work flows, positive work environment, clear goals, achievable targets, and happy people – u-blox has it all. “

"It’s a particularly interesting experience to work at u‑blox because the company is growing significantly and constantly trying to improve itself. I have the freedom to make the necessary decisions to do my work properly. Colleagues outside my practice area with whom I have contact are generally cooperative. I can generally decide for myself the best way to get my work done."