Who we are

Management Board

Responsible for the operational management of Sunstar Hotels Management AG and for implementing the directives and strategies defined by the Non-Executive Board.

 

Silvio Schoch CEO

Swiss, year of birth 1970

Silvio Schoch, has been with Sunstar since 2017, initially as Finance Director and a member of the Board. Then in 2018 the Non-Executive Board elected him Chairman of the Management Board and since 2019 he has been CEO of the Sunstar Group.

A trained chef and qualified restaurant/hotel manager and business economist, he has 30 years' experience in the tourism industry and in international hotel chains, mainly on the finance and cost control side. Before Sunstar his last post was as Regional Director of Finance and Business Support Central Europe with FRHI Hotels & Resorts (now called Accor Hotels). He also completed a Master's in Hospitality Management at Cornell University and an MAS in Cost Control at the University of Applied Sciences for Business Administration in Zurich.

Married with children, he is a keen cook and passionate about good food. When time permits, he may also be seen riding his mountain bike or playing golf. If he had more time, he would like to read more books, because he is thirsty for knowledge and always wants to learn new things. He is not only a hotel manager, but often also a guest in Sunstar hotels himself. He is firmly convinced that "Our staff are the heart and soul of Sunstar."

Silvio Schoch

CEO
Katja Lemmler Leiterin HR

German, year of birth 1977

Katja Lemmler, a member of the Management Board, has been with Sunstar Hotels since 2013 and is in charge of Human Resources and central services.

She is a qualified hotel manager with 20 years' experience in the hotel and healthcare industries. She has also completed a Bachelor's in Business Administration at Steinbeis University in Berlin and a Master's in Hospitality Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Chur.

She is married with one son and is a member of the Slow Food movement. In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, cycling, practising yoga and occasionally simply relaxing. A lover of fine food, she is often to be found in the kitchen: she particularly loves conjuring up the flavours she remembers from her childhood. Or she opens up the Too Good To Go app and says to her son: "Come on, let's go and rescue some food." It has now become a regular family adventure. 

Katja Lemmler

Head of HR
Florian Hofer CFO

Swiss, year of birth 1983

Florian Hofer, Head of Finance and a member of the Management Board, has been with Sunstar since 2020. A qualified business manager and fiduciary , he completed an MAS in Cost Control at the University of Applied Sciences for Business Administration in Zurich and has 17 years' experience in the fields of finance, cost control, auditing and trusteeships. He worked for 12 years in the finance departments of two industrial companies and before that was an auditor with PwC for 5 years.

He has a young son and lives near Solothurn. In his free time he enjoys being outdoors with his family and loves discovering the world anew through the eyes of his son. If he ever has any time to spare, he likes to relax by getting some exercise, so you may find him on his racing bike, in the swimming pool or jogging in the woods. "Anything so long as it's outdoors" is his motto for his free time.

Florian Hofer

CFO
Marco Barbon Head of Facility

Swiss, year of birth 1958

Marco Barbon, a member of the Management Board, has been with Sunstar Hotels since 2018 and his areas of responsibility are facility management and sustainability. He is a qualified electrician with 40 years' experience in the hotel industry, having worked for over 37 years as Director of Engineering for the Swissôtel Group in Zurich and Basel, among other places.

He was often involved in new Swissôtel projects elsewhere in Europe, for example Swissôtel Berlin. He has also taken various continuing education courses on leadership and communication.

The married father of adult twin daughters lives in Zurich with his family and likes to indulge in his two hobbies of football and swimming. You can tell that his forefathers came from the Veneto from his love of cooking, red wine and, of course, la Bella Italia. He believes that, above all, it is the Sunstar Group's diversity that makes it stand out: "Each Sunstar hotel has its own special charm and character."

Marco Barbon

Head of Facility
Sunstar Swiss Hotel Collection Petra Goetting

Petra Götting

Head of Commercial

Non-Executive Board

The highest decision-making body of the Sunstar Hotel Group, it is responsible for determining company strategy and is elected by company shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.

 

Kuno Sommer VR Praesident

Swiss, year of birth 1956

Dr. Kuno Sommer has been Chairman of the Board of Sunstar Holding AG since 2016, and also serves as Chairman of the Board for Bachem AG, Polyphor AG, PDS Pathology Data Systems AG, Kenta Biotech AG and Targimmune Therapeutics AG, among others.

He gained an MBA from the University of Basel and also took a PhD there. Between 1986 and 1999 he held various posts with Roche and spent four years in the USA. Kuno Sommer's last position at Roche was as a member of the group management team with responsibility for the Flavors and Fragrances division, now called Givaudan. From 2000 to 2006 he was CEO of Berna Biotech.

Kuno Sommer

Grogg Nicole - Vizepräsidentin

Swiss, year of birth 1973

Nicole Grogg Hötzer has been Vice-Chair of the Non-Executive Board of Sunstar Holding AG since 2017. She gained a degree in Biology from the University of Basel in 1999. After that, she had various roles in regulatory affairs organisations. In 2002 she began a post-graduate qualification in Business Studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Basel (FHBB), which she successfully completed in 2004.

Nicole Grogg Hötzer is Vice-Chair of the Board of Bachem AG, Ingro Finanz AG and Hotel Bad Schauenburg AG and a member of the Board of MFC Beteiligungs AG.

Nicole Grogg Hötzer

Beat Hess VR Sekretär

Swiss, year of birth 1960

Beat Hess was Managing Director of the Sunstar Swiss Hotel Collection from 2001 to 2019. From September 2019 he reduced his workload and is now a member and the Secretary of the Non-Executive Board. He also continues to be responsible for shareholder affairs and Privilège members.

After graduating from the University of St Gallen, he spent 10 years working for the tourism business Hapimag, for the last 5 years as Managing Director. At the time Hapimag worked closely with the Sunstar Hotel Grindelwald so this and his contact with Sunstar founder Fritz Buser persuaded him to move to the Sunstar Group. His first act there was to set up the Privilège Vacation Club in 1998 and he ultimately became Managing Director of the whole hotel group.

Beat Hess currently sits on various non-executive boards, including for Hotel Bad Schauenburg AG and Aurenus AG. He is also involved with a local sports club in his home town of Hünenberg. In his free time he enjoys travelling to Mediterranean countries, gardening, cooking, reading or just “dolce far niente” with a glass of wine and a pipe or cigar.

Beat Hess