Klaus Nussbaumer Becomes The New Board Member & CEO Of Lech Bergbahnen AG

The supervisory board of Lech Bergbahnen AG (LBB) elected Klaus Nussbaumer (52) as the new board member / CEO at its third meeting after the merger. With Klaus Nussbaumer, a proven expert and practitioner with a convincing track record will take over the operational management of LBB. The Vorarlberg native will take up his position on January 1, 2024.

With an impressive career as head of the mountain railways at Diedamskopf in the Bregenzerwald and at Pizol in Switzerland and extensive experience in the areas of technology, marketing, gastronomy and with public corporations, Nussbaumer brings a variety of skills and specialist knowledge to the challenge in Lech. He therefore fulfills the requirements profile for the new task to a high degree.

Nussbaumer has been CEO of Pizolbahnen AG, Bad Ragaz (Switzerland) for over 13 years and has made a significant contribution to the expansion and success of this mountain railway company. «I feel honored and am very happy to lead the Lech Bergbahnen into the future. Lech is a unique destination with great potential and diverse design options,” emphasizes the newly elected CEO.

The LBB Supervisory Board is convinced that in Klaus Nussbaumer they have found a personality who can create consensus in dialogue with the various stakeholders and who focuses on the overall development of the destination. “With Klaus Nussbaumer we have found our ideal candidate for this challenging position and we are convinced that he will successfully lead LBB into a new era on the Arlberg with his wealth of experience and his innovative spirit,” says Florian Moosbrugger, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Lech Bergbahnen AG.

The election of Klaus Nussbaumer as CEO marks another important milestone - following the merger on July 26, 2023 - and underlines the newly founded company's commitment to consolidating and expanding its position as a leading provider of first-class mountain railway and leisure experiences. Klaus Nussbaumer prevailed against 22 other candidates in a multi-stage evaluation process.

“After 14 intensive years, the positive development of the company and the votes won in the communities with the possibility of implementing snowmaking 4.0, the Pizolbahnen are fit for the future, and I am looking forward to new challenges at Lech Bergbahnen AG,” explains Klaus Nussbaumer. «I will leave the Pizolbahnen with best memories. With a great team, we further developed the Pizol, achieved good operational results, implemented some painful but necessary measures, implemented major projects, diversified the portfolio and grew." Nussbaumer, will carry out his role until the end of December 2023 and will manage the Pizolbahnen with full commitment until he leaves.

Markus Oppliger, President of the Board of Directors of Pizolbahnen AG, very much regrets his CEO's decision: “Klaus Nussbaumer took over Pizolbahnen at a very difficult moment and led it confidently through several major challenges. At the same time, he and his team, in collaboration with the board of directors, managed to strategically realign the Pizolbahnen. The Pizolbahnen are now more broadly supported and can look positively into the future from a massively strengthened position. As CEO, Klaus Nussbaumer achieved very good results. For this and for his extraordinary commitment to the Pizolbahnen, I would like to thank him very much personally and on behalf of the Board of Directors and wish him all the best and much success in his new place of work.”

Pizolbahnen has become an important player

Under the leadership of Klaus Nussbaumer, the Pizolbahnen tripled its summer business and positively developed its winter business. He brought numerous new summer and winter attractions to the mountain, increased the operating days from 240 to almost 300 days and made a significant contribution to expanding the catering industry. At the same time, he attached great importance to the expansion of technical snowmaking and systems on the mountain - within the scope of financial possibilities. Ultimately, during his time, the important and groundbreaking votes in the communities were won, thanks to which snowmaking 4.0 was implemented and long-term support from the communities was secured. Under the direction of Klaus Nussbaumer, the Pizolbahnen have been permanently in recent years