BDO Switzerland appoints new Chairman of the Board of Directors
Stephan Bolliger took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors of BDO on January 1, 2026. At the same time, Michael Bitzi, the new Head of the Central Switzerland region, and Matthias Hildebrandt, the new Head of the Mittelland region, joined the Executive Committee. They succeed Peter Baumgartner and Harry Affolter, who are leaving BDO after many years of successful service.
The new Chairman of the Board of Directors at BDO is Stephan Bolliger. He has been with the company for 30 years and is Head of the North-Western Switzerland region. In this role and as a member of the Executive Board, Bolliger brings extensive client experience and in-depth industry knowledge to the strategic development of the company. «I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and the Executive Board to take BDO forward. We are facing important decisions in many areas – from the regulatory environment to digitalization. We want to actively shape these changes and make targeted use of opportunities,» says Stephan Bolliger about his new role. Bolliger succeeds Harry Affolter, who served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for four years and worked for BDO for a total of 40 years, most recently as Head of the Mittelland region. Affolter has stepped down from the Board of Directors and Executive Committee due to age-related term limits and will leave BDO on January 31, 2026. CEO Thomas Studhalter says: «Stephan Bolliger knows our clients and our business like no other. With his experience and strategic clarity, he will play a decisive role in shaping the further development of BDO. I look forward to working with him – and at the same time would like to thank Harry Affolter for his great commitment over four decades.»
New additions to the management team: Michael Bitzi and Matthias Hildebrandt
In addition to the new Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board has also been reorganized: Michael Bitzi and Matthias Hildebrandt joined the BDO Executive Board on January 1, 2026. Michael Bitzi, who has been with BDO for 35 years, is taking over as head of the Central Switzerland region from Peter Baumgartner, who took early retirement. As a member of the regional management team, Bitzi had been responsible for the locations in the Central Switzerland region since 2021 and had previously been location manager in Zug for around 10 years. Matthias Hildebrandt, who joined the company in 2012, will take over as head of the Mittelland region from Harry Affolter. Hildebrandt headed the auditing division and has been branch manager at the Bern location since 2020.
Further personnel changes in the regions
With the changes in management, the following positions were filled internally at the regional level as of January 1, 2026: David Dahinden, previously site manager in Sursee, is now a member of the Central Switzerland Regional Management team. His successor as site manager in Sursee is André Vonarburg. Furthermore, Christian Zumstein the management of the Solothurn site by Harry Affolter. Thomas Bigler and Michael Käsermann are new members of the Mittelland Regional Directorate.
Source: www.bdo.ch
