New Head of Market and Policy and new Director for Western Switzerland at Swissolar

Wieland Hintz is Head of Market and Policy at Swissolar and Deputy Managing Director as of March 1, 2026. The 45-year-old has been responsible for solar energy at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy since 2016 and has played a key role in shaping the legal framework for the expansion of photovoltaics. «In the last ten years, photovoltaics has become a mainstay of the Swiss electricity supply, now covering over 15 percent of electricity consumption. In my new role at Swissolar, I will be fully committed to ensuring that photovoltaics is optimally integrated into the Swiss energy system and drives the decarbonization of buildings and transport,» says Wieland Hintz.  

He grew up in Germany, studied physics at ETH Zurich and then completed his doctorate in particle physics at CERN in Geneva. He gained professional experience in the energy sector as a nuclear engineer and technical expert for wind energy at Alpiq and as an expert for the energy industry at the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies (VSE). As a sideline, he operates six wind turbines and a 1.2 MW solar park in Germany together with his parents. He lives with his family in Bern. 

Wieland Hintz replaces David Stickelberger, who will be working as Senior Advisor Politics in future. David Stickelberger built up and managed the association from 1998 to 2023. Since then, he has served as Deputy Managing Director. In future, he will focus his work on the political framework and communication. «Even after 28 years, my enthusiasm for solar energy remains undiminished,» says the 65-year-old.  

New Director Suisse Romande 

Also as of March 1, 2026, Anna Plancherel will take over the newly created position of Director Suisse Romande at Swissolar, thus further expanding Planair's many years of successful Swissolar representation. Plancherel has many years of experience in the energy, construction and ICT sectors, both in project management and in setting up and managing departments. She has been a strategic project manager at Swissolar since 2024; she has also led the development of vocational training in French-speaking Switzerland.

Her new main tasks include representing Swissolar in French-speaking Switzerland and expanding the regional network. She is now the first point of contact for members, authorities, politicians, the media and partner organizations: «Solar energy is a central pillar of the energy strategy. I am very much looking forward to working with our members, partners and authorities to further develop the potential of solar energy in Suisse Romande and strengthen the sector in the long term,» says the 44-year-old. 

An environmental engineer by training (EPFL), she has further training in project management from the University of Geneva. In her career to date, she has been responsible for strategic and operational projects, helped to set up the French-speaking Swiss branch of a company and looked after energy suppliers at management level. She lives with her family in Nyon.

Source: Swissolar