Dübendorf, 19 February 2024 – Patrick Camele is stepping down from operational management of the SV Group at the end of October 2024 after 14 years – including the last 12 as CEO. In recent times, he led the company carefully through the coronavirus pandemic and secured the entrepreneurial future of the 110-year-old company.
He will be succeeded by Markus Binkert, who is currently CFO of Swiss International Air Lines, on 1 November 2024. ‘Markus Binkert is the perfect choice to take over management of the company considering his proven expertise in the areas of operations, sales, marketing, product development and finance. He also has a large network and is well established in management. The fact that Markus Binkert originally came from the hotel industry is a stroke of luck for us,’ says Jörg Zulauf, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SV Group. ‘On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Patrick Camele for his passionate, long-standing commitment to SV. As a member of the Board of Directors, his knowledge and experience will remain within the company.’
’I am very much looking forward to my new role at the SV Group and to further developing the company in close collaboration with the team and customers. As a former hotelier, hospitality is important to me and I have a great passion for creating positive customer experiences. That’s why I’m delighted to be returning to the catering and hotel industry,’ says Markus Binkert.
The ideal time to pass the baton
In 2023, the SV Group was able to close a financial year under ‘new normal’ market conditions for the first time after three years of the pandemic. ‘We have been providing restaurant services to our customers for over a hundred years, enabling them to make a name for themselves as employers. Our concepts and culinary range are impressive, and our staff restaurants and cafeterias are important meeting places for informal interactions. This aspect is becoming increasingly important,’ says Patrick Camele. ‘With the upcoming hotel openings of our own brand Stay KooooK in Geneva, Leipzig, Munich and Hamburg, as well as projects at other locations secured in Germany and Switzerland, we are also well on track with our growth strategy in the hotel sector,’ says Camele. ‘This is the right time for a generation change. I am delighted to be handing over management to Markus Binkert,’ he says.
Beat Kuhn hands over management of SV Hotel to Marco Meier with effect from 1 May 2024.
The SV Group’s Hotel division currently comprises 20 hotels, including properties under its own brand Stay KooooK and the Marriott brands Courtyard, Residence Inn, Renaissance and Moxy, and soon Hyatt Centric in Switzerland and Germany. Beat Kuhn, Managing Director of SV Hotel, has built up this portfolio over the last 20 years. ‘On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Beat Kuhn for his many years of commitment. He has developed the Hotel business unit into a solid pillar of the SV Group,’ says Chairman of the Board of Directors Jörg Zulauf.
With Stay KooooK, SV has ambitious growth plans. ‘Other locations have been secured, and I am confident that I am handing over a solid foundation for expansion to my successor,’ says Beat Kuhn. His successor Marco Meier has held various positions at SV since 2011, most recently as Director Area Operations Franchise Hotels Switzerland. The qualified hotelier is approaching the task with respect: ‘I’ve got big shoes to fill and I’m delighted that Beat Kuhn will remain at SV until the end of 2024 so I can count on his expertise and experience.’ Jörg Zulauf, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SV Group, says: ‘I am pleased that we can fill this position internally and benefit from Marco’s broad industry knowledge.’
