TeAm
Team
Our team of experienced experts from the financial and timber industries is constantly developing innovative solutions to tap into and monetize the climate potential of the forestry and timber industry.
Erik Reichmuth
MANAGING DIRECTOR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Erik has held a number of roles at various asset managers over the past 11 years. He worked as a portfolio manager at Multi-Family Offices and as Head of Operations at a joint venture between Julius Baer and Nomura. In addition to his wealth management background, Erik has worked as both CFO and COO in startups. Erik’s family has been managing forests sustainably for over four generations and as a result he has close ties to the forest sector. Combining his passion for forestry and finance is a dream come true. Erik Reichmuth is registered in the register of advisors of BX Swiss AG under the registration number: ER16566 and fulfills the legal requirements pursuant to Art. 29 para. 1 FIDLEG.
Stefano Charrey
HEAD OF INVESTMENT RESEARCH
Stefano has worked in asset management (equities and alternative investments) and in commodity trading in various roles over the last 15 years. His expertise includes fundamental and quant analysis, derivatives modeling, trading and risk management. He is the founder of Qortex, a research and financial education platform. Stefano is a Mechanical Engineer (ETH), holds an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona and is a Registered Investment Advisor and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
Frank Vasek
HEAD OF CARBON SOLUTIONS
Frank is a business and project developer and is committed to the environment and carbon. He is an experienced project manager and has developed a keen eye for organizational structures, strategy development, climate financing and projects. Through his involvement in several projects, he has acquired excellent know-how in the field of climate investments at the interface between the forestry, timber and construction industries. Frank holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the TU Braunschweig.
John Hojnacki
INVEstment research
John has worked in the asset management industry for the past five years as a fixed income trader and portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan. He supports Timber Finance with research on sustainability topics and has a special interest in environmental markets and climate finance. John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Akron, is studying for a Master’s degree in Banking and Finance at the University of Zurich and is a CFA Level II candidate.
Samara Sicardi
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
Samara , responsible for marketing and communication, is about to complete her Masters in Management & Economics at the University of Lucerne. Prior to this, she successfully completed her bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication sciences at the University of Zurich. Samara developed her versatile skills in various professional roles before joining the Timber Finance team.
Board
Thomas Fedrizzi
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thomas has been active as a multi-founder and private equity investor in corporate and project development for 30 years. In the past 7 years he has helped develop several innovative projects and companies in the Swiss forestry and timber industries including ZürichHolz AG, Fagus Suisse SA (hardwood manufacturing) and Ligno Carbon Schweiz AG (Biochar). Thomas has an engineering degree from the ETH in Zürich, as well as an Executive Master in Corporate Finance. From his previous activities, he can also rely on his broad experience in impact finance, renewable energy as well as sustainable construction.
Stefan Zöllig
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stefan has been known for over 30 years as an innovator, idea and pace-setter in the timber construction industry. With numerous products, patents and brands as well as over 3,000 completed timber construction projects, he is one of the most energetic entrepreneurs in the timber industry. Numerous products bear his signature, which he has developed from a vague idea to a marketable product. He has founded and chaired associations and is president of SwissEngineering STV and a board member of the Swiss Life pension fund (BVG). He is particularly passionate about the Timber Startup Incubator, which he developed and co-founded.
Senior Advisor
Götz-Bodo Druschke
SENIOR ADVISOR - Institutional sales
Götz has been active in international financial markets for over 25 years. Since 2001, he has focused on sales and customer care in asset management. In this role, he has successfully acquired clients for the asset manager of an international insurance company, hedge fund specialists, a major international bank and, most recently, for an asset management boutique for over ten years and managed them over the entire life cycle. Götz holds a degree in business administration (BA) specializing in banking from the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University.
Dipl. Ing Hubert Rhomberg
SENIOR ADVISOR
Hubert is CEO in the fourth generation of Rhomberg Holding GmbH and leads the international business of the Rhomberg Group based in Bregenz, Austria. In 2010, he founded CREE Buildings, an international construction collective for regenerative building solutions, and has been revolutionizing the construction industry ever since. The Rhomberg name stands for sustainable construction as well as sustainable mobility and resource productivity. With a holistic approach, the three business units Construction, Rail Technology and Resources not only pursue sustainable principles, but also set standards.
After graduating with a degree in engineering from the Vienna University of Technology, Hubert Rhomberg worked for Strabag in Linz and Vienna for three years before starting his career in the family business in 1998, heading the civil engineering department and expanding the railroad technology division. In addition, he supplemented his practical entrepreneurial knowledge with postgraduate studies in business management at the renowned HSG St. Gallen.
Simon Tribelhorn
SENIOR ADVISOR
Simon is a Swiss lawyer with over 20 years of experience in banking, capital markets and international and European financial market regulation. He is the Managing Director of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association where he has been for more than 10 years. Simon’s passions are sustainable investments and all issues related to digitalisation. Simon is very well connected with decision-makers in politics, business and the media, particularly in Switzerland, neighbouring German-speaking countries, the UK and Brussels. He is involved in various committees of non-profit organisations on a part-time basis.
Steve Marshall
SENIOR ADVISOR
Steve played a critical role in the establishment and growth of today’s North American Mass Timber sector. He has worked closely with companies, government officials, and non-profits. Steve’s overall impact was recognized in 2020 when an independent panel chose to name their projections about Mass Timber sector growth and the resulting carbon sequestration in the atmosphere “The Marshall Effect.” Today, Steve is focused on work that will help the Mass Timber sector grow more broadly.
Thomas Lüthi
SENIOR ADVISOR
As a trained sawyer and wood technology engineer, Thomas knows the wood industry from the ground up. Since 1998, he has been offering his consulting services as a self-employed professional to companies in the timber industry throughout the DACH area. He started as a freelancer for an Austrian management consultancy, for which he worked for over a decade. At the same time, he has held several mandates for organizations in the Swiss forestry and timber industry, including the “Initiative Holz BE”, the “Label Schweizer Holz” and the “Prix Lignum”. He also teaches at the BFH HAFL in Zollikofen as a lecturer.
Stefan Vögtli
SENIOR ADVISOR
As a trained wood merchant, Stefan has more than 40 years of experience in the Swiss timber supply chain, from wood procurement to the finished building product. Stefan has founded and accompanied several long-term projects and companies, including the Raurica Group, the Holzkraftwerk I in Basel and Fagus Suisse. His involvement centers around generating ecological, financial and economic added value for the Swiss timber industry.
Ambassador
Stephan Krüger
SENIOR ADVISOR
Mr. Krüger is a German businessman with more than 40 years of experience in the field of environmental and climate protection. His extensive network in politics and business extends across the German-speaking world and connects him closely with decision-makers. His expertise focuses on the areas of construction, energy and mobility. He brings sustainability, people and markets together with great passion.
Mr. Krüger actively supported the DESERTEC Foundation and is a member of the Bauhaus Erde initiative group. As a freelance head of government and business relations at Rhomberg Holding and as a consultant to the Brünninghoff Group, he is driving change. He is also involved in various organizations on a voluntary basis.
Forestry experts
Beat Riget
Independent forestry expert
Beat Riget is trained as a forest warden and forester and has worked for many years in the Kyburg forest district. After the storm Lothar in 2000, he became head of the Canton of Zurich’s storm wood center. In 2005, together with the Zurich Forestry Department, forest owners and foresters, he founded ZürichHolz AG and took over its management. During his career, he carried out projects for ZürichHolz AG, founded other companies and held board mandates at Fagus Suisse and other companies. His constant goal was to create added value for forest owners and the forest.