Management

Thomas Bickel obtained a Master of Science in mathematics at the ETH Zurich and a doctorate from the Free University of Berlin. He also obtained an MBA at the University of St. Gallen. He was first employed as software engineer with the Credit Suisse, Allianz Schweiz and Vertec AG. In 2003, he joined SMA as head of product development. Today he is a member of the management board and head of the sma.software department.

Heidi Christmann holds a Federal Certificate in Finance and Accounting and a Federal Postgraduate Diploma HF in Human Resources Management. Heidi Christmann gained her in-depth knowledge and experience as an accountant in an international group and as Head of Finance and Accounting in a national service agency. Before joining SMA und Partner AG in 2017, she reorganised and realigned the finance department of a large Zurich lawyer's office.

Eric Cosandey obtained a Master of Science in civil engineering from the ETH [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology] Lausanne and an Executive MBA from the University of Zurich. He was first employed in the Logistics, Economics and Management Chair at ETH Lausanne before joining SMA in 2003 as a consultant. He has since led multiple projects for regional and national Public Authorities, Infrastructure Managers and Train Operating Companies across Europe and the world which has enabled him to gain recognised railway systems expertise in the fields of strategy, planning, production and operations. He has been the CEO of SMA since 2013, and has overall responsibility for all projects delivered by the SMA Consulting Division.

After an apprenticeship as computer scientist, Urs Dietrich obtained a Bachelor of Science in computer science followed by a Master of Science in engineering at the University of Applied Sciences North West Switzerland. He also obtained an MBA at the University of St. Gallen in 2021. In 2012, he joined SMA as software developer. Since 2015, he worked as product owner and project leader for IT projects. Today lead the sma.software.solutions department and is responsible for the German market as Key Account Manager.

Björn Glaus graduated from ETH Zurich with a Master of Computer Science in 2002 and from the University of St. Gallen with a Diploma in Technology Business Management in 2015. He has been with SMA since 2005 and is currently Head of sma.software.production. Together with his team, he is responsible for software development, business analysis and the software production process. In addition, he has been instrumental in the implementation of Viriato 8 as well as in the design and realisation of the Microscopy on Demand (MoD) architecture.

Matthew Holliday is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and obtained a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Manchester followed by a Master of Science in control systems engineering at the University of Sheffield. In Great Britain his previous railway experience includes working for Network Rail, London Underground and Funkwerk IT. He has been a key account manager and Viriato product manager at SMA since 2011, and is now Head sma.software.labs.

Frederik Ropelius is Director Consulting North-East Europe and responsible for Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Northern and Eastern Europe as well as for new international markets. He also heads the production teams of the SMA offices in Zurich and Frankfurt. He supervises the preparation of offers and strategic projects and manages the allocation of resources for projects. He has in-depth knowledge in all SMA business segments and many years of experience in the planning and optimisation of the rail system and in accompanying rail franchises & tenders. He has been with SMA since 1999 and a partner since 2013.

Luigi Stähli is Director South-western Europe for the Consulting Division and is responsible for the French, Swiss, Belgian, Luxembourg, Italian and Iberian markets as well as the production teams in the SMA offices in Lausanne and Paris. He oversees the preparation of services and strategic projects and arbitrates the allocation of resources to projects. He has sound knowledge in all SMA's areas of competence, based on his extensive experience in planning, operating and optimising the railway system. Previously, after graduating as a civil engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), he worked for Systra, the French railway infrastructure manager, and for transport companies in Switzerland, where he led and directed several projects.