Marc FURRER

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Marc FURRER

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Candidate to the Post of Secretary-General
Marc FURRER, Switzerland

GENERAL INFORMATION
Name	Marc FURRER
Nationality	Swiss
Date of birth	24 February 1951
Place of birth	Solothurn, Switzerland
Civil status	Married, 1 daughter (1981) and 1 son (1983)
Current post	President of the Swiss Federal Communications Commission
Address	Swiss Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) Marktgasse 9 CH – 3003 Berne Tel. +41 31 323 52 90

VISION I want to give the ITU the place it deserves on the international scene; this organisation needs to be the key point of reference for the UN concerning telecommunications and information society services. I want to see an ITU for all, where developing and developed countries and the private sector can feel confident and can rely on the substantial support offered by the ITU. I intend to secure the ITU’s financial position by using modern management methods which are sympathetic to the human element, one of the pillars of the ITU. KEY POINTS Political sensitivity Highly motivated and hard working Negotiating skills Enthusiasm, commitment Expertise in telecommunications issues Expertise in issues relating to the information society Understanding of future trends, notably convergence of technologies Considerable experience with the ITU, including participation in the current reforms Experience with management and change processes in business administration (e.g. restructuring of organisational units, integration processes) Introduction of cost and performance management in the Swiss Federal Administration (New Public Management) Experience with several international organisations (UNO, ETSI, TV5, FRATEL, IRG) Swiss representative in bilateral and multilateral meetings on issues concerning telecommunications and electronic media. Contact with the ITU Head of the Swiss delegation to the Plenipotentiary Conferences in 1994, 1998 and 2002 Head of the Swiss delegation to the Council from 1992 to 2004 Participation in the Forum at World Telecom 1999, Telecom Asia 2002 and World Telecom 2003, as moderator and speaker Head of the Swiss delegation to the WSIS conferences (2002-2005) Mediator for the final negotiations on the Political Declaration and Action Plan at the first phase of the WSIS in Geneva in December 2003 Participation at the Global Symposium for Regulators in Geneva since 2000		EDUCATION 1978 Graduation as attorney and notary 1976 Master’s degree in law, University of Berne LANGUAGES German English French Professional experience 2005 President Swiss Federal Communications Commission 2003 - 2005 Secretary of State, responsible for Switzerland’s preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, December 2003. Head of the Swiss delegation for the WSIS 2005 in Tunis. 2003 - 2004 President of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) 2002 Member of the Executive Board of the Institute of Information Management of the University of St. Gallen and guest lecturer. 2002 Founder and President of the Biel-Bienne Communication Days (international conference on telecommunications, media and the information society) 1999 Chairman of the Independent Regulatory Group (IRG) 1992 – 2005 Director General of the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM), Swiss regulator for telecommunications and electronic media 1988 – 1992 Personal political secretary to Minister Adolf Ogi, Head of the Federal Department of Transport, Communications and Energy and former President of Switzerland 1980 – 1990 Member of the Commission on Fairness in Advertising 1978 – 1988 Correspondent for Radio DRS (Swiss national radio - 4 years as parliamentary correspondent at the Houses of Parliament and 4 years as chief editor of consumer affairs. Extra-professional activities 1996 – 2004 President of the Swiss Rowing Association 2005 Member of the Board of the Rose d’Or TV Festival, Lucerne 2006 President of the Swiss Ice Hockey Association