Career

56-year old Dr. Urs Loher studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and graduated as an electrical engineer with the title Dipl. Ing. ETH in 1992. In 1994, he completed post-graduate studies in information technology and in 1998 he obtained his doctorate with the title Dr. sc. Techn. ETH.

Following initial professional stations at Swisscom and Paramaze Ltd. he joined the DDPS in 2002 as deputy director of the former Federal Office for Air Force Logistics. From 2005, as Head of the domain Systems and Material, he led its integration into the logistics organisation of the Group Defence as part of the Armed Forces Reform XXI. In 2009, he took over the role of Head of the Command and Control and Reconnaissance Systems competence sector at the Federal Office for Defence Procurement. In 2012, he changed to Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, where he got to know the bidder side of procurement projects and evolved in various functions to become CEO/Head of Global Programme and Key Account Management. Since 2019, he was CEO of Thales Suisse AG as well as President of the industry sector Aeronautical, Security & Defence (ASD) at Swissmem. Alongside his professional career, he is col GS in the Swiss Armed Forces.

Duties

The National Armaments Director is responsible for the development, evaluation, procurement and disposal of systems and equipment for the Swiss Armed Forces and other customers, as well as for planning and procuring real estate for the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS).