Walter Berchtold

Walter Berchtold  (businessman)
Born	1 October 1906
Died	23 January 1986 (Age 79)
Nationality	Swiss
Alma mater	University of Zurich
Swiss businessman and double Bilderberger  Director In office 1950 - 1971 Employer Swissair Succeeded by Françoise Giroud Attended Bilderberg/1969 and Bilderberg/1970  Financial Editor In office 1938 - 1945 Employer Neue Zürcher Zeitung Later Bilderberg/1969 and Bilderberg/1970

Walter Berchtold ran SwissAir for over 20 years, from 1950 until 1971.

Education

He took a doctorate in law at the University of Zurich in 1930.

Career

Before Swissair, Berchtold was a lawyer, the financial editor of the major newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung from 1938 until 1945, and the manager of the busiest section of the Swiss Federal Railways.

In June 1950, Walter Berchtold was elected to the directorial board of Swissair and became its director.

Swissair in 1950 was a near bankrupt national airline with few routes, as Europe struggled to put itself together after World War II.

During his twenty years as director, Swissair expanded an by 1970 flew to 51 countries on six continents, and has quite outgrown Switzerland as a financial base for its operations.

Until 1971, he created the corporate culture of Swissair. He grasped the importance of corporate image and corporate identity, and after the example of BOAC's "Speedbird", he introduced the arrow-shaped Swissair logo.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1969	9 May 1969	11 May 1969	Denmark Hotel Marienlyst Elsinore	The 18th Bilderberg meeting, with 85 participants
Bilderberg/1970	17 April 1970	19 April 1970	Switzerland Hotel Quellenhof Bad Ragaz	the 19th Bilderberg meeting, in Switzerland.

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