New director at the bfu from 2019
There will be a change at the top of the bfu - Swiss Council for Accident Prevention at the end of the year. The foundation board has appointed 56-year-old Dr. Stefan Siegrist as the new director. For the proven prevention expert, new, future accident focal points represent a central challenge in the prevention work of the advisory service. The current director Brigitte Buhmann is retiring.
Stefan Siegrist is to become the new director of the bfu. He will succeed Brigitte Buhmann, who is retiring after 15 years as bfu director, at the beginning of 2019. The bfu Foundation Board, led by Suva CEO Felix Weber, unanimously elected Siegrist on May 30, 2018. The 56-year-old prevention expert and long-time bfu employee prevailed against external competition.
Since 1988, Stefan Siegrist has headed various research and consulting departments at the bfu and helped shape prevention in its three areas of activity: road traffic, sports, home/leisure. In 2003, Siegrist was elected to the executive board, and he has been deputy director since 2008. Siegrist, who holds a doctorate in psychology, also chairs the expert council of the Road Safety Fund FVS. He also represents Switzerland internationally in several road safety committees and working groups.
Benefit from research knowledge
As director, Stefan Siegrist wants to establish the bfu even more strongly as a thought leader: "Under the leadership of Brigitte Buhmann, the bfu has consistently developed its competencies in recent years. As a result, we now have the necessary know-how to research future accident risks at an early stage. If the bfu skillfully puts its scientific findings into practice, everyone can benefit from this knowledge." Examples of upcoming challenges in accident prevention include self-driving cars, demographic change and the increasing popularity of sports and leisure activities with a high risk of injury.
Competence Center for Accident Prevention
The bfu is committed to the safety of people in Switzerland as mandated by law. As the Swiss competence center for the Prevention of non-occupational accidents it conducts research in the areas of road traffic, sport and home/leisure. The bfu employees pass on their knowledge to private individuals, schools, companies and professional circles. With a network of 1200 bfu safety delegates, the advisory service is anchored in all Swiss regions. The bfu acts independently of economic and political interests. As a specialist body, it is committed exclusively to safety.
Text: bfu
