Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter found dead
The chief executive officer of telecommunications giant Swisscom, Carsten Schloter, was found dead at his home today, according to various news reports.
Police suspect the cause of death is suicide.
Schloter, 49, was Swisscom's CEO for seven years. Urs Schaeppi, head of the company's Swiss business, was named interim CEO.
He "successfully positioned Swisscom in a highly competitive and rapidly changing market," Swiss Transport Minister Doris Leuthard said in a statement.
Schloter, a German citizen, joined the company in 2000. As chief executive, he led the 4.6 billion euro (approx. US$6 billion) purchase of Italian fixed-line provider Fastweb in 2007 in an attempt to reverse declining growth at the company, accelerated by increasing carrier competition—and declining prices—on the European continent. The turnaround never quite happened.