Sonja Wollkopf Walt is named Location Manager of the year

"I am delighted to receive this award, which I view as a recognition for our entire team and the joint efforts of Greater Zurich Area Ltd. together with our partners," says Sonja Wollkopf Walt. "Our mission is to ensure the quality of life and prosperity in our region and Switzerland as a whole by attracting innovative, future-oriented companies to our economic area together with our partners. This award confirms our approach of identifying leading global companies, technologies, talents, and networks, connecting them with local players, and supporting their integration into the local ecosystems. In this way, we create sustainable added value for our society."

"With her operational skills, Sonja Wollkopf Walt has made a major contribution to realizing the vision and strategic goals of GZA," says Balz Hösly, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Greater Zurich Area Ltd. "Her nomination as Location Manager of the Year is a well-deserved testament to her achievements in location marketing, but also to her participative management style, thanks to which she and her team have achieved tangible results for our economic region. We look forward to our continued collaboration and her active contribution to the prosperity of the entire Greater Zurich Area.

During her time as Managing Director of GZA, Sonja Wollkopf Walt has taken the initiative to position the region as a dynamic and attractive business location. Her leadership has enabled GZA to achieve sustainable development in the fields of robotics & intelligent systems, life sciences, fintech & blockchain, foodtech, information technology, and advanced manufacturing. 

The establishment of numerous leading technology companies has helped to make the entire economic area more diverse, more resilient and less dependent on the financial sector. Sonja Wollkopf-Walt studied law at the University of Bern. After a postgraduate degree in European law and several years as a teaching and research assistant, she began her professional career as a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. After additional training in marketing, she joined Greater Zurich Area Ltd. on August 2, 1999 as project and marketing manager. Since October 2002, Wollkopf Walt has been a member of the Executive Board and responsible for the entire operational business, and in 2010 she took over as Managing Director. Sonja Wollkopf Walt is married and lives with her husband in the city of Zurich. She has been Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of TIE International Ltd. since 2019 and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Ti&m in 2023.