Mario Corti
Born
Mario Corti

(1946-10-22) October 22, 1946 (age 77)
Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
EducationUniversity of Lausanne (PhD)
Harvard Business School (MBA)
Occupation(s)Businessman, pilot and former aviation executive
Known forBeing the former CEO and chairman of Swissair
SpouseJoy Archambault

Mario Corti[1] (born October 22, 1946) is a Swiss businessman, commercial pilot and former aviation executive. Corti is the former CEO and chairman of defunct Swissair.[2]

Early life and education

Corti was born October 22, 1946, in Lausanne, Switzerland to Jean Wilhelm 'Willi'[3] and Meta (née Gafafer) Corti.[4] He had two sisters and grew up in Kirchberg near Bern. His father was a former executive of Alusuisse who became a partner in the manufacturing firm Nyffeler Corti, which manufactured aluminium packaging and later merged with Kaiser Aluminium.[5] The Corti family originally hailed from Stabio in the Ticino region of Switzerland and became citizens in Winterthur in 1882.[6]

He completed his Matura in Burgdorf. He completed his Doctorate in Economics and Law at the University of Lausanne in 1971. In 1975, Corti earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.[7]

Career

After graduation from Harvard Business School, Corti worked as a business planner for Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation in California. Following his return to his home country in 1977, he worked first at the Swiss National Bank and then as Under Secretary for Foreign Trade. In 1990, he accepted a position with Nestlé USA and became chief financial officer in 1996.[8][7] In April 2000, Corti left Nestle and joined SwissAir.[9] Corti began his term as the Swissair CEO in March 2001.[10] He was put on trial, accused of unlawful management in regards to the failure of Swissair in 2001. Corti was acquitted of all charges.[11][12]

Personal life

Corti is also known as "Super Mario". In 1992 Corti flew a twin-engine plane around the globe as a pilot[8][10] and in 1999 across the Atlantic. Corti is married to Joy (née Archambault)

Corti and resides in Savannah, Georgia. They have no children.

References

  1. ^ "Mario Corti in Savannah - Auskünfte". Moneyhouse (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  2. ^ "Swissair grounds all flights." BBC. Tuesday 2 October 2001. Retrieved on 24 June 2010.
  3. ^ "Neue Zürcher Zeitung 9 October 1990 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  4. ^ "Der Bund 15 August 1977 — e-newspaperarchives.ch". www.e-newspaperarchives.ch. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  5. ^ "Mario Corti –". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  6. ^ 'Corti' in HLS/DSS
  7. ^ a b "Even 'Super Mario' couldn't save Swissair". News24. 2 October 2001. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b Garry Emmons (1 October 2000). "Mario A. Corti: Global Reconnaissance". Harvard Business School. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  9. ^ Christine Tierney, Carol Matlack (2 April 2001). "Can Super Mario Save Swissair?". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Not quite Nestlé". The Economist. 21 June 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Swissair ex-CEO Corti cleared by court of all charges over airline's bankruptcy[dead link]." Forbes. 7 June 2007. Retrieved on 24 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Swissair executives cleared in criminal trial". The New York Times. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2021.


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