Schwenk Remains Honorary Chairman and Chairman Of The BoD Of Subsidiary Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd

Oscar J. Schwenk, the longstanding Chairman of the Board of Directors, has decided not to stand for re-election to the office of Chairman of the Board of Directors this year.

Having served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for over 15 years, the 76- year-old will hand over to his successor, Hansueli Loosli. The latter has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Coop and Swisscom and was awarded the "Entrepreneur of the Year" prize, among others, for his outstanding achievements in the past. He has already been inducted and will take up his duties at Pilatus with immediate effect.

After joining the company in 1978, Schwenk steadily worked his way up - to CEO and, ultimately, Chairman of the Board of Directors. He has played a key role in shaping Pilatus, turning the former company focused on subcontracting work into an aircraft manufacturing plant with a clear product strategy, namely to build the world's best aircraft in its niche. He and his crew have been uncompromising and unswerving in following this vision.

Under his wings, Pilatus created the PC-12, now the world's best-selling single-engine turboprop in its class, the market -leading PC-21 military trainer and the first ever Swiss business jet, the PC-24.

He held the office of Chairman of the Board of Directors for over 15 years, having served as both CEO and Chairman prior to that. Although the company was in the red when Schwenk took over, Pilatus has always achieved positive year-end results under his leadership. Sales alone have doubled during this period. At the same time, Schwenk has remained steadfast in his commitment to Switzerland as a place of work and has consistently pursued this goal. Today, over 92 percent of Pilatus employees work at the Swiss site in Stans. In Switzerland, the workforce has also practically doubled over the past decade - it currently stands at over 2000 full-time employees.

Moving forward, Oscar J. Schwenk and his many years of experience will remain with Pilatus on a mandate basis. He will bring his wealth of know-how in the aviation sector to bear in supporting the company's strategic direction in the future. At the same time, he will continue as Honorary Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors of subsidiary Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd, thus remaining with the company as a whole.

FMI: www.pilatus-aircraft.com