Thomas Coppetti has diversified experience in both consulting and industry. He started his professional career as head of R + D for a leading manufacturer of injection moulding machines and was later appointed head of technology and head of marketing for the same company, being a member of the board of directors in parallel. It was at this time that Mr. Coppetti undertook extensive travelling worldwide in order to ensure constant customer and market contact of his employer and the respective products.

In 1992 Mr. Coppetti embarked on a new career and became partner of one of Switzerland's leading consulting companies based in Zurich. In this function he was responsible for intensifying the company's activities in the Swiss executive search market, at the same time broadening the firm's presence in the international search field.

Mr. Coppetti decided to join Ward Howell in 1998, founding at the same time his own company, Dr. Thomas Coppetti & Partner. Today he runs his own executive search firm under his own name. He is no longer a member of the Ward Howell Group, as Ward Howell USA has been taken over by another firm and therefore has ceased to exist.

After studies in Zürich and Manchester/England Thomas Coppetti earned a Ph. D. degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich in Mechanical Engineering. He is fluent in German, English, French and Italian. Mr. Coppetti has broad experience in lecturing at various levels, including at his "alma mater", the above - mentioned Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, where he was given an assignment to lecture about "Automatic Control of Machine Tools". His sparetime activities: skiing, waterskiing, hiking, cooking and architecture. Mr. Coppetti has a family and two sons. His wife, Verena, is an interpreter.