Peter Spuhler

Peter Spuhler is a Swiss entrepreneur and politician of the Swiss People’s Party, from 1999 to 2012 he was a member of the Swiss National Council for the canton of Thurgau. Spuhler was CEO of the family firm Stadler Rail from 1989 to 2017. As at April 2019, he held a 40% shareholding in Stadler.

  • Peter Spuhler, former CEO of Stadler Rail, built a fortune buying up railcar makers across eastern Europe.
  • His wife’s grandfather had started Stadler five decades earlier, and in 1989, he bought the company from her grandmother for $6 million.
  • He embarked on a two-decades-long acquisition trek, buying up parts of crumbling rivals.
  • Over the years Stadler has built railcars to climb to Germany’s highest peak and designed ones to withstand the brutal Helsinki winters.
  • Spuhler sold 20% of the business in 2005 but has repurchased most of the stake. In 2017 he stepped aside as Stadler CEO, but remains chairman.