Alberto Mazzola was unanimously elected as new executive eirector of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) by the CER General Assembly on 21 September. He will succeed the current Executive Director Libor Lochman and take office on 1 January 2021.

Alberto Mazzola holds a Master’s in Business Administration and a Doctorate cum Laude in Nuclear Engineering from the Politecnico of Milan. In 2002 he joined Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS), where he held different positions. In his current role as Head of International Government Affairs, he is based in Brussels dealing with international affairs and European legislation, market regulation and technical standards.

Alberto Mazzola

Before joining FS, he contributed to the worldwide business section of Leonardo Finmeccanica (1988-2002). From 2015 to September 2020, he was Vice-President of the Transport, Energy and Service of General Interest Section and President of the International Trade Agreements Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee.

CER Chair Andreas Matthä (CEO, ÖBB Holding AG) said: “With Alberto Mazzola, the General Assembly today decided for an outstanding expert not only in EU policy making but also in the European rail business. I am confident that he will strongly represent Europe’s rail sector towards the European institutions and successfully position rail as the backbone of Europe’s future sustainable mobility plans. The Executive Director will also focus on the current COVID-19 challenges working hard with members to regain customer trust.”

Libor Lochman

“With his deep knowledge of the railway system, Libor Lochman has immensely contributed to the work of CER over the last 15 years, first as Deputy Executive Director responsible for technical affairs, and as of 2011 as its Executive Director. Let me highlight that thanks to his relentless efforts, the finalisation of the Fourth Railway Package has been a stepping stone for the creation of the Single European Railway Area. An era is coming to an end and CER thanks him for all his achievements.”

CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “I am extremely happy that Alberto Mazzola has been appointed today as the next CER Executive Director. We have been working together for years and I know he is recognised by all rail stakeholders as one of the top lobbyists in the EU rail community.
He will have the chance to start his mandate with the kick off of 2021 as the Year of Rail and with a freshly published EU Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility: I am sure he will be able to use this historical moment to confirm CER as a key player in the definition of the future EU mobility policies. I look forward to working with him in the upcoming weeks to ensure a smooth change of leadership here in Brussels.”

Incoming CER Executive Director Alberto Mazzola said: “I would like to thank the Chairman Andreas Matthä and the CER members for the trust in selecting me as new Executive Director and Libor Lochman for his determined work at the service of CER. I will work to support, with the relaunch of Europe after COVID-19, the full recovery of passenger and freight transport by rail, as well to promote new policies to boost rail. With the 2021 European Year of Rail we will bring citizens, railway workers, social partners, businesses and European youth closer to the public debate on EU Sustainability and Mobility policies.”

Other appointees

The CER General Assembly also elected Róbert Homolya (CEO, MÁV) as a Vice-Chair of CER and Vincent Ducrot (CEO, SBB) as a new member of the CER Management Committee.