Entrepreneur Urs Bühler passed away on 1 August 2025 at the age of 82. With his passing, Bühler has lost a figure who played a decisive role in shaping the company for more than 50 years from 1970 onwards as owner, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, ensuring its successful development. In 2014, he transferred his shares in the company to his daughters Karin, Maya and Jeannine Bühler, thereby securing the succession and continuation of the family business.

Urs Bühler was born in Uzwil in 1943 and spent his youth there. He attended the Kantonsschule am Burggraben in St. Gallen and studied mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich. After joining Bühler in 1970, he held various positions in Switzerland and abroad until he was appointed CEO in 1986. In 1994, he also took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors. From 1990 onwards, Urs Bühler was the sole owner of the company. During his career, he held numerous external positions, including on boards of directors. He was also a member of the Swissmem Executive Committee for 30 years. Urs Bühler has thus also made a significant contribution to Swiss industrial history.

In 2001, as part of succession planning, he transferred operational responsibility for the Group to Calvin Grieder, who also took over as Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2014. Also in 2014, Urs Bühler took the forward-looking step of arranging the succession of ownership of the company by transferring the company shares to his daughters Karin, Maya and Jeannine Bühler the fifth generation of owners. Uze AG, which was founded in 1892 and manages the family's real estate, was already transferred to the daughters in 2011. ‘We are committed to the life's work of our father and our predecessors and will continue to run Bühler as a family business. We also fully support the strategic direction with a strong focus on innovation, training and further education, and sustainability,’ emphasise the three daughters.

Despite all his successes, he remained a modest, reserved and empathetic person. In addition to technology and the company, his other great passions included equestrian sports and skiing, as well as a holistic approach to human and animal health. The latter found expression in Health Balance AG, which Urs Bühler founded in 2004. Here, too, he always led the way with commitment and innovation.