FIS Alpine Ski World Championships Crans-Montana 2027 association finalized the composition of its board.

With the Alpine World Ski Championships less than four months away, the organization preparing Crans-Montana 2027 has appointed a co-presidency to guide its final stretch. The move follows the resignation of Claude-Alain Schmidhalter, who stepped down as president of the organizing committee and from the Swiss-Ski presidium. The organizing association said its executive committee had finalized its new composition at an extraordinary general meeting.

The new leadership pairs Sébastien Rey, a vice-president of the organizing committee and board member of the Association des Communes de Crans-Montana, with Diego Züger, a board member and co-CEO of Swiss-Ski. Both were already involved in the event’s governance. Swiss-Ski has said the interim arrangement was in place after Schmidhalter was temporarily relieved of his duties, and described the pair as familiar with day-to-day operations.

The reshuffle brings a model of shared leadership to a project whose organizers say now needs continuity and clear lines of responsibility. The championships are scheduled for February 1–14, 2027, on the Mont Lachaux and Nationale slopes. They will return to Crans-Montana 40 years after the resort hosted the 1987 World Championships.

A tight timetable

The event is entering its most demanding phase: turning plans into a functioning mountain venue. Preparations include temporary spectator and operational infrastructure, slope safety systems, snowmaking upgrades and coordination among the organizing team, Swiss-Ski, local authorities and the mountain railway operator. Organizers have described implementation as already underway, with the event expected to bring athletes, teams, officials, media and fans to the Valais resort.

That timetable gives the new co-presidents little room for a long transition. A major championship depends on thousands of practical details working together, from course preparation and safety installations to transport, accommodation and event operations. The leadership change therefore matters not only as a governance decision, but as a test of whether the organizing body can maintain momentum in the final months.

Leadership change amid scrutiny

Schmidhalter’s departure followed a criminal charge concerning alleged fraud involving his engineering company and a former business partner, according to reporting on the case. He has denied the accusations, and the presumption of innocence applies. Swiss-Ski has said the legal matter is separate from the sporting event.

The change also lands amid other pressures surrounding Crans-Montana. Reporting has described earlier disputes over the agreement with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation and questions raised by sponsors after the deadly New Year’s Eve bar fire in the resort. Those issues are distinct from the day-to-day competition preparations, but they add to the scrutiny facing the organizers as the event nears.

The co-presidency is intended to keep the organization moving while responsibilities are redistributed. Whether it can provide reassurance will be judged less by the structure on paper than by execution: finishing the venues, delivering a safe event and ensuring that attention returns to the racing. In February, Crans-Montana is due to welcome the world’s top alpine skiers. The challenge now is to make sure the preparations, as well as the competition, are ready for the spotlight.