Stefan Charles was born in 1967 in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. He initially decided on a career in music and worked for major labels in the music industry in Berlin, among others. He then took on various management positions at a cultural events company, the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, and as Managing Director of the Kunstmuseum Basel, where he successfully completed an extensive building project. In the meantime, he completed a master's degree in cultural management at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, a postgraduate degree in corporate management at the University of Zurich, and a postgraduate master's degree in environmental governance in Geneva. Before moving to Cologne, Charles worked for Swiss Radio and Television SRF as Head of the Culture Department and member of the Executive Board. In addition to his extensive programming responsibilities for TV, radio and online, his duties also included film, music and literature promotion. In October 2021, Charles assumed the office of Alderman for Arts and Culture of the City of Cologne. In addition to his enthusiasm for art and culture, he has a high level of expertise in sustainability and digitization projects. Charles is married and lives in Cologne.