About Skip Andy

Andy Fitze is a Swiss polar skipper and the founder of Sail2North. He has organised and led 23 sailing expeditions to high latitudes, to Svalbard, Jan Mayen, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and along the coast of Norway.

At sea

His crews are small and mixed: professionals, photographers, scientists and first-time sailors. They sail in summer and in winter, at 20 degrees below zero, in pack ice and in storms with winds above 120 km/h. On board there is a watch system around the clock, no quick exit and no port to hide in. Every decision has consequences for everyone.

He has sailed across all oceans and called at ports in over 40 countries.

On land

For more than 25 years Andy Fitze has led technology organisations. He was CIO of RUAG, co-founded SwissCognitive and has presided over the Swiss IT Leadership Forum since 2014. Two worlds, one question: how do you lead when the forecast no longer holds?

Naddoddur

In August 2024 he led the Viking Voyage, an expedition in the open Faroese boat Naddoddur from the Faroe Islands to Norway. On the fourth day a storm far stronger than forecast capsized the boat off the Norwegian coast. Five of the six crew members were rescued. One crew member did not survive.

Andy Fitze speaks about these hours openly and with care. In 2025 the Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre invited him to share his experience at its rescue conference in Oslo.

What he brings back

What crews learn in the Arctic is simple and hard at the same time: prepare well, agree on a plan B before you need it, and keep the team together when things go wrong. Andy Fitze brings these lessons to conferences and leadership events as a keynote speaker, in German and English.