About us

Born in research. Built for practice.

We started at the University of Fribourg. Since 2004 we've built the maths behind plans for industry, fixtures for sports leagues and rosters for transport operators. Tim Schelbert and Reto Wyss run the company today. Founder Tony Hürlimann still advises the team.

Reto Wyss and Tim Schelbert in the office

Managing Director

Tim Schelbert

Tim joined in spring 2024 to help write the company's next chapter. Since August 2026 he runs Virtual Optima together with Reto. His job: take what Tony built over two decades and push it further.

Tim fixes technical problems the hands-on way. He started at Siemens as an electronics technician. Then software pulled him in: modern languages, automated tests. Next came the Swiss Army, where he served as a quartermaster (a Fourier, in charge of a unit's food, money and lodging). Then the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. He studied artificial intelligence & machine learning and fell for mathematical optimisation. His bachelor's thesis? Inventory optimisation. Alongside his bachelor's, he continued to work at Siemens as a project manager. After that came banking, a world that runs on processes. Now he puts all of it to work at Virtual Optima, building software that cracks hard optimisation problems.

Portrait of Tim Schelbert

Managing Director

Reto Wyss

Reto met Tony in summer 2023. They started with matmod.ch, Tony's personal project. Later on they continued to work on Virtual Optima. Since August 2026 Reto has run the company together with Tim.

Reto loves building things and seeing new projects coming to life. He works where design, business and technology meet. He trained at the School of Design in Aarau. Then he spent years building websites while studying artificial intelligence and machine learning. Today he's a senior full-stack developer. At Virtual Optima he turns good ideas into smart software you can actually use.

Portrait of Reto Wyss

Founder

Tony Hürlimann

Tony is our expert in maths, computer science and operations research. For years he researched and taught one question at the University of Fribourg: how do you pull the best decision out of a messy problem? Backed by the Swiss National Science Foundation, he built his own modelling language to answer it: LPL. We still build on it every day. In 2004 he founded Virtual Optima to take that answer outside the lecture hall. Today he advises the team and passes on what he knows. He makes sure our models earn their keep: real value, and workdays that get noticeably easier.

Portrait of Tony Hürlimann

Our story

Over twenty years of mathematical optimisation.

What started in academic research grew step by step into a company. Here is our story, told in reverse: from today back to day one.

  1. 2026

    The next generation takes over

    In August 2026, Virtual Optima officially transitioned to its new managing directors, Tim Schelbert and Reto Wyss. What began as a one-person research project is now an established firm with over twenty years of experience and its own software products. The mission hasn't changed: mathematical optimisation anyone can use. Tony Hürlimann remains closely involved as an advisor and mentor.

  2. 2024

    Taking tournament scheduling to the web

    Tony set a clear direction for the next chapter: bring the tournament scheduling software to the web, and prepare the company for the next generation. In spring 2024, Tim Schelbert joined to help make both happen.

  3. 2023

    Reto Wyss comes on board

    For years, Tony carried it all: the research, the software, and the business. In summer 2023, Reto Wyss joined him. At first, Reto helped with Tony's personal project, matmod.ch. It soon turned into much more.

  4. 2021

    Christoph Hürlimann steps back

    In 2021, Christoph Hürlimann stepped back from day-to-day operations, leaving Tony to run the company alone. Client projects for sports leagues and transit networks carried on. But an important question loomed: what did the long-term future look like?

  5. 2012

    Schedules for professional sports leagues

    In 2012, we took on a demanding new challenge: fixture scheduling for professional sports leagues. Deep combinatorics, high real-world stakes. It remains one of our core pillars today. Public transport operators followed soon after, with complex route and crew planning.

  6. 2011

    Incorporating as Virtual Optima GmbH

    The sole proprietorship was officially incorporated as Virtual Optima GmbH. With that shift came a clearer commercial focus and the first major industrial contracts. Pure research was turning into lasting client partnerships.

  7. 2008

    Two brothers, one company

    Christoph Hürlimann joined full-time as the second team member. Over the following years, the brothers built the business together, starting with projects in the manufacturing sector. Step by step, applied research became a real company.

  8. 2004

    Stepping out on his own

    Tony Hürlimann registered a sole proprietorship. It was a cautious but deliberate first step: his own projects, still deeply rooted in university research. At the time, it was less a commercial enterprise and more a home for applied research.

  9. Before 2004

    An idea born in research

    Our story didn't start in a boardroom—it started in a lab. At the University of Fribourg, Tony Hürlimann spent years developing his own modelling language: LPL. Its purpose: formulate complex mathematical problems and solve them. Over time, Tony became convinced that this work had real value far beyond academia.

Tony Hürlimann, Tim Schelbert and Reto Wyss in front of a flip chart

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