What advice would you offer to someone relocating to Switzerland?

Embrace Switzerland and do not be tempted to compare it with your home country.  Adapt to the different ways of life and attitudes.  Schooling is very different; children go to school here at a later age and do not spend a full day until they are in 4^th or 5^th grade.  For native English speakers you will have no problem living in one of the big cities; however you must learn German if you are going to a rural community. Enjoy the lovely landscapes!

You have worked for Helvetic for the last 8 years, how have you found the Swiss market & working environment has changed over this period?

The aviation industry has changed a lot over the last 8 years.  There is a great deal of legislation to comply with now.  The banking sector has seen a similar increase in reporting and compliance issues.  However, these changes are true of the aviation industry worldwide, not just here in Switzerland.

With the economic slowdown of the Swiss economy in 2015, what do you think are the major challenges that lie ahead for Switzerland’s growth?

In the short term, companies need to do their homework, adapt accordingly and become more efficient.  Restructuring is necessary, transferring some of the labour force elsewhere in Europe for example.  Long term, here in Switzerland, we need to focus on innovation and motivating the younger generation to continue in further education, pursue their academic studies and take up apprenticeships.  There are a huge number of apprenticeships that have not been filled; this must be addressed.  The youth of today are the key to the future.

Swiss companies must become more efficient to compete with the changing Euro and US Dollar exchange rates.

What does your organisation currently do to contribute towards the corporate social responsibility?

This is not heavily advertised but we sponsor 8 cars for an organisation called Tixi – a foundation that provides a taxi service at a heavily subsidised rate for people who can no longer access public transport (for example, wheelchair users, OAPs).  The drivers are all volunteers.

What are Helvetic’s growth plans?

In May 2010 we had 120 employees; today we have more than 400. In the last 12 months our fleet has increased from 6 to 13 planes, with an accompanying increase in personnel.  3 years ago we decided to create our own maintenance department to maintain a tighter control on cost; we now have 50 engineers of many different nationalities.  Unfortunately there are no longer any academic programmes in aircraft engineering in Switzerland and no Swiss specialists in this field so we were obliged to source personnel from abroad. 

We now need to look at consolidating our rapid growth; we do not want to increase our overheads so we want to look at streamlining processes and rearranging tasks.  We are no longer a small company.  Today with so many employees we have less interpersonal interactions.  Previously I knew every member of staff personally but at our recent summer party I did not know everyone.  We want to imbue our company culture in all our staff; we wish to stabilise now and digest our new growth.

If you could go back and choose a different career what would it be?

I had no clear plans when I was younger; I went with the flow.  I never set out to work in the aviation industry.  Working at Coopers & Lybrand, one of the big audit companies, gave me the foundation to go abroad.  I would not change my career path.  I feel that whatever you do, you must be passionate about it.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

I work with so many interesting people - people of different nationalities, with different skill sets from engineers to pilots and cabin crew and people of all ages.  I enjoy motivating our staff.

Looking back through your established career, what would you identify as a personal highlight?

I cannot define one highlight, there are several.  In a previous job I worked out in Delhi, India for a time which I found rewarding.  Recently when we purchased a new aircraft, I travelled in the cockpit alongside the pilot which was great.  However to travel on one of our flights alongside passengers and see that they are happy is just as rewarding for me.

How would you advise a jobseeker to approach the current market?

At the moment I think it is quite difficult; you are competing against so many other people. You should focus on your strengths and convince your counterpart that you are the one for the job.  Be open minded and face challenges head on.  You cannot limit yourself to an industry that interest you; you may find a job in an area you like or maybe not.  All companies have good points and areas where you can make a difference.  This should be your goal: to make a difference and improvements in a company.

Do you have any hidden talents?

Yes, but they remain hidden!  I enjoy sports, in particular running - I am currently preparing for my second marathon. I also enjoy skiing and hiking in the mountains!!

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*

Emerson Process Management seems to be continuing to grow and expand what makes you stand out from your competitors?

I think we have had a good run until a year ago. In all fairness, however, with the oil price being low this year we – like our competitors- are now having to structure and redirect our business towards industries that use oil and gas as their feedstock. Our recent order intake numbers make us optimistic that we are going in the right direction .As you alluded to in your initial question we have done really well.

What do you enjoy about living and working in Switzerland?

It is a very stable environment in a central European location and an excellent infrastructure. Tax incentives have always been a factor in the past. And quality of life is very good here.

As someone who has about ten years of experience working in the Swiss market-place, how have you found the Swiss market & working environment to have changed over these years?

Economically things have changed in the last couple of years: there is more pressure for transparency in banking and taxation. Last year’s referendum on immigration will inevitably have a future impact on the issue of work permits. Finally the Swiss franc has recently strengthened. These things all put pressure on the country and companies and serious challenges ahead.

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the business?

No one can tell where the oil price will go, but if you watch the news the supply of oil and gas is high at the moment and we will stay in this low oil price environment for a while so we have to explore other sectors. We have benefitted from the expanding Chinese economy, so the downturn in the Chinese economy has affected our business. We will have to see how we reposition in China and the export from our European countries into China. It’s a portion of our business but not large enough to have a dramatic effect. Matters in Russia we will also have to monitor.

Have the ongoing problems in Greece and its impact on the Eurozone had any impact on Emerson?

The Greek market is comparatively small. However, the Greek crisis has had a detrimental impact on the Euro.

What attracted you to join Emerson and what has kept you engaged about working here?

I joined when a segment of my previous company was acquired by Emerson.  Once here I began to appreciate the company culture and its values, which match my own in many ways. It is a global company with a vast number of career opportunities, assuming you have the flexibility and personal circumstances that allow you to pursue positions abroad.

What do you see as the core values of Emerson?

Drive for results, continuous improvement and problem solving, reliability and commitment, honesty, humility and integrity. We don’t take short cuts and we work hard.

If you could go back and give your younger (graduate) self some career advice, what would it be?

My oldest daughter just finished her International Baccalaureate and we are having lots of discussions right now.  I recommend taking time whilst you are young to explore what you enjoy doing; your chances of success are significantly higher if you really like what you are doing. Try new things; have different experiences and try different occupations. Travel is invaluable to get a sense of the vast variety the world has to offer; see the world before getting embedded in your career. Do not be naïve in thinking you can plan or predict anything beyond the next 5 to 10 years.  It is likely that you will retire in a quite different place than where you started your career and that in itself is not a bad thing.

What are your personal motivators?

Making the company better every day; helping the team to develop their competitive edge; using my common sense; decision making as if it were my own company; continually learning; helping to nurture younger talent.

How did you plan out your career development path?

Step by step, I had no long term plan. I was open minded and self-motivated and grabbed every opportunity that arose.

How do you relax outside work?

Honestly, I do struggle to switch off from work at times. I am trying at the moment to get my focus back on the main things and don’t get distracted by the noise. I have worked out with my all my direct reports to work a system for when I am on holiday to prevent flooding my emails and how to reduce e-mail traffic in general. It is one thing to say, I am not going to look at my emails, but at the same time nobody wants to get back from holiday and have a 1000+ emails. When I do switch off eventually, I enjoy spending time with my family, sports (hiking and skiing), reading, wining and dining.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

Having a hand in the development of future leaders, coaching, inspiring and mentoring people.                                                        

Looking back through your career, what would you identify as a personal highlight?

My time in China shaped me the most, both in work and private life.  It was a real adventure. There were several particularly memorable leaders who had a great influence on me.

What was the worst / best interview experience you have had?

Best: when you can have lively discussions on different business scenarios early on in an interview.

Worst: when a candidate answers with a generic statement indicating that they have not had hands-on experience.

How would you advise a jobseeker to approach the current market?

Do your research! Spend as long as time allows for detailed research.  Ensure that you make you application in the appropriate manner for that particular company. Showing an edge is better than trying to please everyone. Have a niche.

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders, and why?

Be passionate, true and use your common sense. Take a balanced view; keep your sense of humour and moral integrity. Make a difference and try to maintain an entrepreneurial stance, even in a large corporation.

Which person do you admire in business and why?

Steve Jobs for his uncompromising vision and execution; I am not sure I would adopt his leadership style however!  There are also a number of CEOs, of small and medium size companies, for their personal vision and perseverance surviving in niche markets through innovation and speed. Politically I admired the German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, in my opinion, one of the best leaders Germany ever had.  It is fascinating and humbling to read his views and learn the extent of his knowledge.

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*

What would you say are the advantages of living and working in Switzerland?

Well, for me, especially if you look at the area of Lucerne to Zurich, it’s the smallest capital in the world, so, what I enjoy here, actually compared to London or New York, it’s the living standards, so you have fantastic public transportation, you have a lot of cultural things going on, for a more or less ok price and the kindergartens, the schools, the universities, are close by and they are state-of-the-art from an education point of view, so for me, it’s the way of living here – it’s easy and secure.

Yes, a lot of people have moved over because of all of these advantages that Switzerland has to offer.

Yes, this is true. It always depends on the company that you’re working for, so when you’re working for an International company, they can be straightforward and quite hard with their staff, so this is not the unique point in Switzerland, you don’t have the security, like you have in Germany, for example. This is a disadvantage. But, the job market, more or less, is quite good. So when you lose your job, and you’re up with your education, it is easier to find another job, an equivalent job, so this is good. You are still able to choose what you want to do.

That’s great. What challenges do you think are ahead for the Swiss economy over the next 5 years?

The strong Swiss franc.  The Head Office is right now under the pressure of 1 franc, 1 euro.  When they started in Switzerland, it was 1 - 1.50, and even the dollar was at 1.2; now it’s around .95, so you had an automatic increase in costs for International companies. This is certainly a challenge – how to speed up with their own process to make it cheaper, to make it faster and slimmer.  The other point is that Switzerland has to keep up the pace of innovation – Switzerland is known for all sorts of innovation – that‘s why the economy is so strong so this also has to keep the pace.

How have you seen individuals have reacted to the challenges with the Swiss franc?

Local people, surprisingly enough, love it, because there is easy shopping in Europe, or vacations become a lot cheaper, so they are not really frightened of how it harms our own economy. Further to that, what Switzerland has to seek going forward, we have to start to train out own experts – you look at the health industry - 60-70% of people working in the health industry are people from abroad, so here, we have to grow from the inside as well to train the people.  To offer them standard salaries – why a lot of foreigners are coming to Switzerland because the salaries are already high – so we have to train the people.  Health is the biggest market coming up for Switzerland as well, since also the population is getting older. I’m one of the baby boomers and we are now coming to retirement age, and we need health, people looking after us – this is a big challenge also for the economy.

How have you seen the role of Finance change over the last 10 years?

The biggest change is the fast growth of information needs, so you want to look at your results from all sorts of aspects: by area, by product code, by the smallest item possible, so in Finance, that means that all these numbers have to be imported with downloads, and not any more with posting as in the old days, manually, so you have a lot of interfaces to maintain. The other part is that it grew in SOX controls, written controls and formalised controls; this was not the case 10 years ago. It started about 10 years ago, but now, it is state-of-the-art –everything you do has to be supported, has to carry on the correct signatures, otherwise it will end up in a deficiency and so, this is much stronger than it was 10 years ago.

What would you say the biggest challenge is for companies based in Switzerland in the current market?

For Swiss-based companies, it’s still the strong Swiss franc – this is certainly one of the biggest ones. For the local companies, it’s the tax benefits foreign companies receive when they move to Switzerland – they have this tax advantage for 5 to 10 years, which the local companies don’t have any more, so they feel the pressure there.

What would you say is the best piece of advice you could give someone who is just starting out in their career in Finance?

I love finance. Finance for me, is a mirror of the company – you see everything when you are working in Finance – all the money coming in, all the expenses, so you know what’s going on. Starting a finance career you have to plan, normally when you are around 22.  Sometimes, you make a career by luck, but others make a career by planning. This is always a question when you have interviews: ‘where do you want to be in 5 years or 10 years?’ I recognise that a lot of people, they say something because they have to – they are trained to say something – but they don’t feel it in their heart.  Try to gain a profound knowledge, rather than start to work as an AP, better start off in a small company where you are responsible for the whole process.  They are exactly the same processes that you will see in even the biggest companies, but when you are head of there or you’re managing the accountants, then the door is actually open to apply for jobs in bigger companies, so plan it.

So does it make out harder to find people in general, do you think?

Today, to recruit people with process knowledge, this is quite hard, because normally, they are starting at bigger companies – they are doing their education in bigger companies, so they are always only doing little parts of the job.  Once you really understand the process, how it goes, how you’re factoring, how you’re billing, how you get the signatures, the whole process in one and you do it for 2-3 years, this is knowledge that you will always be able to use.

From your point of view, what’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given to date?

To say no. When you are asked to do things, especially in today’s environment, say no. Sometimes management asks you to do postings without the accurate supporting documentation, say no. When you are unhappy, change. When you don’t feel right in your position, or even in your life, when you don’t feel happy, change it. We are lucky, that in Switzerland, we are in the position, economically, for the time being, to say no to a job and go on in life and in career.

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*

What do you love about Switzerland and why?

As a native Swiss, this is a wonderful question to answer. But I think the wonders of Switzerland are obvious to anyone who lives and works here. In business, I'd call out Switzerland's capacity for innovation, high quality products, and excellent education and management skills. Personally, I love skiing and mountain biking - we have breathtaking mountains and views.

What do you think are the major challenges that lie ahead for Switzerland's growth?

I do not intend to give the Federal government or its institutions advice on the economy, but I can share some of Logitech's recipe for growth. Our co-founder, Daniel Borel, says that "success is never final". He's so right. The day you succeed at something, you should move towards your next success. Logitech designs dozens of products every year in an industry full of competitors, many of whom are inspired by our innovation and follow quickly after. That means we can never be satisfied with our success. We need to move fast and innovate. Last fiscal year we grew three new businesses into our portfolio - mobile speakers, video collaboration products for small and medium sized businesses, and accessories for tablet computers. They contributed around $380 million dollars to our sales. This is a great example of the need to move fast, innovate and keep moving. Whatever the future for Switzerland's growth, I'm convinced we'll succeed.

How does your organization stand out from the market and your competitors?

I've already described Logitech's ability to move fast and innovate. That sounds easy, but for a global organisation with around 7000 employees, it's a daily challenge. We have a "small company" culture at Logitech to help keep us hungry and lean, like a start-up. As a start-up you have nothing to lose - decisions get made and you move fast. That's what we aim for, no matter how big we grow. Big companies can all too easily be slowed down by bureaucracy, hierarchy and the complacency of size. We work to being the same speed into our innovation machine - prototyping ideas and iterations of our products very rapidly in order to fail, learn and perfect them as quickly as possible. We have also recently integrated a culture of design into our product innovation machine, ensuring our product experiences reflect art as well as science.

What are your growth plans?

Over the past two years we've worked hard on our profitability - it has tripled over that time period. We're now accelerating our growth transformation. For the current fiscal year, our outlook is to achieve 7% growth in our retail business in constant currency.

What challenges await your business and how will you overcome them?

Like every business, we face innumerable challenges. The PC and iPad markets are currently in decline, the strong dollar creates headwinds for our sales. Nevertheless, we never expect to be doing business without challenges and believe our strategy to be the right one.

What excites you about working for Logitech?

I've touched upon the reasons already - small company culture, the speed of the business... It's a wonderfully fast and inspiring culture built on the back of a great team of people.

If you could give your younger self career advice, what would it be?

Keep on learning - the world is changing so fast, you have to keep looking at it with a new pair of eyes.

What do you feel makes an effective sparring partner?

Someone once said that strategy without numbers is poetry. Said differently, strategy without numbers is just words. The point is that great strategies yield great numbers, and that really is what I love in my job. In partnership with my business leads, we frame strategies that yield growth, margin and cash. To succeed you need to convert data into insights, and insights into actions and lead organizations to ultimately impact positively our business. Being in finance, numbers are definitely a form of ” professional poetry”? but above all leadership and impact is what counts.

What are your personal motivators?

To have fun a work - it's a large part of your life. I love that I don't know what a day will be made of. I also admit to specifically enjoying working for Logitech. There's something new every day and I work with people who truly believe they can change the world if they put their mind to it.

When did you decide to explore a career in this area and why?

I better not admit that it was as early as 13 years old. Did I say that out loud?

How did you plan out your career path?

My first big job was with P&G - probably one of the best leadership ” academies”?. On-the-job experience and career progression there is a career plan in itself. That said, at the heart of a career, will always be a vision to achieve, a passion to pursue ... and the ability to identify the right opportunities.

What recruitment challenged do you face?

The idea some people have of Logitech is a Logitech from the traditional world of the PC. That's how we built our business. For the past two or three years, we've been reinventing ourselves. Our people, culture, product lines, leadership and brand are all very different, keeping the best of who we've always been. Every new candidate needs to be brought up to speed on this.

What attributes do you look for when choosing a recruitment partner?

The most important element in my opinion is a partner who takes the time to understand the company and role in order to identify the right profiles. EMEA Recruitment did just this - it took the necessary time rather than rushing in.

What advice would you give to future aspiring leaders or someone aspiring to be where you are now?

Branson is great, but there is not necessarily a need to be Branson to inspire. There are lots of talented people around you. If you learn from and emulate the best of them you're already on a good path. Also, it's important to learn that what you learn is often not what actually happens!

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*

What do you love about Switzerland and why?

Its structure, location, security, humbleness

Despite the fact that Switzerland is one of the 5 most desired countries to live in in the world, its humbleness always surprises me. At the point of where I am in my life and career, I truly enjoy the clarity which is the result of this country’s clear structure and rules. It gives me and my family a great feeling of security, which in today’s world we live in has become a very important word.

What advice would you offer to someone moving to Switzerland?

I`d like to highlight that this is coming from a person who is an expat myself: my recommendation to someone moving to Switzerland is to be culturally aware, do your homework and prepare well – meaning to be informed about Switzerland 's cultural values, the mentality of Swiss people, the working culture, language -  to which extend possible. To be open to understand what makes Switzerland so Swiss! It will make the transition and adaptation in this country less challenging, plus it may open the door to numerous opportunities.

What excites you about working for Evraz?

The international environment and dynamic working culture, plenty of opportunities for me to learn and grow professionally as well as a person.

Being a sparring partner is a pre requisite for and HR/Finance Division – what do you feel makes an effective sparring partner?

Ensuring mutual understanding of common goals and needs from both sides. Being professional and competent in your own area of work, to be able to communicate your views and add important factors to influence management decisions.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

The most rewarding part of my role I would say is recognizing that people rely on me as their trusting partner.

What recruitment challenges do you face?

Time - no enough time to recruite for a certain role,which takes away on the quality of selection process; not enough candidates available at the right time, with the right profile

What attributes do you look for when choosing a recruitment partner?

Someone willing to take time to understand the needs or requirements for the role, the fine details beyond the job description. Thorough pre-selection of the candidates and close contact throughout the recruitment process.

What would be your advice to someone aspiring to be where you are now?

Believe in yourself, always try to be excellent in whatever you do. Work hard, but nurture your personality and character along the way, because that is what makes you stand out. 

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*

As someone who has had over 27 years' experience within the Swiss market-place, how have you found the Swiss market & working environment has changed over these years?

I would say the changes came from the European Union, as Switzerland didn’t join the EU this had a big impact on our economy. Bilateral agreements were made resulting in pressure on the Swiss Market companies and industries to be more competitive, suddenly you had a group with demands and regulations that we were not part of but still we export to the EU with 60% going to the German market. We must be competitive on the price. Switzerland is a country which people will relocate to for work which gives us an excellent quality of employees, making CH more flexible which is key to surviving as an individual and company. As a company, currency is a worry, before Brexit the Swiss Bank froze its currency which gave pressure to export and import in turn adding to costs with the revenue of the company which in turn adds costs across the board.

What, in your opinion, have been the drivers for these changes?

The recession in 2008 definitely made an impact on the retail industry, from that we have learnt and are still learning how to recover and how to regain our status. Migration has grown as a direct result of the recession impacting on the workforce.

What advice would you offer to someone moving to Switzerland?

Be open to new experiences, as things will be different, Switzerland is an open country that embraces people. Do research and make yourself aware of the cost of living, this can come as a surprise to some who relocate. Make yourself aware of the language skills you will require also.

What challenges await your business and how do you hope to overcome them?

One challenge we had was to reduce costs. We were aware that 70% of our revenue was coming from Europe and we needed to balance this with ensuring staffing costs were met. We reviewed the efficiency of our staff and found that now staff are 20-30% more efficient. We have achieved this by hiring teams that work well together and not by just looking at a fashion background.

What excites you about working for Veldhoven?

The fashion industry it is a very dynamic sector to work in and Veldhoven is no exception. Being in the Finance department of this sector it is not always easy to predict retail forecasts, due to weather, economy and trend influences. The life time of a style is very short as this governed by the seasons, once the stock has been removed from the shops it will then go to an outlet which leads to larger amounts of stock. We pride ourselves on producing sophisticated products which means we hire skilled people, which makes for a very interesting workplace.

What are your personal motivators?

I personally get great satisfaction from following business processes, I also enjoy the social aspect of the fashion industry and the influences by our Dutch shareholders.

When did you decide to explore a career in this area and why?

To be very honest I had a colleague who introduced me to someone in his network who knew of the position as Veldhoven. The fascination for me is how the products are made and being able to test them, I genuinely like fashion.

What was the worst / best interview experience you have had?

I believe that within the first 10 minutes of an interview you gain a good or bad feeling of that person, I don’t believe you need 2 hours. I like people that listen, and are direct with their answers. It is a lot to do with intuition, I believe in content, if I’m interviewing a controller I will cover their analysis, what is important to them, how they manage a business case and listen to their approach. Maybe offer half a day in the office to gain a clear insight into the business. Always check references, and communication skills. Team fit is everything.

Describe yourself in 3 words

straight, engaged, trustworthy

*Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the Interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.*