[ad_1]
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Swiss companies to attract top executives from abroad. The reason for this is the crown crisis. That should also have long-term consequences.
Nestlé boss Mark Schneider moved from Germany to Switzerland. He wants to reshape the food giant.
Photo: LMD
For decades it was an important success factor for the Swiss economy: the country was attractive to young talent and top managers from all over the world. In addition to their professional duties, international executives appreciate stability, diverse leisure opportunities, and comparatively low taxes. But now this model threatens to fail.
«Am METERoment können wir northOld Testament a lot Kader-Lat Schweiz decoy, “says scout Oliver Schiltz. He is the Swiss director of the global executive search company Heidrick & Struggles. The reason for the reluctance is also the high infection rates compared to other countries. «If he Schweizer He thinks it iskIf no one comes, I can tell you – it’s not like that»Says Schiltz. «We are a little ridiculed by many, Y will viewed critically as well Schweiz latest has acted. “In the phone calls, customers in the US were surprised how Switzerland, as a country with a good infrastructure and a good healthcare system, got into trouble. “This makes the country less attractive, at least in the short term,” says Schiltz.
Many large corporations are run by foreign bosses …
Today, almost half of the 50 largest publicly listed Swiss companies (SMI Expanded) have company heads with foreign roots. That’s more than double that of overseas: Worldwide, the share of heads of foreign companies is 21 percent, as a Heidrick & Struggles survey shows.
This is also confirmed by a look at the boardrooms of leading Swiss companies: at the pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis, both Severin Schwan and Vasant Narasimhan are not Swiss by birth. Nestlé boss Mark Schneider is a German-American citizen. And in the banks, UBS recently had a Dutch boss in Ralph Hamers. Only Thomas Gottstein, at the head of Credit Suisse, comes from the country, after his two predecessors were not Swiss by birth.
Roche’s boss, Severin Schwan, is Austrian and recently obtained a Swiss passport.
Photo: TDG
Novartis boss Vas Narasimhan is a US citizen.
Photo: Georgios Kefalas (Keystone)
Thomas Gottstein is the director of Credit Suisse and a Swiss citizen.
Photo: Ennio Leanza (Keystone)
… but there could be more Swiss in the future
In the long term, the trend related to the crown could mean that in the future more Swiss could be found in the CEOs. The proportion of heads of foreign companies could fall in the next ten years from the current 46 percent to 30 to 35 percent, according to Schiltz. However, the reason for this is not only the crisis of the crown. The new company law, which is expected to come into effect from 2022, which provides for a quota of women of at least 20 percent on boards of directors, should also bring changes. According to Schiltz, more Swiss women are likely to play a role here.
What should aspiring Swiss managers bring to make the leap to the top? Above all international experience, says Schiltz. «People have to be motivated be, daWith she ins Ago to usland. Can not be that 20 JI’m in Campus In Basel or Zurich spend and then ten days meEnglish course in Cambridge power», So Schiltz.
