Van Verre 296 - ENG

WATCH EXPERT MAURICE JANSSEN:

"Haute couture watches are becoming professional investment products."

THEME: THE SECRET OF SWITZERLAND

*Jan Driessens, ex Europe Ball Packaging: Respect for success!

*Hans van der Loo, Integrated Economic Research: Switzerland's donut complex

*Olivier Mulder, commodity trader: "Strict compliance at Trafigua!"

*Madeleine Kemna, Chief Economist: Heart of capitalist stronghold!

* Annemarie Braunius, marketing expert: Ties off at Nestlé!

*Carel Jongbloed, entrepreneur: Any villains welcome at Swiss banking?

* Youssef Khayali, biotechnologist: Idealism of Hoffman family at Roche.

*Allard Vogelpoel, marketer: Roger Federer and Robert de Niro bring back tourists!

*Marjol Nijnens, M&A negotiator: Opportunities for ABB in the US.

*Jeffry de Jong, business controller: Mammut outdoor equipment should save lives.

*Pipsa Ylänkö, top woman: career in Swiss non-profit sector.

CONTENTS VAN VERRE no.296

SERIES

52 TOP WOMEN

THEME: THE SECRET OF SWITZERLAND

08 INTRODUCTION THEME

10 Jan Driessens (19925105), ex-president Europe Ball Packaging: What makes Switzerland different is the respect for success!

15 Hans van der Loo (19990459), Integrated Economic Research: Switzerland's Donut Complex.

17 Commodity trader Olivier Mulder (20110049): "Compliance at Trafigura was very strict!"

20 Madeleine Kemna (19850036) Chief Economist at Hoofbosch: At the heart of a capitalist stronghold!

22 Watch expert Maurice Janssen (20005440): "Haute couture watches are becoming professional investment products."

28 "With a German as CEO, ties went off at Nestlé!" So says marketing expert Annemarie Braunius-Zondag (19840139).

30 Entrepreneur Carel Jongbloed (19720024): "Question of conscience: should Swiss banking welcome every villain?"

35 Roche driven by idealism of Hoffman family! Says biotechnologist

38 Top marketer Roger Federer and Robert de Niro are being used to bring back tourists!

44 Marjol Nijnens (20030070), negotiator at ABB: "The biggest opportunities for acquisitions are now in the United States."

50 Jeffry de Jong (Msc20070059 Business controller Mammut: Under the spell of the Swiss Alps.

Global manager Pipsa Ylänkö: A career focused on the non-profit sector in Switzerland. Over 1,000 surgeons will gather in Davos in December for the annual AO Foundation summit meeting. They are professionals with the best hands, trained by the Swiss organisation.Pipsa Ylänkö (20060525) now watches over sustainable success of the Flagship Event.

COLUMNS

03 CHIEF EDITORIAL

Oele Steenks: Switzerland remains mystical!

07 Comparing Swiss & European Banking. Prof. Dr. Dennis Vink (Professor of Finance & Investment Nyenrode Business Universiteit) & Vivian van Breemen (PhD graduate Finance & Investment Nyenrode Business Universiteit)1

43 Helvetophile; Kapé Breukelaar

VCV NEWS

Recently, Switzerland has seen huge sums of money credited to bank accounts due to banking secrecy. Since secrecy was involved, financial experts assume that a lot of faulty money was also deposited in the country, but it is an educated guess. In the last century, it was primarily about tax evasion by entrepreneurs and professionals, who often combined owning a holiday home with opening a Swiss bank account. More serious was the welcoming by banks of dictators from African countries and businessmen who flouted Western sanctions against, for instance, Iran and North Korea. On the face of it, the situation seems to have improved greatly with the adjustment of banking rules under OECD provisions. Simply put, it would be done with banking secrecy.

In the interviews we have had, several alumni living in Switzlerand cite the practices of Swiss banks as questionable. The failure of mismanaged Credit Suisse will certainly have contributed to this open-heartedness. For instance, successful entrepreneur Carel Jongbloed (19720024) argues that Swiss banks have become very deft at shifting sums to the world's latest tax havens.

Former top executive Jan Driessens (19925105), who took up residence in Switzerland after a fine career in the packaging industry, argues that an outsider cannot know how rich the country actually is.

It is likely that Swiss banks will be further pressured in the near future because of Russian billionaires banking in Switzerland and on the sanctions list in connection with supporting President Putin in waging war in Ukraine.

OELE STEENKS (19720057)

SWITZERLAND REMAINS MYSTICAL!

In a way, this coincides with political pressure from the US, EU and UK on the Swiss to put their arms industry at the service of supporting the Ukrainian military. Particularly in Brussels, people are not very keen on the neutrality policy of Switzerland in the military field, and this mainly concerns the export conditions of war materiel. Probably the size of the Swiss arms industry is also among the issues kept out of sight of the general public by the country. In many ways, Switzerland is a fairly closed front.

The country's much lauded political stability makes this possible. At the national level, the four largest political parties - the SVP, FDP, SP and Mitte - have held firm control since World War II. Our alumni praise the Principle of Concordance, which stipulates that the four parties apply a fixed key distribution of seven ministerial posts in the Bundesrat (the Swiss cabinet), as long as they get more than 70 per cent of the vote in national elections.

Furthermore, the Bundesrat presents itself as a unit. When making political decisions, it is communicated that the Bundesrat has made the following decision. Exactly who thought and said what in the Bundesrat remains. Furthermore, Swiss voters have a high degree of influence because the municipalities and cantons have a high level of democracy. This certainly applies to the cantons, which are allowed to set their own tax rateswith income tax and corporate tax being the main pillars.

Should Swiss voters feel that something urgently needs to change outside the Bundesrat and the national parliament, they can stage a referendum. It is a political weapon that probably does not work as effectively anywhere else. By distributing a detailed information

leaflet, the Swiss are informed about the issue and the corresponding decision, on which a Yes or No vote must be taken. Often the pros and cons are close -for example, 51% for and 49% against. In such a case, the majority counts and there is a political trust that the losers acquiesce to the verdict. There is no further whining about it, or as the Swiss say, it is a matter of Obrigkeit. Political stability and mild tax rates in a number of kan-tons -with the canton of Zug leading the way- have attracted many multinationals to Switzerland. To date, this ensures Switzerland's No 1 position (Prosperity Index) as an ideal business environment. Interestingly, among the country's largest companies, about half are international trading companies, such as Glencore, Vitol, Trafigura, Cargill, Mercuria Energy Trading and Gunvor. These companies are reasonably anchored in Switzerland, but in principle, they could also settle in other continents or metropolises.

That does not apply to truly Swiss companies such as Nestlé and HoffmanlaRoche. Annemarie Braunius-Zomer (19840139) worked for Nestlé and Youssef Khayali (20070409) at Hoffman-laRoche. They give an insight into the innovativeness and efficiency of both companies. Madeleine Kemna (19850036) is Chief Economist at Hoofbosch, and comes up with three examples of Swiss companies succeeding with technical innovation and perfection. Jeweller and investment advisor Maurice Janssen (20005440) shares background information on the Swiss watch industry. In particular, expensive models from top brands have become attractive investments for family offices! ♦

Happy reading!

Oele Steenks, editor-in-chief

RESPONSES? josteenks@planet.nl

FROM THE BOARD Stability through change

Anew spring a new sound. This spring, the annual representatives elected a new board on behalf of the association's members.

I am honoured to serve in it as the new chairperson. This also ended my association with Corina Blokland, our previous chairwoman, with whom I had the pleasure of working for some 11 years. We wish her the best of luck with her new family! In addition, an honourable mention is certainly in order for Niels Aerts, who has stepped down as treasurer. Niels, many thanks to you too for your years of commitment and all the best!

The new board will start work with a lot of energy. I would like to mention a number of projects we will be spearheading particularly hard in the coming years. Firstly, we want to make the added value of membership clearer and increase it. We hope to meet members more often and offer them more activities, for the different target groups we know. Being a member should pay off. For the network, for the activities, to stay informed about the ups and downs of Nyenrode and its alumni, for discounts on continuing education, et cetera.

Secondly, we have formulated a spearhead to start recruiting more members. In depth, by recruiting among current students where we have lost members over the years. But also in breadth, among the students that

are less able to find the association. The condition for the latter is that we do have something to offer everyone. Incidentally, good insight into current membership numbers and movements is essential for this spearhead, something that could be improved.

The third spearhead is to cooperate optimally with Nyenrode and thereby make the association more decisive and future-proof. We currently already work together in a joint 'Development Office' and know how to find each other. Our administrative processes and 'back office' can also be taken to a higher level through effective cooperation. We greatly value the cooperation with Nyenrode and contribute to the objectives of our alma mater without jeopardising the independence of the association. This very independence is what has made us so special as an association and network.

The purpose of all this? To remain as strong, active, inspired, and committed as we have always been. Stability is a great thing and in order to achieve it, one sometimes has to change tack a little. Something that, incidentally, also ties in closely with this magazine's theme, Switzerland. A country par excellence that knows how to cultivate a stable (financial) climate in an everchanging world. And what works for Swiss banks might well work for Nyenrodians too? ♦

Van Verre

03-07-2023

NYENRODE ALUMNI VCV GOLFDAG

14-07-2023

KRING COMMISSARISSEN BBQ  02-09-2023

HV TUINFEEST 04-09-2023

OPENING ACADEMIC YEAR 04-10-2023

KRING INTERIM MANAGMENT 11-11-2023

JAZZNIGHT 20-11-2023

DIES NATALIS NYENRODE 30-11-2023

REFRESHMENTDAY

FOR APPLICATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION: NYENRODEALUMNI.NL AND NYENRODE ALUMNI VCV OFFICE, INFO@NYENRODEALUMNI.NL,

VACANCY marketing & communications

The main board of Nyenrode Alumni VCV has a vacancy for the position Commissioner Marketing & Communication. We are looking for an enthusiastic member (m/f) with some background in the field, but especially time and passion to dedicate to the Nyenrode network.

The Commissioner M&C is responsible for the 'look and feel' of all expressions of the association, including the Van Verre magazine and newsletters. This person can also make an important contribution to better express the added value of membership. You will work in a collegial board that meets about once a month (in the evening). You will work closely with colleagues at Nyenrode's Development Office. In terms of time commitment, think approximately 20 hours per month on average.

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD TOGETHER IN RETAIL

On Thursday June 1, a large delegation from Retail Netherlands came to Nyenrode for the seminar: Building a better World together in Retail. Making our consumer society more sustainable is one of the main challenges of our time. No longer throwing anything away but reusing it, be it food, clothing, construction, or furnishings of buildings/shops. However, it is proving difficult to change our behaviour and (food) systems.

NBU Prof André Nijhof took the audience through his journey towards a more sustainable world and the transformations that will take place. “The transition calls for pioneers, entrepreneurs with guts who dare to row against the tide," said Prof Nijhof, who as co-author of the book Changing The Game has generally broken through as a sustainability expert!

Tijn Leussink, DGA of Leussink Retail Group and Jumbo entrepreneur, made an engaging and amusing speech. "The municipality of Goor wants to be a leader in sustainability. Together with my brother, I took up the challenge. Now Goor is home to a brand-new Jumbo, the most circular supermarket in the Benelux! ABN Amro called from head office, asking if they could finance this."

Consultant Courtney Holm (Capgemini Invent), specially flown in from London, has worked for Unilever and British supermarket chain Tesco. Her message hit hard. "Supply of and demand for food is coming out of balance. Consumers need to get used to seasonal products on the shelves. If things continue like this, coffee will become a luxury product because there are too few farmers growing coffee." With such pithy statements, Courtney managed to set up a sparkling dialogue with the audience.

Fashion retailer Wouter van der Leij, together with Marjan Haselhoff, opened the first fully circular department store TOMO. "My daughter challenged me, but I was done with fast fashion myself. Remember, the textile industry is the biggest CO2 emitter, textiles are 2/3 plastic and 50 million people work in modern slavery - largely in textiles. This has to stop. Only truly sustainable brands are for sale at TOMO; we even give a five-year warranty on the clothes. With us, sustainable is the new normal," says Wouter van der Ley. To find out more, visit: https://tomo-store.com/missie

To conclude, moderator Simone Daniëls (19960021) of the Nyenrode Development Office interviewed two inspired women from HEMA, communications manager Yvette Moll (19830159) and sustainability manager Eva Ronhaar. HEMA has implemented sustainable changes in two new stores in Hilversum and Alkmaar. Now it is evaluating. “We consciously work with good-quality clothing and items within the price range our customers are used to. Our products simply last longer. In the process, we are gradually becoming more sustainable. For instance, we used 23% less plastic in 2022," said Yvette and Eva.

Simone Daniëls went around the room to ask for spontaneous reactions in closing. "I definitely need to go to that TOMO department store," she said. "I'm going to pay more attention to sustainability in the supermarket." "I learned from Wouter that enthusiastic staff help bring sustainable products." It was clear that Building a Better World together in Retail had not missed its impact!

GROUP PHOTO OF THE SPEAKERS.

THERE WERE 140 PARTICIPANTS IN TOTAL.

SIMONE DANIELS MODERATOR.

DRINKS AFTER THE EVENT.

STUDENT BOARD NEWS

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER, PADEL AND FEASTING!

The JCV looks back on a very productive period. Kudos to the business committee, which attracted the companies Mazars, Randstad and Capgemini at its event. Our members were very impressed by the future opportunities these companies can offer. The enthusiasm of the speakers about their first steps in working life emanated off them.

During the JCV x IGC Breakfast Session, we welcomed consultant Vincent Oomes from Deloitte and Matthias Koln, Head of Strategy at Philips, as speakers. Both speakers provided an eye-opener in the consultancy branch and complemented each other very well. The way people work in consultancy was immediately applicable to the assignments ahead of the Msc students.

After the knowledge meetings, it was time for sportsmanship! The first JCV Padel tournament was a hit! JCV members competed at different levels and there was a lot of hard work! The tournament was a great success, who knows, maybe it will become a tradition!

On June 2, the first big JCV alumni party took place in Pllek Amsterdam. All former JCV members and current students were invited and came to this unique location with the theme "Hawaiian Night."

Het XIIe Collegie der JCV

STUDENT LIFE IS BUZZING!

Whereas the rhythm of life is typical for a harmonious combination of work and leisure in Switzerland, this is also recognisable in campus life. Students work hard alongside their studies to provide a diverse range of events for students and alumni. Organising such activities is not only instructive, but also the perfect way to relax and enjoy campus life For example, during the recent Dies Siblings & Parents, new students and their families were able to learn about our activities and get a glimpse of the vibrant student life on campus.

The Student Rally was a great success, with students taking a beautiful ride across the Netherlands. After this successful preview, the Nyenrode Rally promises to be a spectacle that even you alumni will not want to miss. And what about Rugby Club Nyenrode's Homecoming Alumni Match? Alumni will take on the current rugby team to show the current batch how things used to be.

Students are not only active on campus.

For instance, Nyenrode's ROTC team recently secured third place during a sailing week against other universities in challenging weather conditions.

Besides such sporting activities, the Heeren VIjf collaborates with organisations such as 'Through the Sound' and 'Where do you draw the Line' to organise workshops on drug and alcohol use and mental wellbeing. These initiatives contribute to the goal of optimising the future resilience of the NCV association.

In short, student life at Nyenrode is buzzing with energy and activities. It is inspiring to see how students are working to create a vibrant community on campus. As alumni, you can be proud of these achievements.

Van Verre!

Het LXXVIIIe Collegie der Heeren Vijf

Switzerland ranks among the richest and most advanced economies in the world. The country is historically famous for its neutrality, national sovereignty, and economic stability. Yet despite this excellent track record, its banking sector recently experienced a period of considerable turbulence: a good reason to ask ourselves what makes the Swiss banking sector so unique and how it compares to the rest of Europe.

What are salient features of the Swiss banking sector?

Switzerland has a long history of financial discretion and client confidentiality reaching back to the early 1700s. Swiss banking secrecy was codified in 1934 with the passage of the landmark federal law (the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks), making it a criminal offense to reveal client data without permission. This presents a stark contrast with the European banking sector, where secrecy was lifted at latest in 2017. European legislation requires all 28 countries to disclose assets held in their financial institutions by foreign EU nationals.

Some argue that Swiss banking secrecy has led to a significant number of cases involving illegal tax evasion, money laundering, and terrorist financing. International pressure for transparency has led the country to implement a number of changes to its legal framework and align it with international standards, for example those formulated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Despite these changes, Swiss banks continue to remain strongly committed to client confidentiality within the boundaries of the law.

It is this commitment on client confidentiality which allows them to continue to focus on private banking and wealth management, catering to high-net-worth individuals and offering a wide range of (green) financial services. The European banking landscape, on the other hand, exhibits greater diversity in terms of business models and areas of specialization.

What happened with Credit Suisse, and who supervises banks? Until recently, Switzerland was home to two global systemically important banks (G-SIBs), Credit Suisse and UBS. To the surprise of many, Credit Suisse’s stock prices collapsed in March 2023. According to the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the

By Prof. Dr. Dennis Vink (Professor of Finance & Investment Nyenrode Business Universiteit) & Vivian van Breemen (PhD graduate Finance & Investment Nyenrode Business Universiteit)

Comparing Swiss & European Banking

Credit Suisse Group was experiencing a crisis of confidence that resulted in considerable outflows of client funds. This development, in combination with the upheavals in the US banking market, made the bank’s stock prices collapse and led to its takeover by rival UBS.

The supervision of Swiss banks falls within the powers of FINMA; this institution is solely responsible for the Swiss markets. Banking supervision in Europe is centrally arranged by the European Central Bank (ECB) in collaboration with the National Competent Authorities of the country involved. The relative seclusion of Swiss banking supervision and its own unique history makes this, at times, a complex landscape for Financial Institutions. This was also cited as one of the reasons of replacing the Dutch CEO of UBS, Ralph Hamers, with his more historic Swiss predecessor Sergio Ermotti.

What about monetary policy and financial stability?

In Switzerland, a separate authority is established to take care of monetary policy (e.g., interest rates) and financial stability: the Swiss National Bank. In Europe, monetary policy is formulated and under the auspices of a common European umbrella organization: the ECB. The goal of both institutions is alike, namely ensuring price stability (2% inflation rate) while taking due account of economic developments. The difference, however, is that the ECB must deal with all euro countries in determining monetary policy; Switzerland operates completely independently.

What is the role of social media? Trust has always been a key factor in the banking sector. The viral nature and rapid dissemination of (dis-)information on social media can significantly impact customer behavior towards financial institutions and may even exacerbate the impact of bank runs. The speed with which credibility and stock prices of financial institutions are impacted is unprecedented and has led, in the case of Credit Suisse, to a very immediate need for action by both the FINMA and the market. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the impact on engineered (fake) social media is clearly a significant risk which both banks and regulator will need to acknowledge and manage (much) better in order for financial institutions to manage their stock value on the long run. ♦

THEME: THE SECRET OF SWITZERLAND

In this edition's theme, alumni act as connoisseurs of Switzerland and guides in this beautiful Alpine country. Their experiences and reflections range from banking, politics, corporate success, passion for innovation and technical precision, labour market and leisure. Surprisingly, a number of alumni have written their own stories, positively supporting Nyenrodians' commitment to their alma mater! As a taster, here are some salient quotes.

Jan Driessens (19925105): "It's safe here, but you can't just grab a beer on a terrace."

Hans van der Loo (19990459): The Swiss are at the centre of the donut, but are not part of it."

Olivier Mulder (20110049: At Trafigura, I usually came home after midnight and was back in the office before eight the next morning."

Annemarie Braunius-Zondag (19840139): With a German as CEO, ties went off at Nestlé!"

Carel Jongbloed (19720024): Question of conscience: should Swiss banking welcome every villain?"

Youssef Khayali (20070409) : Roche driven by idealism of Hoffman family."

Allard Vogelpoel (20080524): "Roger Federer and Robert de Niro are deployed to bring back tourists".

Marjol Nijnens (20030070): "I came to Switzerland for love."

What makes Switzerland different is the respect for success!

JAN DRIESSENS, EX-CAN TOP EXECUTIVE:

Jan Driessens (19925105) made it far in the international production of cans for soft drinks and beer with an HTS education as a foundation. This is how he became president Europe for US-based Ball Packaging. At 55, the Limburger quit top jobs and moved to Switzerland to enjoy life. He discusses the pros and cons of the country where he has now lived for 17 years. "It's safe here, but you can't just grab a beer on a terrace."

BY OELE STEENKS

Qestion: Can you briefly introduce yourself?

JD: "I come from a real entrepreneurial family and did HTS in Eindhoven at the time. To that I added marketing courses Nima A and B and then I studied business administration at TU Eindhoven and then took the AMP programme at Nyenrode. I started working in sales positions in 1974, with some time working in Switzerland. In 1982, I started

working in Switzerland for the second time for the Wandfluh company making hydraulic and electronic control components. For this company, I set up a new subsidiary in Chicago. When this job was finished, it proved impossible to return to Wandfluh's headquarters, so I moved to Maastricht with my wife and daughter. I then entered the packaging industry for Bates Cepro, Continental Can Europe, and Ball Packaging, respectively. The latter 2 involved the production of cans for

the beer and soft drink industry. I was always asked to join the position of CEO or president for Europe or EMEA and Asia-Pacific. It was always my plan to quit top jobs at fifty-five. I succeeded. Since then, I have run a consulting company called OZO Concepts and have been active as a private equity investor. I did supervisory training at Nyenrode and at IMD-Lausanne. Since then, very internationally, I have been on several Supervisory or Oversight Boards."

Q: Why did you choose Switzerland again?

JD: "I went to Switzerland in 2006 to live privately in Puidoux. Switzerland has some great advantages as a place of residence. There is a diverse culture, many interesting people live there and the country is excellently organised and internationally connected. In addition, it is a safe country. However, I say, you can 'live' in Switzerland, however, 'living' is trickier. The social aspect is considerably less positive, especially for me as a born Limburger. You can't just have a beer on a terrace here. You can go to a hotel bar or restaurant, but the prices are extremely high. Then thirst quickly sets in. Fortunately, our daughter, and our grandson, also live in Switzerland, which provides the necessary conviviality."

Q: Switzerland has a reputation as a heavily regulated society. What is your own experience of that?

JD: "The high level of organisation in Switzerland has a downside. There is often an oppressive atmosphere here. There are many rules and they are actively monitored. For example, if you live in an apartment complex, you are not supposed to flush the toilet after ten in the evening. If you do, there are neighbours who report you to the police. I myself live in a rural area. Mowing lawns on Sundays is not allowed there. You are more likely to find this social oppression in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, such as in the canton of Zug, which is most popular with expats because of the lenient local tax regime for the international companies based there. On the southern side of the Alps, the Italian-

speaking Swiss are already a lot more open-minded. The French-speaking ones are pretty much in between."

Q: Does that narrow-mindedness also translate into envy?

JD: "What really makes Switzerland different is the respect for success. The country is attractive to highly educated young people from abroad who can earn high salaries in multinationals here. Home-grown young people don't necessarily have to go to grammar school and university to make it here. There is a very effective apprenticeship system and many factories have their own corporate training. Welleducated and trained professionals often achieve higher incomes than academics in administrative positions. A top construction worker or plumber can charge high rates here. If you really want to work here, you can go very far financially."

Q: In this context, what are the opportunities for asylum seekers?

JD: "For many asylum seekers, Switzerland has the image of a Valhalla. If they are let in, they can claim a social safety net. The minimum wage in Switzerland is about ZF 4,000 gross. Compared to the Netherlands, this seems like a huge amount, but set against the high price level of this country, it is not enough to live on. The rent of a small flat soon comes to between 2,000 and 3,000 ZF. So you have to find work as a two-earner. If you don't have a value-added education, it becomes very difficult to get by. The downside of prosperous Switzerland is that one and a half million residents are at or below the poverty line. Only a limited social safety net is available for that."

Q: How does your specialistic technical background affect your current existence?

JD: I set up a metal bottle manufacturing company, 'Prime Metal Bottle' and 'Fresh Cap.' The design won me an international innovation award in 2017. The metal bottles can be used sustainably by the beverage industry. However, the company has not taken off internationally, although I am still working on the concept and production technology. I was talking to a PWC partner I know the other day; he said if you had been 45 and put in a few million yourself, it would probably have become a world success. It's frustrating sometimes, because I definitely don't feel too old. Right now, I am working with an investor from Lebanon, who wants to set up a factory in Guinea to produce about 50 million bottles a year. He expects aluminium bottles could become a status symbol in Africa. 50 Million seems a lot but when I was president of Ball Packaging Europe, Ball produced 120 billion cans a year globally for the soft drink and beer industry."

Q: Meanwhile, you have contributed to the sustainability agenda in Switzerland. Can you elaborate on this?

JD: I was approached by the Swiss Golf Federation to help with a sustainability programme. Now I didn't know much about flora and fauna, but I do understand a lot about procedures, processes, and dealing with NGOs. As a first action, I signed an agreement with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This was not so easy because the WWF was afraid of losing sponsorship funds, which do not necessarily want to identify with golf. However, the collaboration has

worked out fine, giving Swiss golf courses international appeal through their sustainability label, which has also addressed the use of pesticides and fertilisers."

Q: What is the state of climate issues in Switzerland?

JD: "I believe that Switzerland, as part of Europe, cannot do much to tackle the climate problem, as China and India are the big polluters of the atmosphere with CO2 and methane emissions. After all, Europe causes only 20% of the global pollution problem itself. In the previous national elections four years ago, climate played an important role, resulting in hefty gains for the Greens. The Swiss, for instance, see that snow-security in the Alps is a growing problem, which in turn causes a water problem and declining diversity of nature. However, I expect that in this year's elections, the Greens will lose. For most Swiss voters, found among the four incumbent parties SVP, FDP, SP, and Mitte, the economy and preserving prosperity come before everything else. They are also concerned about national security and letting in refugees. And it is clear that energy will be an important issue."

Q: The water issue will start to affect power generation through hydropower plants, but Switzerland already had a concentrated nuclear power programme. What is its status?

JD: "In 2017, the Federal Council decided to phase out Switzerland's five nuclear power plants in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. However, influenced by the recent energy crisis, some of the Swiss have regretted that decision. It may be that

the active plants will remain open for longer."

Q: The world praises Switzerland's political stability. How do you view that yourself?

JD: "Since 1948, Switzerland has had a political system based on a policy of Concordance. That stipulates that the cabinet consists of a permanent Bundesrat of seven people supplied by four major political parties, provided they account for at least 70 per cent of the votes in national elections. Now it so happens that in the last election, four years ago, the Greens received so many votes that the four traditional parties did not get beyond a total of 65% of the vote. To outsiders, it would make sense that in a democratic system, the Greens' election win would have been translated into a seat in the Bundesrat. So that is not how it works in Switzerland. There must be an odd number of Bundesrat members, as a majority vote is guaranteed internally. Decisions of the Rat are always communicated externally as a uniform decision, the so-called collegiality principle.

To allow the Greens to join the Rat, theoretically nine seats would have had to be available and that is not possible in this country!"

Q: What about the equally much praised referendums and the right of initiative that gives the Swiss people a lot of say from the villages and cantons respectively?

JD: Foreign countries often misunderstand how Swiss democracy works. This country is governed on the basis of great compromise. What the voting proportions are within the Bundesrat is not brought out. It is

simply said: the Bundesrat has come to the following decision! Democracy starts at the municipal level then goes to cantonal level, cantons have a high degree of autonomy in various policy areas, and then reaches the national parliament, while the Bundesrat forms the cabinet. It is a stepped system, so every Swiss person is closely involved in what goes on in the country. The referendums or initiatives are basically always issues raised by an opposition like opponents. You need to collect 50,000 signatures for a referendum and have 100,000 signatures for a popular initiative, and then a national vote can be held. It is worth noting that votes often end in minimal differences, so 51% are for and 49% are against. In such a case, the principle of Obrigkeit counts. The majority has won and the minority submits to this without further protest or action. The voting people are also described as ‘der souverain'. The voting people have the last word.

It would not be Switzerland if there were no exceptions to the political course of events. In the rescue of Credit Suisse, for instance, an emergency law was used, allowing the Bundesrat to approve the takeover by UBS within a weekend. Approval by parliament will only take place afterwards."

Q: Alain Berset is the Federal President this year: how is he doing?

JD: "Berset comes from the socialist SP. He is very popular among the

people. That certainly has to do with the fact that Berset represents the small canton of Fribourg, as a counterpart to the big cantons of Bern, Basel and Zurich."

Q: What role did he play in the rescue of Credit Suisse?

JD: "It involved an extremely complex interplay between the Bundesrat, the SNB (Swiss National Bank) and the financial regulator Finma and, of course, UBS. As a result of Concordance, we will never know who said or decided what. That Ralph Hamers had to leave as CEO of UBS did not have so much to do with whether or not he is a good bank director, as a non-Swiss, he had no or at least too little connection with the national political top of this country to make the very complex takeover succeed. It is safe to say that the Fed and ECB also had their influence. The takeover by UBS is going to take a lot more effort.

Credit Suisse is still listed, only the bondholders have lost everything. At stake is ZF 16 billion. Shareholders have had to take a loss, but their shares are still listed. It may be that Credit Suisse's Retail bank will be corporatised for Swiss market, which shareholders could then benefit from; however, that is a speculative assumption."

Q: Will the debacle have longlasting effects on Switzerland's international position?

JD: "Switzerland is losing some of the world's confidence in many areas. It is a sum of financial scandals like the one that played out at Credit

Suisse, Switzerland's reputation for tax evasion, services in laundering international criminal money, serving African dictators and dealing with accounts of Russian billionaires on the sanctions list in connection with the Ukraine war. For instance, after a long search, the Swiss Financial Authority has managed to surface 10 billion ZF from assets to be blocked. To insiders, that's really a laugh."

Q: Is Switzerland losing popularity with the EU?

JD: "Switzerland lives at odds with the EU. There are a number of bilateral treaties to be renewed. The draft arrangements touch on fundamental law issues. For instance, the EU wants Swiss legal provisions to be reviewable by the Strasbourg Court. The Swiss are fiercely opposed to this, but the EU is so far taking a tough stance. Incidentally, the Swiss do go along with the Schengen Convention and the Dublin Agreement. As leverage, the Swiss are now using as an example the adaptation of the railway tunnels through the Alps that connect the northern member states, with Germany in the lead, with the southern member states, the main market being Italy. The tunnels have to be raised and widened respectively to serve goods trains with standard containers. It is an extremely expensive operation but one that is needed to enable the EU's sustainability agenda; i.e. more freight transport by rail instead of road. Obviously, the Swiss do not want to pay for this."

Q: is Switzerland going to increase its military effort?

JD: "Switzerland is definitely going to increase its military effort. Of course, the Bundesrat is shocked by the war in Ukraine, but there is also the economic interest here. This country has a well-run war industry supplying tanks, armoured vehicles and ammunition. Germany is a big buyer. To date, the neutrality stance of the Swiss dictates that they must consent to the transit of supplied military equipment from Germany, for example, to Ukraine. This partly explains why the atmosphere between Switzerland and the EU is tense. This is compounded by the fact that Switzerland has independently ordered F35s from the US. European alternatives were rejected by the Bundesrat without further explanation in the process."

Q: just how rich is Switzerland?

JD: "Switzerland's wealth is immeasurable. I have lived in Switzerland for a total of 20 years, but as an outsider you certainly don't find out how much money is in the accounts of 350 Swiss banks and the SNB." ♦

SWITZERLAND'S DONUT COMPLEX

BY HANS VAN DER LOO (19990459)

Switzerland's top five companies 'by turnover' concern trading outfits, which do little physical business and therefore do not need a physical port. For them, Switzerland's status as a 'tax haven' is particularly important. That is why you mainly find these companies in the canton of Zug, or with 'tax rulings' in other cantons. For companies that offer real employment and add value, Rotterdam is the main import and export port via Basel.

What makes Switzerland especially interesting is its highly developed direct participation democracy. Whereas the reaction of the Dutch to a referendum is "No, what is the question?" and is mainly a lightning rod of general discontent (EU Constitution & Ukraine referendum), referendums in Switzerland are a kind of Volksuniversiteit: 'Formation et Information', where every citizen entitled to vote gets a booklet with info on the issue, and arguments why you should say YES or NO. Unfortunately, this is starting to lose momentum, as there is stronger lobbying now than before by the YES or NO camp, so the referendum is actually losing power, as it is increasingly manipulated.

The CH-EU relationship is very precarious. Switzerland is the transit country from North to South, by rail and road, but the Swiss suffer from the donut complex: they are in the centre of the donut but not part of it.

As long as things are going well, this is an advantage, when things are not going well (for example, if the new UBS-Credit Suisse combination were to collapse as well) then this is a disadvantage.

It has already been announced that in Switzerland pensions will/cannot be adjusted, partly because the government guarantee for UBS-CS is larger than Swiss GDP. Incidentally, price increases in Switzerland are less than elsewhere in EU, partly because the CHF is now stronger than the Euro while only recently the Euro was 10% stronger than the CHF.

In addition, the Swiss banking sector represents a large share of the economy, providing many wellpaid jobs, which in turn supports that economy. On the other hand, the financial sector is experiencing increasingly critical international interest and it is questionable whether the conservative, prudent Swiss banking system is up to the task of dealing with the competitive excesses in this sector. The 'Grab & Gamble' that took place at Credit Suisse is perhaps evidence of this.

Switzerland is part of the EEA with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway but is not a member of the EU, nor of the Euro. The latter may be an advantage because a common currency only works in a political union. This is a major flaw in the current EU structure. Interestingly, the Norwegian Mission to the EU is right

SWITZERLAND'S DONUT COMPLEX

opposite the EU Commission office and the Swiss Mission to the EU is right next to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

As people may know, I worked in Brussels for eight years and have also been a Commissioner at A/S Norske Shell and know both countries well. The Norwegians are often faster in transposing EU decisions into their national legislation than some member states, with the exception of the Energy & Fisheries policy. The Swiss are slightly slower in transposing EU decisions due to their more complex - but more participatory - decision structures.

This also translates into the tax distribution in CH, where you pay communal, cantonal and federal taxes, with the largest remittance being at the cantonal level, which says a lot.

There is clearly no Atlantic or international mentality in Switzerland, respectively. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in the assumption that the landscape one lives in also shapes the 'mindset.' Predominantly living in valleys between mountain ridges also limits one's outlook metaphorically. There are many differences between valleys and Cantons. Up to and including different languages, although young people now often speak English to each other, as the French of the German-speakers and German of the Frenchspeakers is often inferior to both their English, much to the displeasure of the older generation.

Also - perhaps for this reason - many Swiss think they are shielded from many developments in the world. In reality, they are very import & export dependent. Nor will they escape the effects of climate change. True, they will not start losing land & asset like the Netherlands & other coastal regions due to sea

level rise, as a result of accelerated melting of the Arctics, but they will feel the migration pressures & effects on the economy.

A direct effect of the warming climate for Switzerland is, of course, the loss of glaciers, which will negatively affect both their hydropower electricity generation and their winter sports tourism sector. All the stranger that, following Germany’s lead, they decided on ‘AtomAusstieg’ which will cause problems here too, unless the Swiss are able to reduce energy demand as much as energy supply, as ‘renewables’ cannot cover the energy needs of this society.

It is these larger issues that IIER – Institute for INTEGRATED Economic Research, is addressing. Also, in my capacity as co-founder of the Blue Cooling Initiative, I was in Japan where we organised a panel at the Arctic Circle Forum in April at the beginning of Japan's G7 Presidency. ♦

In the second half of the last century, controversial commodities trader Marc Rich settled in Switzerland. Two of his top oil traders went into business for themselves. With that, Glencore and Trafigura were born respectively, the numbers one and three in terms of turnover in the country. Olivier Mulder (20110049) worked for Trafigura in the rat race between the two trading houses. "I usually came home after 12 a.m. and was back in the office before 8 a.m. the next morning," said the alumnus who started as an aerospace engineering student and got an Msc in Breukelen.

BY OELE STEENKS

COMMODITY TRADER OLIVIER MULDER:

"Compliance in Geneva was very strict!"

Switzerland's reputation was partly determined in a negative way by the entry of futures trader Marc Rich (original name Reich). This Antwerp-born businessman managed to stay out of the hands of the Germans during World War II and settled in the United States. There he started Marc Rich & Co. in 1974, a trading house that flourished but also became discredited for illegal practices such as circumventing several UN embargoes and political corruption.

In 1983, New York District Attorney Rudy Giuliani (later mayor of New York), issued an arrest warrant against Marc Rich for tax evasion and illegal oil transactions with Iran during the Iranian hostage crisis. Rich subsequently fled the US and was able to continue his business in Switzerland.

He was not hindered by international embargoes and the morality of political rulers. He did business with Iran, South Africa, Yugoslavia, North Korea, Cuba, the Soviet Union and Romania. He was also behind the spot market for crude oil in London. In addition, he was a real estate investor in Spain and Switzerland, among others. Once he arrived in Switzerland, Rich avoided publicity and went into hiding. He changed the name of his company to Glencore, which to this day is a multinational and Switzerland's largest company. Incidentally, Marc Rich received a general pardon in 2001 from President Bill Clinton on his last day in the White House, against the payment of $100 million. Rich died of a brain haemorrhage and went down in history as the "King of Commodity Trading."

Marc Rich

Marc Rich & Co

Rudy Giuliani

Glencore

However the mysterious businessman was thought and judged, he himself was obsessed with "international dealmaking.” He argued that there was not much culpability in profiting from the global game of supply and demand. The man had genius traits, such as reported nerves of steel, and was also willing to take big financial risks and got on well with those in power in the second half of the 20th century.

However, two of his best oil traders decided to part ways with Glencore and go into business for themselves. Frenchmen Claude Dauphin and Eric de Turckheim founded Trafigura in 1993. They did so in Amsterdam, using a shell company that happened to have the name Trafigura, which the gentlemen liked as a company name. Trading activities include the supply and transportation of crude oil, oil products, coal, metals such as copper, lead, zinc and aluminium; metal ores and concentrates. Although the holding company Trafigura Beheer BV still has a Dutch registration, it is currently managed from Geneva and a new holding company is registered in Singapore. Anyone who now juggles Trafigura will only come across a few incidents of hazardous substance losses, but set against Marc Rich’s CV, the founders have a "clean sheet.” They have created a highly lucrative private business, with a last disclosed turnover of CHF 318 billion and a net profit of CHF 6 billion. This amount is shared among the 1,000 or so employees who may hold shares in Trafigura.

This comprehensive introduction helps put Olivier Mulder's career at Trafigura into perspective. Every year, the Human Resources department gets around 2,000 to 3,000 applications from ambitious academics for the internal graduate programme, while there are 20 seats to be given away at Glencore's major competitor.

Q: How did you end up at Trafigura?

OM: "After getting a bachelors in aerospace science from TU delft, I applied for the Msc programme at NBU. For the international internship, I was able to join Trafigura at the country office in Peru. That internship was a success, especially since I met my wife there. Unfortunately, Trafigura decided to close the Lima office, so I accepted a job with a Peruvian fish trading firm. That wasn't quite my cup of tea anyway, but Trafigura brought relief by asking me for a position in Montevideo, Urugua. That's where we went in 2014. With this job came participation in the graduate programme, so that was a bonus. I held some standard positions there, such as risk & market analysis, oil trade finance, and finance analysis for general commodity deals. Apparently, I liked and was good at my work, because I was brought to the head office in Geneva in 2016."

Q: Were you placed there to work on bigger deals?

OM: "Initially I became an oil operator, then I worked on the deals desk as a risk & market analyst. With those positions, I was able to finish the graduate programme. After that, I was a derivatives trader for five years. This mainly involved setting up hedge transactions to hedge purchases, transport and delivery of metals such as nickel, copper, zinc, lead and gold. With this, I became responsible for the so-called Foreign Exchange Book after some time.

With some regularity, I could also speculate around physical deals, but I hardly did any of those in Geneva per se."

Claude Dauphin

Eric de Turckheim

Trafigura

Olivier Mulder

Q: To what extent was there a Swiss environment at work?

OM: "I had a Swiss boss, apart from that there were two Swiss working in a department of 20 people. Most of the colleagues came from London where there was a big exodus of traders after 2000. On the one hand, they were gradually saying goodbye to the physical exchange in metals that was based in London, and on the other hand, top management had favoured a headquarters in Geneva."

Q: Was Geneva then, in business terms, a good choice?

OM: "Switzerland offers a nice working environment. The political and economic stability is favourable, also for international trade. The authorities are very pragmatic in approaching companies. In addition, Swiss salaries are very attractive and taxes are pleasant. In the canton of Geneva, income tax is relatively high, but in the surrounding cantons it is again very low. If you go to live there, you will benefit from a low IB rate. Furthermore, Geneva has a beautiful airport and you can be in popular cities in Europe in no time. And then, of course, there's winter sports. From Geneva, you could be on skis within an hour. All this has a great attraction for young talented people."

Q: Why has Trafigura become so successful?

OM: "The company has explained very well to the banking community what it does. Trafigura is not part of the international exchanges and is not a price setter. It facilitates trade, with deals often involving relatively small transactions that are transported, insured and financed. In doing so, Trafigura primarily uses brokers ready at the gate, allowing the company to keep pressure on its own costs low. For example, the company can explain exactly to a bank; here is the tanker, there is that batch of crude oil in it, it leaves that port and then arrives somewhere on that date, and this is the hedge.

Because of that security, i.e. the lack of funding risk, banks can get in at a low interest rate. Then all those transactions add up to a big turnover and ditto profit margin. This is how margins are made by Trafigura. In this context, the company has 66 offices in 38 countries."

Q: Does it matter that there are so many banks based in Switzerland?

OM: "Not really, most of Trafigura's trading is done through electronic trading platforms spread around the world. Many international major banks are represented there, although commodity trading has by now become a financial speciality. It requires constant presence and alertness, while interest margins are low. For instance, ABN Amro has exited commodity finance.

In Switzerland, we did do business with Credit Suisse until recently."

Q: For a trader, you can't have a nine-to-five mentality, can you?

OM: "It is top-class sport. I very often did not get home until after 12 a.m. and was back in the office before eight. Many colleagues had the attitude that they wanted to do this work until they were 40, and then get out and continue as private investors. If you manage to make it to the top 1,000 shareholders, that is definitely in the cards. Then you can sit in the Bahamas for the rest of your life."

Q: How is the compliance process within Trafigura?

OM: "The compliance colleagues constantly brief you on embargo rules and other trading provisions. There is a blacklist of counterparties. As a trader, you are responsible for knowing and applying the internal manual that is on your screen. Over your head, the compliance department is watching you in the process. We did business with Russian oil company Rosneft for a long time, but that came to an abrupt end under the influence of sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine. Such measures pose great risks. If a legal provision or a political sanction against, say, an oilproducing country is breached in the US, the standard fine is 10% of sales made in the US. So Trafigura's management is constantly fearful of any wrong money being touched."

Q: You are now back in Amsterdam with your family; what was the reason for that?

OM: "In Geneva, we had a difficult time due to medical problems with the birth of our daughter. I realised that I could not devote enough time to the family and that it was better to choose my family's environment in the Netherlands so that help would always be available.

I was probably well on my way to becoming a partner at Trafigura, but I felt the interests of my family came first. I now work for the STX Group, which engages in green certificate trading. I can now combine my experience as a trader with the international environmental interest, and that in itself is a nice continuation of my career." ♦

Olivier Mulder with Peruvian wife, children and dog.

CHIEF ECONOMIST MADELEINE KEMNA:

Madeleine Kemna (19850036) is Chief Economist at Hoofbosch, the investment fund founded in 2006 by Martien van Winden (19890722) that focuses mainly on the SUN countries (Switzerland, United States and the Netherlands). Here, she explains why Switzerland plays such an important role in the Hoofbosch portfolio and highlights three lesser-known companies that symbolise today's Switzerland.

BY MADELEINE KEMNA PHOTOGRAPHY MADELEINE KEMNA

The heart of a capitalist stronghold

Knowledge and reliability are at the heart of Swiss success. In compiling its annual Prosperity Index, the Legatum Institute analyses how prosperity is built. In the case of Switzerland (number 5 in the global ranking), the business environment in which companies know where they stand (the ease with which a business can be started, expanded and with which competition takes place is rated number 1 in the world) and education (number 4 in the world) play an important role. Moreover, the Swiss government has a very solid track record when it comes to public debt management. It amounts to about 20% of GDP and has always been repaid.

Even today, the Swiss economy is in core health. Credit Suisse was an outlier in a

rock-solid country as far as we were concerned. Given the appreciation of the Swiss franc since the debacle, it is fair to say that the Swiss currency still acts as an escape currency for eurosceptics and investors.

No wonder because the country, like the Netherlands in the guilder era, is a financial paradise with structurally low inflation (last year 2.8% versus 9.2% in the eurozone), low interest rates and little unemployment. Income and corporate taxes are relatively low while the absence of a minimum wage makes Switzerland more econo mically flexible. It also offers immigrants more job opportunities. The median monthly income is 6665 francs while, for example, the entry-level salary for someone working behind the counter at McDonald's is 24 francs an hour. In addition, Switzerland does not usually

run a deficit but a surplus on its budget. The hard franc and small home market are an effective incentive for Swiss companies to keep differentiating themselves from the competition.

In the most recent ranking of innovative countries by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Switzerland occupies first place for the eighth year in a row. The latter is reflected in Swiss companies. The research and development budget at Roche is as high as that of the Netherlands in total. However, enough has already been written about this wonderful pharmaceutical company. In this article, we focus on three companies that are perhaps less well known, but in our opinion serve as excellent examples of Swiss innovativeness. Please note: this is not investment advice! ♦

A few times a day, we all push a button and expect the toilet bowl to be flushed. When that button has the name Geberit on it, we are never disappointed. The company has long been a quasimonopolist in sanitary flushing systems. It acquired Sphinx in the Netherlands and since its acquisition of Sanitec in 2015, Geberit also offers a complete bathroom range including walk-in showers and elegant storage solutions. All of the highest quality. The company trains tens of thousands of professional

construction and retail customers every year in its own centres around the world. Installers, developers and architects can also take a course online. Furthermore, Geberit representatives are always on hand with tailor-made advice. No wonder that once a plumber works with this brand, they remain loyal to it for life. The relationship between manufacturer and installer is so good that competitors do not interfere.

This is the result of years of effort. The company started in 1874 and has been investing in people and quality for almost 150 years. Much attention is paid to keeping employees' knowledge up to date through inter-branch exchanges

and training. Moreover, about 2.5% of turnover is spent annually on research and development. Much of production takes place in Switzerland and Germany, but costs remain manageable thanks to extensive robotisation. Thanks to the prices Geberit can charge for its quality products and its efficient operations, the margin is around 22%. This makes it possible to pay a stable or even slightly increasing dividend every year.

Fragrance and flavourings manufacturer

Givaudan, founded in 1895, spends 10% of turnover on research and development every year. Whether it is cleaning products, perfume, cosmetics or meat substitute products that have the look, feel and taste of the original, chances are you will come into contact with a Givaudan creation several times a day. For instance, my colleagues ate home-made faux gras at a company presentation the other day. Although you won't come across the name Givaudan

on a bottle of perfume or the packaging of your fabric softener, the company's noses (fragrance experts with years of training behind them) are able to translate the instructions of clients such as L'Oreal, Procter & Gamble or Unilever into a product that evokes an association with Provence, adventure or comfort for us.

The company is also at the forefront of efforts to eliminate microplastics. These are pieces of plastic less than 5 millimetres in size. These particles end up in the environment and accumulate there. They are not degradable, but disintegrate into smaller and smaller pieces. Such tiny things are impossible to clean up. Microplastics, and the even

smaller nanoplastics, are found in the oceans (99% of plastics in oceans are microplastics), in rivers, in the air and in the soil. And in our food. They are created, among other things, by being added to products we use every day such as cosmetics (e.g. shampoo), personal care products (think toothpaste) and detergents. Givaudan is the first to offer a solution, ahead of the ECHA's (European Chemicals Agency) proposed ban on microplastics. One has developed so-called PlanetCaps, which can replace microplastics and are fully sustainable and biodegradable.

The third company, Lonza, is a so-called Contract Development Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO). The development and introduction of new drugs involves increasingly complex techniques and procedures. Often, pharmaceutical companies knock on Lonza's door soon after the discovery of an active ingredient. There are several CDMOs, but Lonza has an exceptionally good reputation, no wonder: the company spends 3.5% of its turnover on research and development. Together with the researchers, Lonza investigates the

most effective way to administer the drug and sometimes helps organise the tests that need to be done before the authorities decide whether or not to approve a drug. If the drug is approved on the market, production in Lonza's factories follows. For instance, Lonza benefited from the success of Moderna's Covid vaccine, with which it has a 10-year strategic alliance for all potential drugs in the Moderna pipeline. In addition, the Swiss company also works with many other big and promising names in the world of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Lonza thus has access to the fruits of the research and development of a lot of bright minds in the industry. Switzerland has enough qualified personnel for this

kind of business. Attracting people from abroad does not prove difficult either given the quality of life and good fringe benefits. As a result, the country ranks No 8 in the United Nations' Happiness Index ranking. In short: Switzerland, according to Che Guevara 'the heart of the capitalist monster,' is attractive for companies, managers, scientists and investors.

Haute couture watches are Switzerland's best-known export product. Today, private banking clients and asset managers are investing huge sums in luxury watches. Vintage is definitely in demand! There are watch auctions in Geneva, London, Monaco and New York. It is the world of Maurice Janssen (20005440), expert in investing in watches, gems and 'collectables.'

HAUTE COUTURE WATCHES ARE BECOMING PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT PRODUCTS!

Q: You literally grew up in the watch business. Can you elaborate on this?

MJ: My father is originally a watchmaker, he did Vakschool Schoonhoven for watchmakers, jewellers and silversmiths 50 years ago and I was almost born in Geneva. After completing trade school, my father wanted to work for Rolex and when my mother was eight months pregnant with me, he applied to Rolex to become a distributor in the Netherlands Antilles. He got the position, which is why I was born in Curaçao. From then on, he spent 35 years working for Rolex and several other brands, setting up eight jewellery shops in Bonaire, Aruba, Curaçao and St Maarten.

He went to Geneva and Basel every year to do some shopping, so it's fair to say I was a child of the Swiss watch industry. At some point after the period at Rolex, my father started for himself in Aruba, where he set up the Amsterdam Juwelry Centre."

Q: What do you do yourself in the watch industry?

MJ: "Like my father, I did the Vakschool Schoonhoven; it is a four-year course where you learn the basics of everything to do with gold, silver, platinum and watches.I specialised as a professional jeweller, expert in gemstones and diamonds, and as a watch expert. I have worked at the jeweller Asscher on Dam Square at the Amsterdam Diamond Center and at jeweller Leon Martens in Maastricht. In 2003, I completed an Executive MBA in Finance at the Ashridge Business School in England and did a general management course at Nyenrode. I eventually moved to Switzerland eight years ago to do something with my passion for the watchmaking profession, because after all, it all happens in Switzerland.

I live in Geneva. As a businessman, I started focusing on the high end of jewellery, gemstones and watches and set up Global Diamond Investment Ltd. in London with branch offices in Switzerland, Paris and Zurich. This allows us to serve international

Family Offices clients well. As an entrepreneur, I am concentrating on developing a Centre of Excellence in Geneva and a Fintech company from Zurich. I have developed a software package for single and multiple family offices. It allows wealth managers to compare and manage 'bankable' and 'non-bankable assets.' Bankable assets are classical investments like equity, shares, bonds and funds. The non bankable assets are precious stones, gold, silver, platinum, watches, jewellery, art.

Basically anything that is physical and has collectors' value, so also vintage cars and wine collections. We enable value comparisons for classic investment instruments versus or together with luxury non-bankable collections. We advise clients on building a portfolio in, for example, watches, jewellery, diamonds and gemstones. All this in a structured way, so the non bankables can be bought and sold just like normal assets for family offices and/or wealthy clients worldwide. In addition, we can order personalised watches as a special service for top investors. These are not delivered to shops. For very special watches from Patek Philippe, we then have to ask managing director Mr Stern if he will make a special Patek Philippe for you."

Q: So what specifically are we talking about?

MJ: "The watch industry in Switzerland is largely a family business. People usually have wealthy customers who collect unique watch models. If they order a unique model with modifications or wish inscriptions, most houses are willing to go the extra mile for such a customer. We have to specify that the order is not for sale, but for a special occasion. If it is purely for trade, then the brands say, sorry, you have to go on a waiting list."

Q: Why has the watch industry grown into a global industry precisely in Switzerland?

MJ: "If you go back in time to the year 1300, there have been a few moments important in the watchmaking profession. Early on, London was home to horloge and clockmakers, and goldsmiths who made timepieces for wealthy customers from Roman Catholic culture who wanted the latest timepieces and clocks in their living rooms. With the church reform led by John Calvin in 1541, the market for religious necklaces, rings and bracelets disappeared for jewellery makers in Switzerland and Germany. Thereupon, the Swiss started producing small timepieces and pocket watches in addition to table clocks. Thus, a watchmakers' guild was established in Geneva in 1601 by some renowned watchmakers.

The next and most important milestone was the development of the anchor, the balance in timepieces, by Christiaan Huygens in 1665. The Dutchman was also the inventor of the modern mechanical watch. So theoretically, the watch industry could have flourished

in the Netherlands, but the expertise was already in Switzerland and, as a result, this innovation is used in all mechanical watches to this day. It was a pre-image of what today is called sustainable innovation. Huygens' invention made the watchmaking profession popular and flourish in Geneva. The number of craftsmen soon became too large for the city.

So many watchmakers moved to smaller towns, mainly in the Jura mountains. Villages such as Vallee de Joux, Neuchatel, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Biel, Grenchen and Schafhausen were later made world-famous by luxury watch brands such as IWC, Jaeger Le Coultre, and Omega, which made a positive contribution to socio-economic development in several cantons of Switzerland as major employers. By 1790, the city of Geneva alone was exporting 60,000 pocket watches a year. In 1842, Adrienne Philippe developed the pendant-winding watch and thus became the founder of Patek Philippe, the luxury watch brand par excellence. The end of World War I was accompanied by the invention of the wristwatch, as the successor to the vest pocket watch.

In 1926, the Swiss launched the first automatic winding wristwatch. From then on, watchmaking in Switzerland became an international phenomenon.

In 2022, exports of Swiss watches rose to ZF 24.8 billion, surpassing the 2021 performance by 11.4%. Watches broadly benefited from strong demand for luxury products and the rise in global wealth. 'Swiss made' entry-level watches were also a resounding success and ended the year with a positive result. Wristwatches accounted for more than 95% of export value and generated 23.7 billion francs, 11.6% more than in 2021. The number of items sold rose to 15.8 million."

Q: How do you plan to set up the Fintech platform in a highly competitive market for high net worth customers?

MJ: "We have just signed an agreement with Bloomberg to see if we can offer our Family Office services through their terminals to family offices.

The product has been developed and in principle we are ready to roll it out globally. I charge 60,000 Swiss francs a year for using the software package with a Bloomberg terminal and a retainer of 5,000 a month. With that investment of ZF 120,000 a year, it will be a premium product, but relevant to my customer segment. Any reputable Family Office can use the package to manage Global Assets.

We can consolidate all reports daily with more like 100 banks on our platform. I am already working with a Swiss company that has around 100 family offices as clients, with a total of around 200 billion in assets under management."

Q: At what price point do you have a premium watch?

MJ: "In the price range between from 20,000 to 50,000 Swiss francs, you can already buy a nice watch from wellknown watch brands. If you really go for the special premium models, you have to think in the range from two tonnes to half a million Swiss francs. If you go on to very complicated timepieces then top prices of a million to a million and a half francs are not uncommon."

Q: How do you determine the long-term market value of such an exclusive and luxury watch?

MJ: "For that long-term value, we can rely as a guideline on the watch auctions that are held with great regularity. There are four leading auction houses internationally: Christies, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips. They all have jewellery and watch departments. For watch auctions, Phillips is doing best right now because a certain Mr Bachs, their portfolio manager, has the best contacts in the business. Models by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constatin and Audemars Piguet regularly break auction records. These have been the real top brands for years. Among them, special series from Rolex and Omega, for example, are sold at decent prices at auctions."

Q: What makes a watch a top product?

MJ: "Over the last half-century, the big watchmakers have all mastered technical feats such as Grande complication, a minute repeater, a moon phase and a double tourbillon.

There are plenty of models that combine these luxury gimmicks. The price lies in the use of the finest materials, the handwork involved and the exclusive design. Of course, the prestige of certain brands also plays a big role."

Q: So it is not the case that Rolex is the absolute best, even though watch laymen might quickly assume this?

MJ: "In any case, Rolex is the largest producer of watches in Switzerland with four factories in Geneva and Biel. The corona pandemic has created a boost in demand for luxury products that can be ordered online. A major Swiss watch manufacturer like the Richemont Group has seen sales grow at lightning speed. Sales reached a record high of €19.2 billion in the year under review, up 46% on the previous year. This is unprecedented.

However, those well-filled order books cannot be delivered in a year. A new Rolex is only delivered to order. The iconic brand is struggling to keep up with global demand. A new Rolex factory is now being added to solve the delivery problem. Omega, on the other hand, has adopted a different policy by creating more production capacity in advance. The brand is now able to deliver from stock and specimens of most models are in shop at retailers."

Q: Do Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin deliberately keep their production limited

to guard exclusivity?

MJ: "No, Patek Philippe has built a new factory that can accommodate 350 watchmakers. Audemars Piguet has expanded its production capacity. We are seeing the emergence of a generation that really takes a lot of money with it from parents. I meet teenagers who calmly buy a three-tonne Audemars Piguet double Tourbillon. They don't make a fuss about that then. That touches the market we focus on: the transfer of wealth from one generation to another. We are going to make expensive watch products insightful, we will show what it is worth now and what it is going to be worth. We also want to play a role in inheritances to distribute luxury heirlooms, such as watches, by comparing values between them."

Q: Are there still enough young people to be found in Switzerland who want to learn the craft of watchmaking?

MJ: "In Geneva, you have the Ecole de Horlogerie, which is similar to the Vakschool Schoonhoven. It is a four-year course. Only 200 watchmakers graduate each year. That's far too few to meet the demand for staff. That is why top brands have invested in their own training and further education. Rolex, for example, has had its own vocational training for some time, for their own staff and watchmakers. Audemars Piquet and Hublot, which are part of LVMH Group, have now also decided to start their own watchmaker school. So the industry is in full swing and education plays an important role for the future of our special craft."

Q: What does the Swiss Made hallmark still mean under this market pressure?

MJ: "The entire Swiss watch industry runs on the labels Swiss Made and Swiss. It is a well-known problem that imitations of well-known watches by Rolex and Omega are made on a large scale in the Far East, against which the Swiss watch authority FH is constantly fighting. To protect the overall Swiss market, protection measures have been tightened. In June 2013, the Swiss parliament passed a law stipulating that at least 60 per cent of the value of a Swiss timepiece must be created in the country itself, otherwise it cannot be released as Swiss Made.

Given the complexity of contemporary watches, the cost of research and development and training may be added to the value. So is the cost of certification.

A subsequent measure is that Swiss Made and Swiss are also registered as official Swiss trademarks in the US and Hong Kong. Several certificate systems are now in use in Switzerland. Geneva has its own approval stamp for watches made in the city called Poncoin de Geneva. The Hallmark of Geneva is the watchmaking quality mark established by the Grand Council of the Canton of Geneva in 1886. COSC is the next hallmark. It stands for 'Guarantor of the Swiss Watchmaking Tradition of

Patek Philippe's state-of-the-art production site in Geneva

Precision.' The main purpose of the COSC institute is to measure and verify the precision of watch movements and finished watches entrusted by manufacturers in order to give them the official certified chronometer title.

The certified "chronometer" title, which certifies the high level of precision and uniqueness of timekeeping instruments, is a guarantee of extreme quality, as is the know-how applied throughout the production process. On the market, it offers an added value that allows beneficiaries to stand out from their competitors. Therefore, if there is a chronometer on the watch, a separate Swiss certificate must also be obtained for it.

For all of Switzerland, you have a certification system used by Omega, among others. It is a guarantee that the watch has been tested under certain conditions. Brands like Rolex, Omega and Chopard have further developed an in-house certificate system.

Finally, there is a national watch industry platform that offers a separate quality stamp for luxury small brands that do not have the resources to set up a certification system. In any case, if you buy a Swiss watch, there is always a warranty certificate present. I can assure that Rolex and Omega are stricter on their own products than the national guarantee system."

Q: What is your favourite watch?

MJ: "That is without a doubt a Vacheron Constantin, model Fifty Six." ♦

Vacheron Constantin, model Fifty Six

"With a German as CEO, ties went off at Nestlé!"

Annemarie BrauniusZondag (19840139) lives in Switzerland, where she worked for the world's largest food group Nestlé. She was responsible for the international marketing of baby food; a product category of more than 150 years because its success once began with a Swiss pharmacist developing baby porridge. "At the touch of a button, top management can oversee the global state of affairs. It's a well-oiled machine," says Annemarie.

BY OELE STEENKS

Q: You worked for Nestlé in Switzerland for 13 years; to what extent did you experience the company as truly Swiss?

ABZ: "I started under the reign of CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, an Austrian, with tight control over the company. Truly Swiss-style. The culture at the main office was very formal. During lunch breaks, people ate in the company restaurant where the gentlemen were still supposed to sit down in suits and ties.

When German Mark Schneider was appointed CEO in 2017, those ties came off immediately."

Q: The company publishes that 30% of management positions are held by (inclusive) women; is that true in the home country?

ABZ: "It may be that across the entire group there are now 30% female managers, but for the top, i.e. the Executive Board, there was some catching up to do. Out of 16 people, there are now five women, so that's a score of 32%."

Q: there are now two top men: CEO Mark Schneider and chairman of the Board of Directors, Belgian Paul Bulcke. Do these gentlemen influence Nestlé's DNA?

ABZ: "The culture at headquarters has rapidly become less Swiss and more international. Until a decade or so ago, mainly European managers were sent from headquarters or from their home country as expats around the world. This process has increasingly been reversed under Mark Schneider. Younger managers are now brought to Switzerland from local markets all over the world, only to move into more senior positions in their home countries after a

year or two or three. The head office population has thus become very diverse and international, and the working language is English. That international touch at headquarters is super nice. The true Swiss character of Nestlé can still be found at the local Swiss operating company now, though."

Q: You spent the last six years at Nestlé as global manager infant nutrition, the division that Nestlé started with at the time. To what extent did this bring you close to the source of the company's longterm success?

ABZ: "The company originated in 1866 when a Swiss pharmacist was looking for a solution for young mothers who had problems breastfeeding. Before that, he did his own research and product development. The passion for innovation was thus immediately present. Baby milk porridge was a new product, but the step to baby formula and then toddler formula was made pretty quickly."

Q: What can you say about Nestlé's 'purpose'?

ABZ: "Nestlé has an idealistic mission, for example, the group has set up a new division within the holding company called Nestlé Health Science, which focuses on prevention and support for the treatment of certain diseases in the form of foods and supplements. A logical expansion of the group given the general importance of R&D within the group and particularly in the field of nutrition. With this, the company slogan Good Food- Good Life remains as a guiding principle."

Q: Nestlé had 2,000 brands; you have been global marketing manager and global brand strategist. How much direction and control came from the headquarters in Vevey-Funi?

Annemarie Braunius-Zondag

ABZ: "Over the decades, Nestlé had developed and brought in local brands through acquisitions. With the move from a decentralised to a more centrally managed organisation, these local brands have mostly moved into one of the global brands."

Q: The main outlet is North America? How does the basic Swiss model work in such a large market with an American culture that will differ from European culture in many aspects?

ABZ: "The USA is a big market with its own character. Nestlé works within a matrix structure, where the global strategy and the company's spearheads are determined at the head office. Of these, baby food is one. In terms of geographical organisation, the world is divided into five geographical blocks, namely North America; the Americas; Europe/Middle East/Africa; Far East/ Oceania; and the People's Republic of China. There, strategic sub-plans are now being developed as a derivative of the Executive Board's direction. In this movement, the USA has a large market of its own. In it, for example, years ago, an acquisition was made of the company Gerber, which was the largest player in the baby food market in the USA. In the beginning, Gerber was able to operate as an established brand in the US, but long-since it was integrated.

Now it is a full part of the Infant Nutrition division. This does not mean that the Americanness of products and brands under the Nestlé banner is necessarily undermined. At Nespresso, it proves otherwise. Americans drink their coffee in large mugs and so large Nespresso coffee cups were developed with accompanying machines. That combination is now starting to be sought after in Europe too."

Q: Swiss are known for their penchant for perfection and efficiency; what did you get from that at Nestlé?

ABZ: "The Globe project was an excellent example of this. The group wanted a system that allowed all business activities around the world to be linked to all financial information towards head office. Simply put, at the touch of a button, the Executive Board could see at any time how Nestlé was doing. A partnership with SAP was set up for

this purpose 20 years ago. It was a huge project to get all the data into the system, but at the same time it was huge driver for greater efficiency and effectiveness. The development and implementation demanded a lot from the organisation, but now Nestlé has become a streamlined machine."

Q: You are now working at C&A; from where did you make the switch?

ABZ: "Nestlé had decided to move the division I was working for to Singapore. A logical move to be closer to consumers. However, not really attractive to me at the time. So, time for something else. And that became C&A. A family business in the middle of a mega reorganisation. Everything had to be modernised: from the clothing collections to the branding, online sales and positioning. Unlike Nestlé, C&A is a true family business. But like Nestlé, C&A is now also more centrally managed than ever before. With European headquarters in Düsseldorf, it has changed course and is in the midst of transforming into a tightly managed organisation.

Where Nestlé is one of the largest in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, it is interesting to see that fashion retail is perhaps even faster. Clothing collections change with the seasons and, of course, with fashion. In such a fast-moving organisation, I can really use Nestlé's experience in efficiency and effectiveness. By the way, I continue to live in Switzerland. I can easily combine working from home from Switzerland with a week or two a month in Düsseldorf." ♦

Selection of Nestlé products

CAREL

JONGBLOED:

"Question of conscience: should Swiss banking welcome every crook?"

He had a troubled, turbulent, parentless childhood, but Carel Jongbloed (19720024), the son of an early Unilever executive, had the right DNA to succeed in Switzerland as a consultant and entrepreneur. The country proved an ideal base for carrying out projects in the US, Germany, Italy, Austria, Mexico, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Qatar and China, among others. He actively participated in the political system in his second homeland for 34 years. It does not mean he has a warm relationship with the people. "I mainly do not associate with expats but with many Swiss, yet it is difficult to bond with them and become friends."

Q: What was your first introduction to Switzerland?

CJ: "For that, I must first tell something about my background. My father was chief executive at Unilever for southern Europe and Africa. We were living in Italy when my father died as a result of injuries he had sustained as an RAF pilot in World War II. I was eight years old at the time. Then I lost my mother when I was 16. So from

In 1963, I went to boarding school in Switzerland for the first time and in 1965 to Institute Montana Zugerberg. That school was a household name among expats. I went there for a year and a half; but I didn't do very well. In that first period, I learned little of the vernacular, but I did fall in love with the mountains and Swiss nature. After that, I ended up in Canada and then in England, where I was again in boarding schools. After a disjointed high school period, I went to

Q: How was your life after Nyenrode?

CJ: "I had met a Dutch woman there at the De Cloese secretarial college in Maarssen. I was asked by her for a gala party in Maarssen and from then on it clicked between us for a long time. We immediately went abroad together; to the

US, Belgium, Germany and back to the US, where I worked in business development for 9 years. After the 4 children came, we returned to Europe in 1991. I went on a job application tour in France, England and Spain, but that didn't work out so easily. After this, I joined a small Swiss family company. A producer of haute couture fashion and textiles, which needed urgent reorganisation.

I was the right person to take necessary measures, but the owners had great difficulty letting key people go when they were not performing as they should. After a year, I had to report that a necessary reorganisation was out of the question and that the company could not become a candidate for a takeover. At that, I resigned. From Zurich, I started applying again, but again it proved more difficult than expected.

Based on that experience, I decided to start my own company so that I could set my own direction and steer an entrepreneurial strategy as I saw fit. The company is called Basegroup AG. The Swiss authorities were accommodating, as I already had a residence permit, which was now linked to registering my own company. Officially, this was not possible, as the government no longer wanted rich foreigners to be able to buy in just to get a residence permit."

Q: Why did Zurich become your home base?

CJ: "The advantage is that Switzerland is a neutral country which gives you a good business entrance worldwide. I didn't have so much need for Swiss banking products. The children were aged one to nine and we were reluctant to move again. So Switzerland was not a clear preconceived plan."

Q: what did Basegroup do?

CJ: "Basegroup started out as a consultancy, where I managed and reorganised companies in the textile/confection industry in Austria and Germany, among others. I set up own production facilities in Mexico and Bangladesh for two years under contract with Levi Strauss.

From Italy, I was also able to transfer a silk printing production to China. I then spent some time in hospital construction in Arab countries. Those projects took place in Kuwait and Qatar. The advantage was that I could find a lot of expertise for that in Switzerland, both strategic and logistical."

Q: to what extent did the fiscal climate in Switzerland play a role?

CJ: "Switzerland has a reputation for having a friendly tax climate. That has not been favourable in all respects. In fact, it did affect me, because from a tax point of view, it became increasingly difficult to write invoices from Switzerland for German companies in particular. In 2003, the necessary constructions of wealthy German families who had deposited large sums in secret accounts in Switzerland came to light. After that, the German tax authorities jumped fanatically on all transactions between private and family businesses with Swiss companies and banks. I then started invoicing through a Dutch contact address. If I had done this from a Dutch tax point of view, it would certainly have been viewed with suspicion, but the Swiss proved very easy to do so. I did not have to link a business identity to a Dutch bank account. The amounts transferred could simply be included in Basegroup's accounts!"

Q: were you able to benefit from the Swiss banking system?

CJ: "I did not benefit from the Swiss banking system; rather, I found it complacent and slow. If I needed a credit facility, for example, with a Dutch bank it was usually arranged within a few days, while after a week the gentlemen of wellknown Swiss banks had not yet found time to look at the request.

I was also told this by business contacts; Swiss bankers have always had it 'easy' here."

Q: That is remarkable, given that banking secrecy and services provided by Swiss banks were considered fairly unique in the world?

CJ: "Swiss banks have historically benefited enormously from banking secrecy. However, Switzerland, like the Netherlands, is a pragmatic country when it comes to doing international business and handling money. This has led to countless rich people of the world depositing their money in Swiss bank accounts. I recently read that 40% of Switzerland's GDP revolves around the financial sector. Without too much effort from banks, hundreds of billions of dollars, pounds and later euros came to Switzerland; amounts most countries can only dream of in terms of their GDP. This took a nosedive in the early 2000s when the US and Germany started bashing against Swiss banking secrecy. The Swiss had to formally abandon this at the time, but in practice it has remained partially intact. Account holders still enjoy a lot of protection of their bank deposits! This happened to tie in nicely with economic development in Asian countries, especially the People's Republic of China. International financial advisers ensured that those newly rich could put their money in safety in Switzerland just after the industrialised countries started working on tax controls on the growing class of millionaires and billionaires. You only have to walk the streets of Zurich and Geneva now and you can see by the amount of nonEuropeans where the big money is coming from.

What I blame the Swiss banks for, for instance, is the amount of Third World potentates who were brought in and who now rule the streets in expensive suits and Rolls Royces. This was supplemented in the last 25 years by a large contigent of Russians. If people take large sums of money, they are still happy to be brought in by Switzerland through complicated constructions. The country therefore lives in a dilemmathe people have no appetite for such practices, while the "economy" cries out to protect that 40%. The same dilemma prevails recently when it comes to (arms) aid in the world."

Q: Aren't foreign account holders in Switzerland being further cornered, especially now that boycotts are underway from Russian oligarchs?

CJ: "The international tax treaty (CSR) of around 120 countries

stipulates that account numbers, account holders and annual balances in Swiss banks are also accessible to the tax authorities of participating countries. So for Dutch taxpayers, for example, it is no longer simply possible to hold unreported accounts in Switzerland, among other countries. But what does still happen is that Swiss banks, on certain dates, park huge sums of account holders' money for short periods of time in accounts in other, non-participating tax havens. So the year-end balances do not say everything, so it is also difficult to determine exactly how much foreign money remains in Switzerland for long periods of time.

The bottom line is that after a few difficult years, Swiss finance has realised that all is not well with conclusive international tax controls. There are at least three shortcuts for every rule, so to speak. But it is certainly true that Swiss banks have become more wary of Western clients. Staying out of the reach of other tax authorities gets trickier every year. Recently, this has also become more critical for wealthy people from Chinese and other Asian countries where governments are also starting to foist fatherland billionaires down their necks. A core issue that particularly distinguishes Switzerland from most other developed countries is that Swiss law still looks (old-fashionedly) at whether a person's specific actions are legal, while elsewhere it also looks at underlying intentions."

Q: What do the Swiss themselves think of their country's reputation?

CJ: "There has been a debate in Switzerland for some time whether they just want to serve every villain with money under the guise of neutrality or whether newcomers should also make some social contribution to their own country. I myself am fluent in German/Swiss-German, French, Italian, English and Dutch. I also participate in local activities in my hometown, a small village close to Chur (formerly Zurich). And I actively participate in referendums in my canton. In doing so, I am in touch with the views of average Swiss people, who, extra in connection with the war in Ukraine, wonder whether Switzerland should, for example, support or block international arms trade with Russia or Ukraine. I think the population struggles with ambivalence on this issue; not long ago, the supply of Swiss war material to anyone was seen as no problem and now there are claims that this trade should be blocked."

Q: Has the bank run on Credit Suisse affected Swiss self-confidence?

CJ: "Insiders had been reporting difficulties at Credit Suisse for some time. There was little wrong with Credit Suisse as an investment bank in Europe, but on the private banking side, real service was taken somewhat lightly. I understood from bank people that internal scoring was almost more important than decent banking. The bonuses paid were huge. In the United States, things were different. As a consultant, I dealt with First Boston, the investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse, and even then I noticed a cowboy atmosphere (there was fraud, money laundering and irresponsible transactions, etc.). This licentious instance was also insufficiently corrected by US regulators and Credit Suisse's top management in Zurich, which adopted a haughty attitude towards US risks. Credit Suisse's demise was thus a matter of mismanagement and lack of compliance on all sides. The bank run at Credit Suisse is not considered an incident in Switzerland, but I do not think there will be any long-term damage to the Swiss banking system. It will, however, be a wake-up call in the political arena to boost the somewhat winged Supervisor."

Q: Doesn't the debacle then reflect on the image of Swiss business?

CJ: "Switzerland's strength lies, on the one hand, in its combination of banking secrecy and political stability. On the other hand, the country has developed into a successful high-wage country. This supports an excellent industry in mechanical engineering and fine mechanics (such as watches and measuring equipment). There are numerous small and medium-sized companies in the engineering sphere that are high-quality international niche players. These companies often have their own training capacity for young people who want to become skilled in unique technologies. The Swiss are not like the Dutch in the idea that everyone has to go to college or university to succeed in life. Technically savvy young people can still make a fine living through the apprenticeship system. However, it is true that in most technical companies digitalisation is going fast. It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to teach young people a trade internally or through apprenticeships in larger companies if they do not have a higher education in digitisation. The fact remains that the Swiss are an extremely precise people who literally and figuratively know how to keep their alley clean. They are technical and detail-oriented. If they do something,

they want to do it well. German-Swiss have a Germanic mentality; when they deliver something, it has to be right. French-Swiss, on the other hand, like to hold the reins of businesses in French-style control. They are not necessarily much liked as people. I have now lived in Swiss-land for a total of 34 years and know many Swiss, but to say that I have been able to make good friends is going too far."

Q: How do you see Switzerland's future?

CJ: "There is a certain dynamic in the Swiss political system that keeps everyone awake. Here, decisions are taken at the municipal and cantonal level by referendum consultation among the entire population, while in the Netherlands more is delegated to The Hague where the government has to solve the country's problems with a lot of weakening compromises. If you talk to Swiss people on the street about politics, they are more involved in the governance of the country than anywhere else in Europe. It is an integral society in that respect. Switzerland also has the advantage of already being partly climate-neutral. Due to the presence of hydropower plants, much of its energy use is electricity-based. In addition, the country has four running nuclear power plants and some "gravity" power plants. Many top executives in business, science or medicine come from mainly language compatriot Germany, although there is still a lesser negative attitude of the Swiss towards Germany since World War II. The Swiss, especially the German-speaking ones, are businesslike and pragmatic and nowadays step over sentiment. As a result, companies here are largely run by top talent from Germany, France or even Italy. This also brings the great advantage that a cultural bridge with the neighbouring countries often already exists from the management. Thus, despite their resistance to joining the EU, a far-reaching practical unification has also come about."

Q: How has the Basegroup been running lately?

CJ: "From 2004, I scaled back my business activities to seventy per cent of what I was doing before. I was a workaholic and recognised that this was not going to change. So I started withdrawing from all kinds of projects. After all, working as an international consultant generates stress, some of which I wanted to get away from. I wanted to enjoy life a bit more. Switzerland is an excellent country for that. When I step out of the door here on a Sunday morning, I'm at 2,200 metres altitude in no time, where it's always sunny. I am a passionate

skier. My wife and I continued looking for a place in the world our children could always come back to. That became an estate in Tuscany, where we put up a number of holiday homes for rent.

There were 900 olive trees on the property. This allowed for a limited production of olive oil. That's how I came into contact with the founders of Oil & Vinegar. They were just opening their first branch and I delivered my first 100 lt of olive oil from the boot of the car to them. We then started talking to farmers around the estate with the offer to start producing olive oil for them. Many of those farmers have no successors, so our offer was an attractive way of generating more income again in the long run. Thus, I have set up a trading operation under Basegroup with the brand name "Bonsecco", top-quality olive oil from Italy. Within three years, my olive oil was on sale in more than 100 shops in the Benelux and EU. Now I supply some 400,000 litres of olive oil a year that goes mainly to Benelux, Germany, England, the US and Australia. It is a premium niche product that is all about quality and gourmet flavour.

Its customers are true cooking enthusiasts and restaurateurs. The International Olive Oil Council in New York gave us the silver medal in 2018 out of about 1,800 competitors submitted!"

Q: are you still in touch with Nyenrode?

CJ: "I have since married a second wife, again a Dutch one.

I also have a house in Voorthuizen in the Veluwe. As a result, I was active for several years as a mentor for start-ups in Switzerland and the Netherlands, participating in the dungeons & dragons and investor day programmes at NBU, among others.

It has benefited me personally. During my studies, due to my busy international background, I did not really participate in the social life on campus. It was a cardinal mistake I made in my life. I later told my children to make the most of their student time. There is no other country like the Netherlands where, as a student, you can get so much out of both the social life, and the level of education. That applies completely to Nyenrode!" ♦

Above: Carel Jongbloed's estate in Tuscany.

Below: the Jongbloed family arriving in Switzerland in 1992.

An MBA student at Nyenrode, Youssef Khayali (20070409) was hired as an executive trainee by Hoffman-laRoche. As Switzerland's tallest building, the Basel headquarters dominates the landscape but is no ivory tower. One in four employees works with international R&D. Khayali was particularly concerned with state-of-the-art diagnostics. This enables 'value-based medicine.' So not paying upfront for expensive drugs, but billing based on effective ingredients that helped or cured the patient!

Roche driven by Hoffman family idealism!

BY OELE STEENKS

Q: What was your education like?

YK: "I studied biotechnology with the motivation of being able to save many people per hour rather than a surgeon who might be able to save a single patient in an hour's time. I did my studies at Leiden University and was involved in the startup of some brilliant medics at Leiden University Hospital. To my surprise, the startup went bankrupt.

The lesson I learned from this is that you can have the best scientific ideas, but you also have to be able to market them. I went to Nyenrode after my PhD to learn how business administration works."

Q: How did you end up at Hoffman-laRoche?

YK: "In the tough economic period of 2008/2009, it was difficult for a business scholar to find internships. Initially, I was going to go to the Boston Consulting Group, but a partner there advised me to go into industry, as it could increase my

added value more strongly. That I ended up at Hoffman-laRoche (further to be called Roche, ed) I owe more or less to my wife. She also studied biotechnology in Leiden and, like me, continued her business studies, in her case Science Based Business at Leiden University. She was recruited by Roche Nl and mentioned my name to an HR manager. From there, I was invited to apply for the one spot in Roche's trainee programme for upcoming corporate executives. To do so, I had to give a presentation at Roche's headquarters in Basel. Incidentally, I had not yet graduated from NBU and already had the security of a job."

Q: How did the first introduction go?

YK: "During the application process, I already noticed that distinguishing factors such as Differential Leadership and Differential Competiveness, which had been taught to

us at Harvard lectures during NBU training, were immediately tangible. From my first acquaintance, the focus was on growth through innovation."

Q: What was going on when you started?

YK: "I joined Roche at a turbulent time, as the company was parting ways with the production of fragrance and flavourings, with which some incidents had taken place. The Board had decided that Roche should focus on drug development, for which there was already a solid base through the production of all kinds of vitamin preparations, and on pharmaceutical diagnostics. Some 30-40% of sales were put into R&D. "

Q: how Swiss is Roche?

YK: "The way Roche is structured is similar to how Swiss society is structured. Although there is an Executive Board and Supervisory Board, which set a clear direction, there is a lot of room for in-house partnerships and innovation from operating companies worldwide.

For scientific developments, one in four employees is engaged in R&D, but if you draw innovation more broadly to all business activities, think of production, commerce and compliance, one in two is engaged in innovation. Those bottom-up innovations are very valuable."

Q: What can you compare the company to?

YK: "If I make a comparison for highly innovative multinationals, I think of 3M, which constantly invests in product improvement and new patents. But don't discount our own Philips, which has a number of patents that the Netherlands can be proud of, especially if we factor in the success of its spin-offs ASML and ASMI."

Q: What influence does the Hoffman family have?

YK: "The biggest shareholder in Roche is still the Hoffman family, which founded the company in 1934. That family ensures consistency and is committed to making life better on the planet. A member of the family also founded the World Wildlife Fund. The Hoffman family maintains a fairly simple lifestyle. You can just sit next to them on the tram. The Hoffman family has given Roche a centralised philosophy for decades. The principle of a company with 'purpose' has long been found in Basel. So is the principle of 'agile' working. There is a centrally driven

portfolio, but in work companies and their departments there is a lot of room for individual input. Country organisations are widely allowed to develop innovations that fit the local market and support helping the population. I myself worked in China for Roche for a time as a manager. The company has now been operating there for 30 years. There, Roche has been responsible for developing software that could automate the process of laboratory testing."

Q: Is Switzerland's scientific base sufficient?

YK: "Roche's scientific base is truly international. New inventions and patents can come from all over the world. It is a Global Business. So Roche cannot rely on a purely Swiss scientific base, although it works closely with hospitals and universities in the country. This is done in a pragmatic way, which is typical of Switzerland. If a test facility needs to be set up in a hospital, a few phone calls from the hospital to the relevant managers at Roche headquarters and to other stakeholders are enough to sort things out."

Q: What is Roche's 'purpose’?

YK: "Roche is betting on the transition from product-oriented healthcare to solution-oriented healthcare. It's all about Valuebased Healthcare these days. Roche is contributing to an international development where insurers, doctors and ultimately patients no longer pay upfront for the provision of medicines. We want to start paying on the individual impact that a medicine has had on the patient. The big question around which everything revolves is: how do you know which elements of a drug have actually been effective? This may sound simple, but it is a

complex matter, especially when you consider that a patient may have a series of disease states. First of all, developing, testing and getting a new drug approved is an expensive operation, for which you need to appeal to a large international audience. At the same time, the diagnostic tests we offer, which can be used to determine which drug fits the abnormal values found, must be used in hospitals or doctors' surgeries in a timely and appropriate manner. This requires a lot of training of doctors in local markets. That effort is certainly being repaid. For example, at breast cancer diagnosis, there is a percentage of women who have the HRE2 mutation. This means there is a certain protein around the malignant tumour. Roche has developed a vitamin preparation Trastizumab, marketed as Herceptin, that boosts the power of the protein and blocks tumour growth. Roche is not just coming up with the drug, but is making an overall contribution to curing breast cancer. We have developed the diagnostic test and algorithms, we are training doctors and we are coming up with follow-up research.

For instance, we want to know what impact, if any, the drug has on children. I was able to make a nice contribution to the development of diagnostics. We should not forget that doctors are usually extremely busy. They often rely on what they learned during medical studies and specialisation and function in a small circle of colleagues.

The level of knowledge is thus limited to who you know and what you know. Suppose 2000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in a hospital every year. Then about 400 women will have the HER2 mutation. Then remains a group of 700 women who are suspected of developing it,

Breast cancer drug Herceptin is a success

but they are not immediately recognised. By-that Roche knows how to bring together best practices from different hospitals, it is possible to screen more patients in time. We want to screen as many women as possible with perfected tests as soon as possible. By doing so, waiting lists can be reduced and many more women will be saved."

Q: What can Roche do in developing countries?

YK: "Roche is active in sub-Saharan countries, for example I contributed to the development of a railway train set, with all diagnostic laboratory requirements and with the necessary medical treatment facilities. That way, we can assist local doctors. For them, it's all about rapid diagnosis and adequate treatment. For example, Roche has developed a basic cocktail of drugs to treat malaria, typhoid and cholera, among others. Unlike differentiated drugs, here we are trying to increase the clout of doctors in remote areas. I see that as an example of innovation borne of local market conditions."

Q: Is Roche's idealism understood everywhere?

YK: "We tried, based on our idealistic business philosophy, to apply a tiered pricing system in developing countries. So expensive drugs were made cheaper for certain countries. This led to two reality checks. First, people were offended, as in Ethiopia, for instance. These felt that they were dismissed as a country of poor, pitiful families without a regular income and prone to disease. Why are we treated as needy, when there are so many affluent Ethiopians in modern cities? Secondly, we have had to deal with the greed factor in developing countries. Roche made

donations to developing countries with supplies of medicines. Unfortunately, these did not reach local people, as leaders of dictatorial regimes resold the medicine shipments to other countries and pocketed the profits. Then you ask yourself, where does my responsibility stop? Does it go all the way back to the potential end user or all the way to the airport where Roche delivers the medicine? Not all government leaders have an idealistic agenda."

Q: How is their cooperation with the People's Republic of China?

YK: "The Swiss may come across as a bit soft, but they are by no means softies. Roche's top management knows how to deal with party officials very well. For example, the company has a factory in the People's Republic of China. Production there is now being ramped up considerably, despite the tension internationally regarding knowledge transfer to the Chinese.

I myself was there when the Covid pandemic broke out. I gained respect for the speed with which the Beijing government acted. We must not forget that it is an immense country with a huge population. A form of pragmatism is needed to deal with big problems. I contributed to the development of machines that perform tests automatically and read the results with special software. This has given Chinese doctors more time to interpret the results. It has helped them cope better with the volumes that hospitals there have to handle."

Q: What is your experience of living in Switzerland?

YK: "Switzerland continues to have something mystical about it.

We have lived there near Zurich for 14 years now and I am still amazed that when I take the children to school, we run into Roger Federer, the boss of FIFA or the directors of UBS or Credit Suisse. Those people can still walk the streets unhindered while the country is wealthy. The Swiss are very polite and sociable, but you cannot really get through to them.

However, if you manage to get a Swiss passport as a foreigner after five to ten years, depending on the canton, you are a Swiss citizen. During that time, by the way, you get used to the price level, although I still refuse to order a seven-franc slice of pizza. It is different for the Swiss, because the salaries, benefits, especially after dismissal, and tax rates make it affordable for them."

Q: What does your future look like?

YK: "I enjoyed working at Roche for 14 years. When I was studying at Nyenrode, I already had the ideal of one day starting my own company. This interview concludes my period at a great Swiss company, but we continue to live in the country."♦

TOP MARKETER ALLARD VOGELPOEL:

Roger Federer and Robert de Niro are being used to bring back

Whether he was interested in a job as Head of Marketing for an Indian scale-up in the European holiday rental market or not, within two weeks, Allard Vogelpoel (pt-MBA 20080524) and his wife Maaike tied the knot and a signed contract was on the table from OYO. So... the family with two children moved to Switzerland at lightning speed. With their passion for winter sports, they haven't regretted a single day!

BY ALLARD VOGELPOEL / QUESTIONS OELE STEENKS

tourists!

Q: What moved you to move to Switzerland?

AV: “Before we moved to Switzerland in 2019, I worked in the Netherlands as Head of Marketing at Magnitude, an American software company. Before that, I had quite a career in marketing management positions at Coöperatie VGZ and Holland Casino, among others. I am married to Maaike, who works in the management of a Medical Specialist Institution. Together, we have two sons. We were already winter sports fanatics and loved going to Switzerland where we have a flat. I was not long into my job when I got a call about a possible other job. The job sounded interesting; helping shape the growth of OYO Vacation Homes, a scale-up from India with hyper-growth ambitions in vacation rentals in Europe. The company had just made a number of acquisitions in Europe and it sounded like the right time to step in. At the end of the interview, the headhunter indicated that it would only be in Switzerland and wondered if that wasa problem.

Fortunately, my entire family loves snow and mountains so we already loved coming to Switzerland. With children in upper secondary school, my wife Maaike with a good job in the Netherlands, and with many friends around us, we did have to weigh up and figure out a lot of things. But the adventure attracted us so much that we tied the knot relatively quickly. After two weeks, I had a signed contract.”

Q: What can you say about OYO's background?

AV: “OYO is an Indian company founded in 2012 and relatively unknown in Europe. In Asia, however, it is very well known as a chain of budget hotels. After acquiring Amsterdam-based @Leisure in 2019 (which includes the Dutch Belvilla brand), OYO has also become active in Europe, but mainly in holiday homes. SoftBank is the largest shareholder and founder Ritesh Agarwal has almost a third stake in the company. There are also numerous other investors behind it like Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia India, and AirBnB. In 2021, revenue was $520 Mio.”

Q: So is Switzerland big in Vacation Rentals?

AV: “For Switzerland, tourism is important with almost 3% of GDP and almost 4.5% of employment. However, within Europe, it is certainly not the biggest player. The establishment of a head office in Switzerland also has primarily a fiscal reason. With "substance requirements," the Swiss government wants to prevent the establishment here of all kinds of PO box firms that contribute little else to the country. Therefore, established strategic functions must also be occupied here and certain activities must take place here. A clear example of how the Swiss are taking good care of their country and boosting the local economy.”

Q: How is tourism currently developing in Switzerland?

AV: “Corona has given a huge crunch to tourism. Before the pandemic, Germany was the biggest source of tourists with 2.2 million arrivals. Second and third were China and the US with 1.1 million arrivals. The Netherlands was seventh after France, the UK and Italy. International tourism turnover was down 48% to CHF 9.4 billion during Corona and the number of foreign overnight stays was even down 56%. In 2022, many tourists returned from America and Europe. This year should see the recovery of Asian guests. But that has not yet returned to level, only recently restrictions in China have eased back. Tourism remains a very important pillar in the Swiss economy, so a lot is being

Allard Vogelpoel in his element.

Two Nyenrode buddies.

With wife Maaike and two sons.

invested to revive it. Even national tennis hero Roger Federer, together with Robert de Niro, is being used for this purpose with a movie that is quite humorous for Swiss people. Investment is also not lacking in tourist areas.”

Q: What is the outlook for winter sports?

AV: “For Swiss, skiing remains sacred and I expect they will do everything possible to keep offering it big. We saw that during all the Corona restrictions, when skiing remained possible for locals. However, we cannot ignore the fact that rising temperatures and lack of precipitation have taken their toll on snow enjoyment, especially over the past year. Many discussions have been initiated on the future of skiing, on the use of precious water for artificial snow and discussions on the high energy consumption. Here, comparisons are made by the pro-ski camp that a medium-sized ski resort uses no more energy than a swimming pool. As we have seen, last winter skiing has been good in most places with some artifice, but still, shorter ski seasons and, due to rising costs, higher prices are anticipated. However, winter tourists have so far been less price sensitive than summer tourists. It is therefore expected that this will be accepted. In addition to skiing, many ski resorts are also betting on alternatives such as (snow) hiking and are investing heavily in mountain biking and other outdoor activities. But skiing is in the Swiss DNA and will remain so.”

Q: Is it easy for a foreigner to buy a holiday home in Switzerland?

AV: “In itself, it is fine, but you need to familiarise yourself with the federal, cantonal and municipal regulations. For example, as a foreigner without a residence permit, you can only buy property in established tourist areas and not in cities like Basel or Zurich. Some municipalities have high thresholds on minimum purchase price (CHF 750,000), or a quota on foreign purchases to protect the local market. You need to find out about these before you want to make a purchase. This makes the market for foreigners very difficult or, as in Zermatt, almost impossible in some areas.

One exception is Andermatt where an incredible redevelopment is taking place in the tourism field with huge investments in ski area and development of large resorts.

Egyptian investor Samih Sawiris has invested CHF 1.5 billion there. With the "Andermatt Swiss Alp" project, holiday homes, resorts, an 18-hole golf course and several hotels, including the prominent 5-star Chedi Hotel. US-based Vail Resorts also took a 55% stake in the ski resort last summer. To make the project a success, with government cooperation, the rules here for foreigners are a lot more lenient than in other areas. I am very curious to see how this will develop, the ambitions are very big, but it has yet to earn the name that other areas have historically already earned.

Good to know is that as a foreigner, it is possible to take out a mortgage with a Swiss bank with low interest rates. Just keep in mind that you have to bring a minimum of 30% yourself.”

Q: What are the advantages of Swiss holiday homes as an investment?

AV: “New second/holiday homes are no longer allowed in almost all popular tourist areas. As demand remains high, this has a positive development on the value. A stable CHF also contributes to this. Especially in more expensive destinations like Gstaad, St Moritz or Zermatt, there has been a relatively large price increase, but in a balanced country like Switzerland, do not expect mega increases (or decreases). Also, it is often not possible, or very difficult, to sell again within five years of purchase. You should therefore view an investment here mainly as long-term. Prices vary enormously.

In expensive areas, you can easily pay €10,000 per m2 and above. But you can still find plenty of affordable places, including in ski resorts. My tip is the canton of Valais where you can still find affordable supply in beautiful ski areas, especially if you choose a slightly older house or flat. Besides being a steady investment, a holiday home also has the great advantage that you can use it yourself and enjoy everything the country has to offer.”

Q: What are the trends in holiday homes?

AV: “Holiday homes are becoming increasingly luxurious. People looking for a holiday home want more luxury than at home, from whirlpools and swimming pool to full automation. With the growth of working from home, all facilities should also be available to do so with comfort from the holiday home. For rentals, this also helps, as you are then less affected by the offpeak season. Many homeowners therefore invest in this with modifications to their homes. There is also a growing demand for sustainable offerings and, of course, car charging facilities. Finally, in recent years there has also been a European trend to buy something in your own country. Nice idea to have something nearby you can always go to.”

Q: What are your career ambitions in Switzerland?

AV: “In the meantime, we are already pretty well entrenched in Switzerland. Maaike still works for her old employer, though now remotely. Our eldest son studies "International IT management" in Lucerne and works alongside it as an Ethical Hacker at a Swiss security company. Our youngest son has chosen to study in the Netherlands after finishing school here in Switzerland. He started this year at the higher hotel school in Leeuwarden.

My ambitions in Switzerland are alive and well! Indeed, in connection with a planned IPO, a lot of work will be moved to the parent company in India. Therefore, I will be looking for a new challenge. We have decided that we definitely want to stay in Switzerland in the coming years. With the huge range of international employers and tech scale-ups here in the Zurich area, I hope to make a choice in my next move soon. And also seize the moment to enjoy the country.” ♦

Allard left and Matthijs on mountain bikes.

Allard, son and Maaike.

Matthijs Stillebroer (20080521) left and Allard Vogelpoel.

COLUMN

KAPÉ BREUKELAAR (19860015)

BBA Nyenrode, is a partner at investment firm Amlon Capital. He previously wrote for De Telegraaf for 18 years and was a regular contributor to the television programme Kassa.

Helvetophile

My father proudly called himself a 'Helvetophile.' He was inspired by the lyrics of the then-famous Drs P, a Swiss emigrant to the Netherlands. My father felt he was half Swiss and also knew an incredible amount about the country. In addition, he was a train fanatic, which is an excellent hobby for a Helvetophile. He knew all the beautiful railway lines and breathtaking mountain routes. At home in the Netherlands, he also always had an up-to-date Swiss railway timetable. He had visited the country as a child before World War II and it had never left him.

Switzerland was therefore the obvious holiday destination with our family. In summer, we went to the lakes of the Bernese Oberland and hiking in the mountains. Of course, we took beautiful rides by train on my father's favourite routes

Beautiful mountain routes like the Jungfraujoch, the Brienzer Rothorn and the Montreux Oberlandbahn were favourites. And preferably in a panorama or the dining car. But we also went there in winter, then tied up skis for a fortnight during the Christmas holidays.

Every time we crossed the Basel border by car, a big grin appeared on my father's facehe was home again. It even got to the point where my parents bought a holiday flat in the mountains to be there more often. The thought of having their own place in neutral Switzerland also really appealed to my parents. They were of the generation that experienced the Second World War as teenagers. Moving out to Switzerland was a real option for them in case of a third world war. Underneath the apartment building was therefore an 'Atomschutzraum' that could be closed with thick vault doors. In those years this was a mandatory part of every new house to be built in Switzerland.

Such a holiday home is of course a dream for every child. Some years I could be found up to six weeks in the mountains, spread over summer and winter. Looking back, I spent at least a year of my life in Switzerland. I knew the country, spoke the language and felt at home. One of the tricky aspects of German-speaking Switzerland is the spoken dialect. The higher up in the mountains, the flatter the 'Schwyzerdütsch.' As a small child, I didn't understand it at all but in my adolescence I got the hang of the language quite well. Thanks to Swiss friends, I spoke Schwyzerdütsch pretty fluently. Those Swiss friends used a simple integration test: you had to be able to pronounce at least the word Chüchichäschtli correctly if you wanted to pass. I soon mastered that Swiss 'kitchen cupboard' while they kept stumbling over the pronunciation of 'Scheveningen.'

My eldest sister finally made the final move. She was nudged by my father and decided to leave for Switzerland after high school for her studies. She has been living there for decades now and has achieved the ultimate goal for a Helvetophile: she has had Swiss citizenship for several years. She will never leave there. ♦

Kapé Breukelaar (19860015)

MARJOL NIJNENS CAME TO SWITZERLAND FOR LOVE:

NEGOTIATOR FOR M&A DEALS AT ABB CONCERN!

Marjol Nijnens (20030070) has lived and worked in several countries. With a base as a Merger & Acquisition professional from Goldman Sachs, she has had a fine career, resulting in her now being Vice President at Swiss-Swedish technology group ABB. She works in the acquisition team that does 5 to 10 transactions a year around the world. In the United States, in particular, there are great acquisition opportunities. If things get serious with a target company, Marjol guides the acquisition process all the way to actually closing a deal!

Q: You have a truly international CV, from growing up in Indonesia to having work experience in South Africa, London, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and within the last five years, Switzerland. Can you make a quick comparison between the countries' national cultures?

MN: "Such a range of cultures cannot be quickly compared. It was a great experience working with local teams in such different places, it resulted in many colourful daily situations and having to quickly adapt to different ways of working. Although I really enjoy Switzerland, my favourite country remains South Africa. I lived there for eight years, it is so beautiful, dynamic and interesting. It is also a complex country socially, economically and politically. Emerging markets are still for me the most exciting places in the world to be in. Now I get to experience something of that same dynamism by working in an emerging industry."

Q: what can you say about the differences in business culture, as far as you have experienced them?

MN: "From a Swiss perspective, there are differences determined by the national character, but also by the way companies operate. The Swiss themselves are relatively formal and introverted, but focused on reaching consensus. In Sao Paulo, I worked with a small team where the mood was usually extroverted, animated and sometimes emotional. In South Africa, America and the UK, there is more hierarchy and decisions are more top-down. Things move faster then, but with less buy-in. For a European, working with Chinese teams is probably the most difficult. You can end up in a meeting with as many as 20 people at the table, with only one senior person doing the talking. Such a meeting can end within 25 minutes, because the others say nothing and walk away from the table at some point. You then have to speak to those people separately later."

Q: You were trained and formed as an M&A professional at Goldman Sachs; how internationally applicable is that base?

MN: "I was lucky enough to be hired at Goldman Sachs early in my career. I received a few weeks of basic training in New York and learned a lot on-the-job, which has benefited me for the rest of my life. You learned to quickly analyse a company's numbers, value them, and understand how the business worked from different angles. I worked for Goldman Sachs for five years, during which time I got fantastic exposure and could still make use of a valuable network. After that, a mix of M&A, strategy and finance roles gave me a variety of perspectives on business plans, complemented by many years of business valuations in changing market conditions."

Q: you now work for Swiss-Swedish group Asea Brown Boveri, better known as ABB. Is that an interesting employer?

MN: "Yes, it is a technology multinational that is central to global themes such as the energy transition, electric mobility, automation and the future of how work will be done. Thereby, contributing to the sustainability agenda is an absolutely driving factor, with a focus on how to efficiently deploy electric resources to our customers and within our own operations."

Q: The financial press and investment analysts were critical of financial underperformance, at the end of the decade towards 2020; that was concurrent with your start at ABB. How did you experience this?

MN: "Upon my entry, that was indeed the case. I started in the strategy team, where I developed a portfolio review framework to assess the companies ABB owned. The questions to be answered were: does a company still fit ABB's portfolio and group objective, what is the character of the underlying market, and what is the potential for value creation. It turned out that there were some candidates for divestment. We then divested five companies respective business activities with a total value of CHF 10+ billion."

Q: In 2021, Swede Bjorn Rosengren made his appearance as CEO of ABB. He had impressed as CEO of Sweden's Sandvik, but now he was a foreigner at the helm of a Zurich headquarters. How did that go?

BY OELE STEENKS

MN: "It must be said that there were already a lot of Scandinavians running around

the headquarters, so from that point of view his arrival was not shocking. What did have a big impact was his approach, which he had already developed in Sweden. He immediately initiated a process of decentralisation. Twenty divisions were formed, that's counted around the world, which became responsible for their own strategy and its implementation. The underlying philosophy is that the divisions are closest to the customers. Subsequently, the divisions were and are measured on their financial performance. This system required a significant reduction in overheads so that divisional leaders are not burdened with costs over which they have no direct control. It was, however, a period when there was a lot of uncertainty among head office staff."

Q: The Rosengren methodology uses a scorecard with 15 key indicators! Can you explain the key points and do you also use this scorecard for M&A?

MN: "The scorecards work with comparable financials for the divisions, with this each division is looked back on three years and forward three years on the KPIs (from orders to cash). This has facilitated performance management and a better conversation about that performance is now possible. Acquisitions are eventually cut into the same metrics, but we do the transaction itself more on a cash basis."

Q: Rosengren talked about a five- to 10-year rollout of a huge pipeline of M&A to strengthen the 20 business centres. That must be quite a challenge for you, being VP M&A!

MN: "Currently, we do five to 10 deals a year around the world. For acquisitions, we then have to engage with 4-5x as many acquisition candidates. Those companies are partly nominated by the divisions, but we also independently follow companies that come to market at auctions. Through that channel, we have had decent competition from private equity firms in the past year when interest rates were very low. Now we have more competition from industrial conglomerates looking to expand and or diversify into the clean applied technology sector in which ABB operates."

Q: The CEO also pointed to the business pressure on electrification and movement caused by green regulations in EU markets, while current federal investment programmes in the US seem to favour investment in America First. How does this play out in your M&A practices?

MN: "The US is an important market for ABB, where we achieve about a third of sales. With local production of over $10 billion, we meet the America First requirement. Making acquisitions in the US has therefore become even more interesting."

Q: What actually brought you to Switzerland?

MN: "I met a Swiss guy while on holiday in Patagonia, on top of a mountain. It was love at first sight. It just proves that life is based on casual encounters. It was immediately clear that we love the same things, the mountains, nature and travelling. We are now married and have a son and a daughter, who are now the tallest and blondest children at their school in a small village at the foot of the Jura mountains. For the weekends, we have a VW California van, which we use to camp on farm sites or we explore the regions around us in the holidays, such as Burgundy, Piedmont, Alsace and Corsica."

Q: Would you recommend young Nyenrode alumni work in Switzerland?

MN: "Yes absolutely. There are many international conglomerates, but also niche firms hiring international talent. So you can end up in a small town and find that it has a local company that is the world's leading producer of a specialised precision part for chip machines. Nature is always nearby, wherever you live, with truly four distinct seasons. In summer people swim in the river, in autumn and spring they explore the forests, in winter there is plenty of snow in the mountains. Lunch stories in the canteen on Mondays are full of sports and fresh air."

Q: What is your personal connection with NBU and the Netherlands?

MN: "I grew up abroad and only lived briefly in the Netherlands, but I do consider myself a Dutchman, I love the Netherlands and I like coming there. My father, Frans Nijnens (19700064), also studied at Nyenrode, which gives a special bond between us. If I have to make decisions, I can ask him for advice, and he is always proud of me."♦

Switching to electric transport. ABB E-mobility guides the entire process, from a feasibility study to the realisation of a charging infrastructure.

BONAPARTE TALENT FUND A REALITY!

On May 17, Dispuut BonAparte and Stichting Nyenrode Fonds signed the agreement to establish a Fund in Name: the "BonAparte Talent Fund". This makes the second Fund in Name for Nyenrode a reality!

With this Fund in Name, disuut BonAparte wants to make a difference for young women to study at Nyenrode. It is especially meant for female talent who grew up in families with lesser resources and/or different cultural backgrounds.

"We see it as a privilege to pave the way together and show what women can achieve if we put our shoulders to the wheel together. In diversity lies our strength."

The text on Nyenrode's castle bridge "in dualitate fortitudo" or translated "in diversity lies our strength" are an inspiration to both Nyenrode and BonAparte.

Because Nyenrode is a private university, there is a big difference between tuition fees at Nyenrode and those at public universities in the Netherlands. This can make it difficult to impossible for some, very capable students, to have sufficient funds to study at Nyenrode. Scholarships make it possible to retain this talent for Nyenrode.

Nyenrode therefore emphasises the importance of scholarships and is very pleased with this new Fund in Name of BonAparte. Not only do scholarships make it possible for the talent of the future to study at Nyenrode, regardless of their financial situation, they also ensure more diversity in the lecture hall.

Nyenrode sees the education of students as its social task. It is not only the transfer of knowledge that is important here, but rather the broader development of students that prepares them for a role in international business. This broader development requires a diverse learning environment and learning to deal with different cultures and backgrounds. To give substance to this in the lecture halls and on the Amsterdam and Breukelen campuses, Nyenrode strives for a diverse student population. A student population that reflects the society in which Nyenrode students will work after graduation.

The BonAparte Talent Fund contributes to this ambition and mission of Nyenrode in a wonderful way. The Nyenrode Fund Foundation is therefore very grateful to the ladies of BonAparte who will contribute to this Fund in the coming years and thus commit to their Alma Mater.

MORE INFORMATION

Are you interested in the possibilities of a Named Fund within the Nyenrode Fund Foundation? Or would you like to know more about donating on behalf of scholarships, for example in the Nyenrode Scholarship Fund? All donations, large or small, are very welcome. For more information and personal advice, please contact:

Anouk Reitsma

(T: +31 6 223 107 88) - a.reitsma@nyenrode.nl

GOOD PRE-PARENTING

Krznaric has written a very inspiring book on good ancestry. We live in a world we inherited from our ancestors. They are the inheritors who have largely shaped our way of life. We can accept that legacy in gratitude. Or we can grumble out of dissatisfaction. But one thing we know for sure: for future generations, we are the testators who leave them a world. Will they be grateful with our legacy or will they grumble? Will they consider us good ancestors?

"A legacy is not something we leave behind but something we create during our lifetime." It is not just a testamentary gift, but a daily practice. We create our legacies as parents and friends, as workers and citizens, as creators and activists, and as members of a community. It is about realising that our actions, for example in the form of our consumption behaviour or our vote in political elections, have consequences for the distant future" (Krznaric, 2021, p.79).

How can you be a good ancestor? Good ancestry requires mental time travel. A skill that is not new, but can be developed much better. For example, by thinking not only about your own wallet or shareholders, but first and foremost about the 'future holders': the future people "whose interests and welfare must be taken into account in decisions that will affect their lives" (Krznaric, 2021, p.82).

A donor to the Nyenrode Fund Foundation is doing mental time travel when he or she thinks about how Nyenrode can be passed on to the next generation. The challenge is to look even further, how do you ensure that the university will still be relevant in a hundred years' time? How do you ensure that even then students and participants will still be able to absorb Nyenrode's core values on a thriving and growing estate? And make the moral circle bigger: not only the students and participants, but also the staff, the faculty members, but also the neighbours and residents of Breukelen. All those other people with whom they share a world.

You too can make a difference. By bequeathing to the Nyenrode Fund Foundation. Request the brochure from:

Heleen van Hall (20070509) on 0346 291 432 or H.vHall@nyenrode.nl or download it from www.nyenrode.nl/stichting-nyenrode-fonds/nalaten.

Passages from: E. Karssing (2021), 'Good ancestor shapeOn integrity, good governance and sustainability', in: R. Flören et al (ed.), Sustainability and the family business. Passion or urgency, RSM/Nyenrode Business University.

Later this year, Professor Dr Edgar Karssing will give a lecture on this topic for those interested in bequeathing at Nyenrode. For more information on this, please contact:

Heleen van Hall.

Source: Krznaric, R. (2021). The good ancestor. Long-term thinking for a short-term world. Ten Have.

Under the spell of the Swiss Alps

SPORTS FANATIC JEFFRY DE JONG:

Jeffry de Jong (Msc20070059) had a job as assistant controller in the Netherlands, but his passion was outdoor sports in the mountains. Deliberately, he left for Switzerland to start trading in fish. Now he is in place as international business controller at the quality brand Mammut and has a Swiss fiancée. He gets an integration course from his soon-to-be in-laws!

BY JEFFRY DE JONG I.C.W. OELE STEENKS

My last job in the Netherlands was at A.S. Watson in Renswoude, where I was assistant commercial controller.

I became more and more fascinated by the Swiss mountains during holidays and at one point I tied the knot. I wanted to live there permanently! I moved to Switzerland more or less by chance and have now been living for seven years in the canton of Obwalden, a mountainous canton in the centre of the country.

In the beginning, I worked as an independent entrepreneur in the international fish trade, where I had a lot of contact with the Netherlands. In the region, I was the well-known address for the best quality fish. I supplied top restaurants, including holders of Michelin stars. The corona period quickly made this trade uninteresting, although I was able to gain a lot of entrepreneurial experience. However, I was ready for something with more growth potential. Thanks in part to my experience as controller at A.S. Watson, I qualified for my current job: working for an outdoor top brand!

Since last year, I have been working at Mammut Sports Group, a truly Swiss company specialising in outdoor sports equipment. Mammut operates in at least 50 countries through partners or with its own offices and shops. This is in most countries in Europe, Japan, China, USA and Australia. Within Mammut, I work as Business Controller Commercial and work for the global operation. I am in daily contact with the various international locations.

Mammut's products consist of clothing and accessories for sports like mountain climbing, ski touring, trail running, mountain hiking, freeriding and more, you can think of ropes, avalanche backpacks, shoes, harnesses. Feel free to visit a Mammut event as well, these take place all over the world, including the Netherlands. Mammut works with top and Olympic athletes. They come not only from Switzerland but from all over the world.

Passion for quality Quality is very important in Switzerland, which is reflected in all companies in the country. Since 1862, Mammut has been working

hard to create products that redefine functionality and performance in the mountains. Each product is designed down to the smallest detail for a specific outdoor activity. This is exactly why Mammut has become synonymous worldwide with high-quality products that perform superbly on both a leisurely hike and a demanding climb. Above all, it is the connection to the Swiss mountains that is reflected in the products.

TOURING SKIING IS A REAL CHALLENGE.

Around 60% of Swiss people do Hiking and also around 60% of Swiss are on skis at least once every winter. Only a small part of this group actually does the more extreme mountain sports. Here, I am thinking of mountain climbing (Klettern), high altitude touring or ski touring. While hiking in the mountains or on skis, you come across all of Europe. As a Dutchman on touring skis, I am a bit more exotic. Personally, I think tour skiing is the most beautiful thing there is. Of course, this part of winter sports takes extra planning and also requires knowledge of avalanche danger. I always go out with safety equipment.

The rules for tour skiing are specified by the FIS. In ski resorts, the Swiss are often not very happy with tour skiers but there are plenty of places free to go somewhere in the wild. You cannot get a diploma for this but good insurance is very important, as any help from a helicopter is not advantageous. In Switzerland this is through the employer, for me it is top notch.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT A MUST!

Always I go out with the three-unit, pager, probe, shovel; and also the avalanche backpack should not be missing. Of course, I can recommend a mountain guide, they know the area and ensure a safe day. Sometimes I also go alone or with friends in easier and well-known areas. I do take with me then, a first-aid kit, rescue blanket, dry clothes, food, drink (schnapps), torch, two pairs of gloves, helmet, pocket knife, batteries, phone, skis, skins, special shoes, goggles and a very good ski touring suit.

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Switzerland is a tourist country, for many years people from abroad come to Switzerland to enjoy nature here. This is where we see Western European winter sports people most often on the slopes. The Germans, Dutch, French and English are clearly represented here. Eventually, the English made tourism big in Switzerland. There are also huts like the Brittania hut and the Hollandia hut. The ski virus passes from generation to generation. However, I believe everyone can learn it. During the pandemic there were obviously no Chinese, but normally Lucerne is full of Chinese and Interlaken full of Arabs. We live between Lucerne and Interlaken and both places are also really worth a visit. I read that the group of Chinese winter sports enthusiasts is growing. China is so big and that always offers opportunities for Switzerland's future.

LOVE THE SWISS WAY

I came to Switzerland single and I am now getting married to a Swiss woman.

I met my partner through the Internet during the pandemic. Our first date was a hike on the Wasserfallen in the Jura. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and we quickly went in search of cheese fondue. We ended up eating it only on our second date but we are now engaged. This is great fun and she really comes from a traditional Swiss family. Her family owns a farm with its own vineyard in the Baselbieter Jura. At the hands of my soon-to-be in-laws, I go to yodel nights, 'schwingfesten' and wine festivals. Schwingen, by the way, is Switzerland's national sport. It is a kind of peasant wrestling, held in large stadiums with up to 50,000 spectators. It includes concerts by artists from home and abroad.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THE (SOCIAL) LIFE?

Living in Switzerland is wonderful, personally I love the outdoor life. In winter, I like to go cross-country skiing and ski touring (with skins up and skis down). In summer, I do kayaking and triathlons (standard distance) and I train a lot for those. From the office, I also like to run hard through the surrounding forests. It takes some time before you get to know people and you really have to take the initiative yourself, are you through this, Swiss are really very sociable people. On Wednesdays, we always have a BBQ evening in the boathouse, which is super fun.

NOTES FOR NEWCOMERS

Dutch people generally speak reasonable German, which makes life in Switzerland a lot easier. What does present a big challenge for Dutch people who want to work here is the lack of a 'arbeitszeugnis' according to the Swiss model.

After every job, you normally get this. The employer describes what you did well during your job and why you left. Bad performance they may not mention. The lack of this kind of confirmation from the Netherlands, is very inconvenient when applying for a job. ♦

Jeffry: "Our first date was at the Wasserfallen in the Jura."

TOP WOMAN: PIPSA YLÄNKÖ

Over 1,000 surgeons will gather in Davos in December for the annual AO Foundation summit, AO Davos Courses. They are professionals with the best hands, trained by the Swiss organisation. Pipsa Ylänkö (MBA 20060525) now watches over the 0sustainable success of the Flagship Event. She is an example of what an ambitious Nyenrode alumna can achieve in the nonprofit sector.

DOOR OELE STEENKS

A CAREER FOCUSED ON THE NONPROFIT SECTOR IN SWITZERLAND

BY OELE STEENKS

Q: You have a Finnish background. Can you mention some highlights of your childhood and high school education?

PY: "In primary school, I was a member of the video, computer and chess club, which is significant. It was the early 1980s and yes, we used Commodore 64. The Finnish education system is praised and seen as exemplary. Even by Finland's standards, I attended a progressive school. I was a good student and loved geography, languages, writing and sports."

Q: How would you describe yourself as a teenager?

PY: "As for any teenager, those years were filled with curiosity and exploration. They helped me shape my values, interests and goals.Looking back, I think I was also very idealistic and naive. I was active in organisations like Amnesty International and I it wrote letters to Frederik de Klerk, president of South Africa. What emphatically shaped me was my high school exchange year spent in the United States at the age of 17. A gentle reminder, this was the era before the internet and mobile phones. The year was an eye-opener in several ways and served as an important reality check of what the world is like. I went back to Finland with less naivety. My teenage years were also the years when I started to develop the idea of studying abroad."

Q: You are praised on Linkedin for your organisational skills; is that in the family DNA?

PY: "Absolutely, especially from mother's side of the family. Being organised helps me structure my thoughts, stay focused and get the right things done in the right way, both in my personal and professional life."

Q: How did you get in touch with Nyenrode?

PY: "During my undergraduate studies in economics in Rotterdam, I did an internship in Nyenrode's marketing department. Little did I know then that I would not only work for the university for many years, but that I would also complete an Executive MBA from Nyenrode."

Q: What has been your personal experience with NBU?

PY: "It was very rewarding, positive and essential in shaping my professional career. I was in the fortunate circumstance of seeing Nyenrode through two different lenses, that of a staff member and later through that of a student. The security staff probably remembers the Finnish lady who entered through the campus gatehouse at 4am so that I could work on my MBA studies before starting my job. I gained so much knowledge and underwent so many valuable experiences for the rest of my life. My MBA also gave me the confidence to open doors I wouldn't have even dared to knock on otherwise. The university will always be an important part of me, and I visit the campus almost every time I am in the Netherlands."

Q: What were the specific rewards of being an MBA marketing manager at NBU?

PY: "Education is very meaningful as a sector and a field to be active in. It has been a common thread throughout my career. What I really appreciated in my NBU position was interacting with intelligent and ambitious individuals. I relished the opportunity to help them discover and enhance their talents and personal profile. I was able to guide them towards a learning path, allowing them to excel at such a unique institution."

Q: What was your motivation for accepting a position at the World Economic Forum?

PY: "In 2008, I was watching reports on CNN about the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

I was attracted to the organisation. A global multistakeholder organisation with an ambitious mission, the Forum provides a platform for leaders from all stakeholder groups who are in positions to make a positive and concrete impact in international society. I checked WEF's web site for outstanding vacancies. There was a position available as community manager for the Forum of Young Global Leaders. It is a section of WEF for people under 40 who have made exceptional achievements, measured against their age, and who have already made a significant social contribution. There is diversity of young leaders representing business, politics, social organisations, science, arts and sports and so on. The position was a great opportunity to further develop myself as a global citizen and become of value in the process we should all be part of, namely contributing to positive change in the world.

Not only did I get the job, but I was also invited to join the Global Leadership Fellow programme.

Through this, the WEF annually selects young talented people to develop their potential as valuable leaders."

Q: What have you achieved in your job?

PY: I succeeded in optimising the relationship with the 200 European YGLs. This manifested itself in increasing involvement of the young leaders in Forum initiatives and meetings. We did this with inspiring content-based meetings and task forces. The magic of the YGL meetings is that young leaders at that time are not exposed to public interest, but are truly among their peers. The young leaders are people who are ambitious and at the same time aware of their potential to bring about positive change.We always had issues on the agenda that addressed world problems and 'opportunities.' The magic became further concrete when the YGLs returned to their home countries and started using their influence to bring about positive change."

Q: The annual summit in Davos has global impact. Can you point out the USPs of this global summit?

PY: "There is no other comparable platform that brings together top leaders from so many different stakeholder groups at a level that enables concrete actions. Davos is an important appointment in their calendar."

Q: Why did you switch to the AO Foundation in 2014?

PY: "At the WEF, I was a Global Leadership Fellow in addition to my professional roles. After completing the programme, I wanted to move to the German-speaking part of Switzerland (WEF is headquartered in Geneva) and continue working for a non-profit organisation with global activities, a very meaningful mission and with contributors I genuinely admire. The AO Foundation seemed like the perfect match. I could also fulfil one of my dreams, namely to live in the mountains, as AO's headquarters is based in Davos. I have since moved to a village on Lake Zurich and go to Davos every week."

Q: What does AO do?

PY: " The AO Foundation is a medically supervised,

(top) Pipsa with Philip Kotler, NBU honorary doctor (bottom) Behind the computer in Finland

non-profit organisation led by an international group of surgeons specialising in the treatment of trauma and musculoskeletal disorders. AO was founded in 1958 by a group of Swiss surgeons who shared one goal: to deliver radically improved patient outcomes in the treatment of trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.

Today, AO has a global network of more than 520,000 surgeons, operating theatre staff and scientists in more than 160 countries. The Foundation works in the fields of trauma, spine, craniomaxillofacial, veterinary and reconstructive surgery, sports and operating room personnel. Our mission is to promote excellence in patient care and outcomes in trauma and musculoskeletal conditions."

Q: Since 2018, you were global manager of AO Recon; what were your goals in this role?

PY: "Surgeons have to be extremely precise. While the organisation has a certain Swiss character, the pursuit of perfection is shared by surgeons worldwide. In doing so, they need to be able to practice with their hands. When I started at AO Recon, we provided 26 educational events a year; now the number has risen to around eighty. We have been strategically working on improving educational and networking opportunities to train surgeons in the possibilities of atroplasty (joint reconstruction & replacement) and give them more impact in patient care. The latter is also related to the problem of an aging population that is happening in many parts of the world, where there is an increasing demand for high-quality care. I was constantly thinking about the current and future relevance of AO Recon."

Q: How will the training needs of surgeons in developing countries be covered?

PY: "The philosophy of AO is to be inclusive and not exclusive. To be effective in developing countries, AO Alliance was established, this organisation caters to developing countries where surgeons have to work under very challenging conditions."

Q: At the time of this interview, you have started a new position at AO. What will this involve?

PY: "It is a new position where I will have strategic responsibility for our annual AO Flagship Event, which will be held again next December in Davos. Over a thousand surgeons will gather there. It is a gathering unlike any other. After the WEF, it is the second largest event organised at the Davos convention centre. I will deal with the sustainable success of the Flagship Event, as AO will only settle for 'the best of the best' in the future too."

Q: How would employees describe you as their leader?

PY: "Sincere, passionate, pragmatic, empowering, empathetic. Also transparent about the fact that I am not perfect as a person or leader, but that I am eager to listen and learn continuously."

Q: What can you share with alumni about your private life and interests?

PY: "My roots are very Finnish. After spending 12 amazing years in the Netherlands, my heart will always be partly orange. After living in Switzerland for 15 years, it has become my third home. My surname Ylänkö means highlands, which may have something to do with the fact that I feel very much at home here. In my private life, I enjoy spending time in the mountains and on the tennis court.

My professional career may not be the most common for an MBA graduate, as I have focused on the non-profit sector. Still, it is an example of how an MBA provides opportunities that would not have been possible otherwise. Whatever your individual career choices, the most important thing is to listen to your gut feeling about how you think you can best add value and to follow it."

TOP WOMAN: PIPSA YLÄNKÖ

CIRCLES

NEW CIRCLES ACTIVE!

CIRCLE UTRECHT AMERSFOORT

May 30, Robert Enters, futurologist and Banker, led us at lightning speed through the future to the year 2060. By looking back and at current trends, cycles and how various forces interact, it is still possible to say something about the future. Robert showed us that cycles last about 30-40 years.

One thing is clear: we are in a chaotic phase, where there are "unknowable unknowns" going on and the world is extremely changeable. What became clear is that population growth is declining, which means economic growth will also start to decline.

The evening ended in a lively discussion during our usual and convivial networking drinks.

LONDON CIRCLE PARIS CIRCLE

After the cosy get-together in April, Ivo Knottnerus (20010413), Stef Weegels (20060348), Axl Dreesen ( 20170805) took over from Els van Leeuwen (19810076) and Sjors van der Sterren (19820117). The first meeting has already taken place at the end of May and kicked off the circle! If you live or work in London, please sign up!

La douce France...two alumni who live and work there have applied to revive the circle, as soon as the first event takes place, it will appear on the platform.

CIRCLE TWENTE

Circle Oost Nederland was so large that Mascha Semmekrot (20036000) and Hans ten Haaf (19680036), in consultation with chairman Circle Oost Nederland, Marion Voetelink (20000153), split the area in two. Circle Twente and Circle Oost Nederland! The distances are now appropriate for alumni in this area again. Good luck and have fun!

It's spring and there are again a huge number of new circles activated. If you live in the city or are interested in joining the circle go to www.nyenrodealumni.nl and go to the tab ‘circles.’ There they are all available.

A HAPPY CAFÉ!

Catering should make one happy, is the core idea behind the Happiness Café! by alumna Linsey van Oers (20120049) in Eindhoven. Open seven days a week! A second Happiness is coming this summer in Den Bosch.

SHOUT IT FORWARD!

Lorenza Nolst Trenité (20168162) and Merel Eggink (20160027) specialise in 'User Generated Content.' Their company SHOUTOUT Agency has a pool of more than 50 carefully selected UGC creators, who are paired with national and international brands. Shout out!

RECOGNISED INNOVATION

The FERTI-LILY conception cup, tool to increase the chances of pregnancy, has won the LAUR KONSUMENTA prize in Poland. The product was launched by Robert Stal (20040111).

Tom recovers money!

For over a year, Tom Tempelman (19790126) has been working as co-director of Jos Houben's (19790050 ) SpendLab group. SpendLab helps companies detect undue payments using 450 in-house developed algorithms. This is done on a no cure no pay basis for Heineken, ASML, Jumbo, Ahold, Rabobank and many hospitals, healthcare institutions and municipalities. The company is growing steadily in Europe and the USA.

SIX CHARITIES IN A ROW

Nyenrode students

Luuk Jonk (20210823) and Jelmer Blankestijn (20210801) designed the platform 'Charadise' that makes donating a 'breeze.' Individuals can support six charities at once with a single deposit.

Editorial: Alumni Office - info@nyenrodealumni.nl

Send in personal news: mail to communicatie@nyenrodealumni.nl - tav personal news.

IT'S ENG IN SOEST!

PODCAST: ALWAYS A DEAL

Jeffrey Scholtens (20120057) and Niek Derks (20120019) host the podcast 'ABCAlways Be Closing'

COMBINING PHOTOGRAPHY AND AI.

Is Artificial Intelligence a threat to art? Photographer Nancy Poeran thinks not and is already busy experimenting with AI. She has no fear of inescapable innovation!

CFO FOR A DAY

In episode 19, Rinze Verheijen (20100078) of Aegon Asset Management talks about alternative sources of debt capital!

Bespoke suit on the rise

"Bespoke suits expensive?" Roel Wolbrink (19940974), co-founder of New Tailor, claims not! The tailor makes about 12 hundred suits a year. A third branch has since opened in The Hague. New Tailor also sponsors the suits of the Collegie der Heeren Vijf.

Startups often fail due to a lack of expert management, but they cannot pay full-time professionals. In the US, there is the fractional executive, think a CFO who is deployable for a day, for example. Angelique Schouten (20030096), CEO and founder of 10x. Team is going to offer part-time executives here.

Soester Eng is a cultural-historical farming area designated as a protected village sight. Alexandra Tom (19850138) is a board member of Stichting Vrienden Soester Eng and author of a beautiful book about this gem.

BORN

PERSONAL

Jens Lammers

Born on 17-03-2023 in Didam

Son of & Dennis Lammers (MSc17 20080050)

Brother of Hugo & Leon

Xander van Dam

Born on 25-12-2022 in Leiden

Son of Nadia & Alexis van Dam (20050019)

Naud Mats Verhoef-Blokland

Born on 19-03-2023 in Amsterdam

Son of Geerik Verhoef & Corina Blokland (20070305)

DECEASED

Bob Visser (19570113)

Frits Warmink (19500066)

Ester de Kleer (19910257)

Jan Roelfsema (19550080)

Ad Rooijmans (19590078)

Thijs Boon (19600012)

Roel van der Vlis (19580102)

Harry Haijtema (19590040)

Cees Pronk (19730516)

Rob van Eck (20010407)

Henk Tallen (19660092)

Aad Huys (19690518)

Hans Eshuis (19560025)

Karel Leeflang (19580060)

CORRIGENDUM

In the TumTum of issue No 295, it was erroneously stated that alumnus Rob Verhoog (19760086)'s first love Ann was of English nationality, but this should have been South African nationality.

COLOPHON

VAN VERRE

VAN VERRE Is the official periodical of the Nyenrode Alumni Association (VCV), Association of former students at Nyenrode and is published every three months in a circulation of 5,900. 65th volume, June 2023, issue 296

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Oele Steenks (19720057 BBA) - josteenks@planet.nl

ART DIRECTOR: Roos Jonker - ter Kuile

COORDINATION: Simone Daniëls (19960021)

CONTRIBUTORS

Liselotte van Dedem-Staal; Dine van Dijk; Collegie der Heeren V; JCV; VAS Bestuur; Hans van der Loo (19990459); Madeleine Kemna (19850036); Allard Vogelpoel (20080524); Jeffry de Jong (20070059); Rose-Marie van der Weijden

COLUMNISTS

Prof. Dr. Dennis Vink (Professor NBU) & Vivian van Breemen (PhD graduate NBU)1; Kape Breukelaar (19860015)

EDITORIAL ADDRESS AND SECRETARIAT

Nyenrode Alumni VCV Office

Nyenrode Business Universiteit

Straatweg 25

3621 BG Breukelen

t: (+31) 346 29 15 13

e: info@nyenrodealumni.nl

w: nyenrodealumni.nl

bank: ING Bank Breukelen

IBAN: NL54 INGB 0657 3453 50, BIC: INGBNL2A

The membership fee is 75 euros per year, partner membership is 20 euros per year

ADVERTISEMENTS

Nyenrode Alumni VCV Office

t: (+31) 346 29 15 13 e: info@nyenrodealumni.nl

SUBSCRIPTION

As a member of Nyenrode Alumni VCV, you will receive Van Verre free of charge.

ISSN 2405-626X

NUMBER 297 – DEADLINE 7 August 2023 –

THEME Retail in de Etalage

The digital editions of Van Verre in Dutch and English can be found at nyenrodealumni.nl. The content of the magazine may be indexed by search engines such as Google. You will also find the most up-to-date information on the platform. Besides Van Verre, as a member you will also receive the digital newsletter eight times a year, which is complementary to this publication.

The editors reserve the right to refuse, shorten or otherwise edit copy at any time. Posting copy does not imply that the editors always endorse the tenor of what is written.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automatic database or published in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Nyenrode Alumni VCV.