June 9, 2006
Bellevue Palace Hotel Berne, Switzerland
Host: The William F. Glavin Center for Global Management, Babson College
Moderator: Jean-Pierre Jeannet

Article Written By: David Okenquist M'06

On Friday, June 9, 2006, business, government, and academic leaders gathered at the Bellevue Palace Hotel in Berne, Switzerland, to discuss the future of entrepreneurship in Switzerland. Hosted by The William F. Glavin Center for Global Management at Babson College and moderated by Jean-Pierre Jeannet, executive director of Babson’s Europe Institute, the forum with its theme, “Swiss Entrepreneurship in a European and Global Context,” was chosen to not only highlight the individual growth of entrepreneurship within Switzerland but to incorporate the broader theme of how that sense of innovation compares to the strides being made across Europe and around the globe.

The topic of global entrepreneurship was an appropriate one for those in attendance as well as for those who spoke on the panel. The audience consisted mostly of Babson alumni from Switzerland and Europe, many of whom are active in family businesses in various industries and sectors. Also attending were: Dr. Rolf Bloch H’98, a Babson College honorary degree recipient and the event’s guest of honor; Robert A. von Graffenried M’86 and Konstantin von Schulthess M’05, both MBA Best In Class recipients; and multiple representatives from Babson’s leadership from the United States, including Babson College President Brian M. Barefoot ’66, P’01 and Richard J. Snyder ’60, H’94, P’93 ’01, chairman of the Babson College Board of Overseers.

After the registration, the panel discussion began at 6 p.m. Much like the World Economic Forum format in Davos, Switzerland, the “living room” style setup provided for a relaxed discussion environment. The event began with the panel members taking a few minutes to introduce themselves and relay their thoughts on the special features of entrepreneurship in Switzerland, the problems the Swiss currently face, and what the future holds for Switzerland.

Each of the panel members has considerable European and global business experiences to share, allowing them to communicate their thoughts on entrepreneurship in a larger and broader context. These panel members included Ernesto Mancosu, investment bank and corporate finance specialist, formerly with LODH in Geneva, who brought his corporate finance background within Switzerland, Europe, and globally to the discussion; Karl Bochsler, Executive in Residence at the Europe Institute of Babson College, who incorporated his corporate background with Sulzer (Infra/Axima); Vincent Moser, of BBT, who provided his perspective of the federal government in Berne; Fred von der Weid, the CEO EXA SA in Geneva, Switzerland, who expanded on his experience with the small surface cleaning systems company; Karlheinz Kaiser ’82, the CEO and co-owner of Christinger AG in Zurich, who relayed his thoughts from his family-run, large-scale printing business, and his perspectives as a Babson College graduate; Gina Domanig, of the Zurich-based SAM Group, who provided the audience with new ideas on entrepreneurship within the context of her venture capital and sustainability background; and Heiko Bergmann, of HSG-Uni St. Gallen, who provided his thoughts as a current member of the Swiss GEM team.

Much of the discussion focused around the need for venture capital in the Swiss economy. There seems to be a lack of funding in the country, possibly stemming from the more traditional Swiss culture. Traditionally, Swiss schooling has been better suited to develop students for careers in large companies, rather than small ventures. In addition, with the Swiss being more conservative in nature, especially as compared to the United States, failure in business can follow people for their entire career. Failure is not necessarily seen as a positive in gaining experience and can negatively impact businessmen and women for years. However, though Switzerland is a difficult market to enter without a proven product or personal experience, the country offers excellent infrastructure and a highly educated work force to build a platform for new ideas and is poised for growth in “home-grown” future international business.

Some of the entrepreneurs thought it was easier in Switzerland to use an informal or family network, to get funding for startups or other business development. The professional venture capital panelists believed that any proposal from a Swiss company would have to compete with any proposal from anywhere else (U.S., Australia, China, and other European countries), and that Swiss business plans often were not aggressive enough for professional VC firms.

Overall, the forum provided an excellent environment to discuss the current and future state of Swiss entrepreneurship and allowed many in both the public and private sector to hear their colleagues’ thoughts, and network with one another. This occurred both during the discussion and at the reception following the panel.

Special thanks are also in order to those individuals who made this event such a great success. Thanks to all the distinguished panel members who went out of their way to attend the event and reception, as well as MBA alumni Michael Kauer M’03, who helped with the event registration, and Kevin Fox M’90, who helped promote the event to all Swiss alumni. Finally, thanks to The William F. Glavin Center for Global Management at Babson College and its staff for hosting the event and to panel moderator, Jean-Pierre Jeannet, for providing guidance and organization.