Switzerland's Digital Dance
The Swiss Insider 23.02.2020 #insidersdoitbetter
Dear Insider,
Would you die to be digital?
Maybe not… But in the age of Facebook, WeChat, WhatsApp, Revolut and all the other digital disruptors, there is absolutely no doubt that those who are not digital…will die.
So it comes as no surprise (with hindsight) that UBS decided to find itself a digital-affine replacement for Sergio Ermotti. Credit to the Tessiner for having steared the big bank away from investment banking and towards the calmer waters of wealth management. Credit him also for having kept the ship in order while the Credit Suisse across the Paradeplatz square were shooting themselves in the foot with spying scandals.
But schadenfreude will only get you so far. And with Ermotti running out of ideas, it was time to move on.
Ralph Hamers brings a reputation for moving easily around the digital world. Calling him a Digital Dutchman might not even be an overstatement. Now he has the keys to the kingdom at UBS and the mandate to keep the companz on course through the upcoming digital decade.
It belies the growing awareness across the country that, despite its protection behind relative neutrality and separation from Europe, digitalisation cannot be escaped.
According to Deloitte, Swiss boardrooms are well aware of the need to get digital. And in typical Swiss fashion, they prefer a pragmatic approach (according to 91% of the 400 board members surveyed.)
So will Hamers have the power to drive Switzerland foward into a digital future? The CEO of UBS certainly has a great amount of influence - but he can´t it alone.
Which is why we profile someone else who is already working on the topic: the Managing Director of digitalswitzerland, Nicolas Bürer.
He and Hamers should definitely talk.
What to Expect
A brief run-down of what to look for in this week’s edition of The Swiss Insider:
The Profile - a closer look at one person who makes a difference in the Swiss business world, especially in the area of digitalization - Nicolas Bürer, Managing Director of digitalswitzerland.
The Numbers Game - the most important (and at times audacious) numbers to be had in Swiss business over the last week. (Look for largeness…because size matters.)
The Briefing - snippets of news designed to make you smarter and keep you abreast of the latest developments across the wide Swiss business landscape.
The Profile - Nicolas Bürer
With the choice of Ralph Hamers, UBS has found itself a “Digital Dutchman” to fill the shoes of Sergio Ermotti. Both at home and abroad, the choice is seen as a comittment by Switzerland’s largest bank to the ongoing evolution of digitalization.
But there is one man in Switzerland who is already committed to that very topic - in a big way. Nicolas Bürer is Managing Director of digitalswitzerland - the private-sector supported initiative to foster digitalization and innovation in the Alpine country.
Bürer’s profile is compelling and his project equally so. Born in 2015 after an intense discussion in Davos during the World Economic Forum, digitalswitzerland has been focused on pushing, pulling, cajoling and influencing in any way possible, the largest and most influential businesses and persons in the country to keep Switzerland on the fast-track to digital excellence.
Nicolas Bürer is a natural candidate to lead such an initiative. With an entrepreneurial background and investments into six different startups, Bürer was named the Swiss Business Angel Investor of the Year in 2018. While remaining a big fan - naturally - of Switzerland and its great potential in the digital and tech space, Bürer has not been afraid to pull punches, with frequent commentary about the need to think bigger and broader - with more VC investment and more support for innovation in the country.
His project, digitalswitzerland, is the driving force behind the yearly Swiss Digital Day, usually held in Q4 of the year and featuring expos across the country, including in the very heart of Zürich at the city’s main railway station. digitalswitzerland is supported by over 150 company’s and organizations and its board includes such dignitaries as Marti Vetterli, President of EPFL, Marianne Janik, General Manager of Microsoft Switzerland, Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier, and Roger Wüthrich-Hasenböhler, Chief Digital Officer of Swisscom.
Will his work find more support and understanding with a Digital Dutchman at the helm of UBS? So far, it is hard to say.
For sure - the two men have a lot in common…
More info:
Education: EPFL - Masters in Physics ; KTH Royal Institute of Technology - Masters in Physics
Activities: CRO/CMO - deindeal.ch ; Managing Director - joiz ; Co-founder - MOVU ; Invesor - Yamo
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The Numbers Game
In which we serve up some of the more interesting numbers in Swiss business…
1,75 million CHF
UBS’s choice of Ralph Hamers as its next CEO shocked many. What shouldn’t come as a surprise is that money played a part in it. With an annual base salary of 1,75 million euro, Hamers was one of the lowest-paid CEOs of a major bank. Now the stakes will be higher for him on Paradeplatz - but so will the rewards.
727 million CHF
Insurance is a big deal in Switzerland. The industry has long been a pillar of the Swiss economy - and it contributes over 3 billion CHF in taxes annually to the state coffers. One of the big names in the business, SwissRe reports a net profit of 727 million CHF for 2019 - a sharp increase over the 421 million reported in 2018. Things do not look to be too bad…
531 million CHF
Speaking of big numbers, Coop - one of the two major retailers in Switzerland - reported a net profit of 531 million CHF. This represents an increase of 12% over 2018 - pointing to the fact that the death of retail has somehow bypassed Switzerland…so far.
0,6 %
And since we speak of Coop, a quick look at the numbers for the approximately 30 Coop-City stores - in the department-store style offering a wide range of product beyond foodstuffs - shows growth of 0,6%. This comes despite the overall decline in the retail sector across the country. Still, Coop plays second fiddle to Manor, which has double the number of stores. However, the closing of the flagship Manor site on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich would seem to benefit Coop.
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The Briefing - Special Edition
In which we digest business news from around Switzerland - bit by bit…
Send in the Hamer(s)
Yes - it has happened. Less than two weeks after Credit Suisse took the plunge and sent Thidjane Thiam packing from its Paradeplatz office, UBS announced the replacement (effective 1 Nov) of Sergio Ermotti. The man? A surprise name from a small country in the north of Europe - Ralph Hamers. While he has little or no experience in investment banking or wealth management, Hamers is well-known for his dynamic approach and good results at a large bank (ING) - which apparently convinced Board Chairman Axel Weber that he was the man for the job. Expect changes to come - sooner rather than later. (Read the details here.)
Bad for the Bär
While UBS and Credit Suisse have been busy playing CEO merry-go-rounds, their second cousin on Paradeplatz, got a rude wake-up call. The Swiss Financial Market Authority, FINMA, announced that Julius Bär had been tried in the money-laundering balances and found wanting. After serious investigations involving Bank Bär´s ties to FIFA corruption scandals, a sample of transactions at the bank, taken by FINMA, showed a continual laxness in adhering to KYC and AML standars. Time for new CEO Philipp Rickenbacher to beef up the bank´s technology chops and make the process automatic.
(Read the story here.)
UPS in freefall
After the dust-up between Sunrise and UPC Switzerland, the numbers have taken a turn for the worse. Approximately 10% of the full-time employees in Switzerland may get the axe, according to spokesperson Nadine Zollinger. Will this have a positive or negative effect on customer service…? (Read the full story here.)
So good for Sika
Real estate has continued to be a strong industry in Switzerland - driven by demand for (relatively) safe investments from pension funds. With a global footpring (and despite a blow from its China business, which makes up 10% of overall turnover), building chemical manufacturer Sika seems to be growing great guns. Thanks to negative interest rates, the company was able to take on more corporate debt and acquire morter manufacturer Parex, while still profiting from the boom in housing and commercial construction. (More information here.)