Describe yourself in 3 words.
Responsible, accountable and takes ownership … those are also my expectations of people whom I work with.
I believe these describe a person rather than the person’s capabilities … it means you have someone who is aware of himself and the role he plays in the company, who is responsible for the tasks being done rather than relying on someone else to do it instead. When such an individual accepts the outcome, either positive or negative, then you have an accountable colleague you can count on. Furthermore, a person needs to be willing to sacrifice a part of himself, invest themselves in the company … add to the company’s values and objectives rather than seeing it purely as a monthly source of income … almost as if they own it. In most cases, the company will return the favour.

How would you advise a jobseeker to approach the current market?
It will become rare in the future to find many people, who are willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of the company. Individuals who will be prepared to do so, will be better positioned … almost like starting the 100m race with a 10m head-start. I base this on my last couple of roles in Switzerland and Germany, where I found it very challenging to find recent graduates with realistic expectations of advancement. Nowadays it is hard to quickly advance starting from zero in almost any company, so I would advise someone in university to get exposed to the business whilst studying, as it will be a significant advantage. Overall, the advice is: be flexible, do not have rigid expectations of what a job should be like. Compromise is an essential skill to learn and later on, you will have the ability to be more selective if your skills and experience make your profile more attractive to the market.

What attributes do you look for when choosing a recruitment partner?
Foremost – the ability to understand the company’s and my needs. Secondly, the ability to gather a significant pool of candidates, and thirdly, having international presence. In terms of value-add, I personally need to understand the local market quickly. I haven’t been in Switzerland for a long time, consequently I need to know things quickly to be effective. Receiving advice from local experts is of huge value. Nowadays, there are often discussions about different generations’ expectations, which clearly play an important role in the recruitment process, but I also believe one should not underestimate the cultural differences. Hence why I want more than just a list of people ranked by their abilities and positions held in the past … and I want to be advised correctly when I am perhaps less knowledgeable.

Looking back through your established career, what would you identify as a personal highlight?
This would definitely be the time I spent in Prague participating in the set-up of an in-house regional shared service centre for a multinational, and progressing to eventually leading it. This is a highlight because it was a new thing for both myself, and for my employer. There was no blue-print, we had a lot of freedom to try new things. For me, this was probably the time in my life when I made the most mistakes… and learned from each and every one of them. Due to the importance of the centre at that time, it was unthinkable to make the same mistake twice. It was a very steep learning curve for me as well as for all of my colleagues. Today I wouldn’t claim it to immediately be a particularly smooth operation which delivered all expectations, but I do know that it improved from quarter to quarter and eventually became a benchmark within the company for scope, execution and excellence.

We see that Biosensors seems to be partnering with some of the larger names in the medical devices space – can you identify how Biosensors International stands out from the market/ competitors?
When compared to other competitors in the market Biosensors is not automatically the largest. However, in terms of current and future technologies, it is perhaps one of the most advanced. We have currently a product in our portfolio, which stands out from the rest on the market … and we have clinical evidence proving it, something our competitors simply do not have. We believe we have technological platforms which are setting future standards. Where we do see a challenge, is in scale – Biosensors does not have the reach to use the full potential of the new and exciting products. Therefore, finding a strategic partner was of significant importance to us. We are finding synergies with their ability to cover markets, and successfully sell and market our product. For example, when entering a new market, it takes a lot of effort, time and resources to be successful. Being able to partner with a company which is already present is a huge advantage. It is also true that there are benefits for the partner as well!

What do you love about Switzerland, and why?
I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I find it amazing how well things work in Switzerland. Compared to my experiences in other countries, things here are very efficient and streamlined. There is very limited bureaucracy involved, the responses you get from various bodies and authorities are very clear. It’s also very impressive how willing they are to use logic and common sense versus blind adherence to the rules. It all gives you a feeling that they want you to be successful. Often you feel like you have a silent business partner … you don’t actually employ them, but you know you have someone supporting you in what you are trying to accomplish. This is a contrast to some other environments I have experienced, where often the bureaucracy represents a hurdle rather than help. Switzerland is so much more than low tax rates which are presumed to be the reason for all the businesses relocating here … several other countries have low tax rates as well … it’s the whole package that is impressive.

If you could choose an Artistic/Musical/Sporting career, what would it be and why?
Tennis. I played tennis – unfortunately not good enough to make anything meaningful out of it. Recently I am more into endurance activities but this is rather a personal challenge than anything else. Acting, singing, I’m terrible at them, sports is more my thing. I would look to a few players to aspire to; Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, and being in Switzerland, I guess I cannot skip Roger Federer. For me, they represent the sport, and seem to be (from what you read in the media) humble and normal guys, who in theory could take advantage of their status, but have chosen not to.
 

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