Anger at vegan investor: Silvia Affolter: “It’s incredible that he behaves so arrogantly”

There is correspondence with lawyers and the Intellectual Property Institute, as well as phone notes from confused customers. For years, Affolter ran a company that produced videos for the Swiss luxury hotel industry. Cityguide TV called this the format known throughout Switzerland. But suddenly he was receiving phone calls and emails from customers angry that sales consultants were trying to arrange advertising deals on behalf of their companies.

However, they were not his employees, but Roger Lienhard, who ran Cityguide AG, a confusingly similar company. Treasonous thing: Lienhard’s lookalike company was rented in the same building as Affolter’s Cityguide TV. Documents show that some of its vendors posed as representatives of Cityguide TV. Affolter says Cityguide TV shamelessly capitalizes on the fact that it is already well-established in the hotel television market.

Mr. Lienhard’s insolent methods

Lienhard’s methods were criticized in “Kassen Rush” and “Observer”. It was rumored that there were “windy advertising companies” that would “put pressure on small businesses”, sell them commercials at exorbitant prices, and bind them to strict contracts for years.

He sought investors, established a sales team of 60 people and expanded to Germany. In an exchange of letters, he made attempts to buy Affolter’s company. He mentioned a significant financing round and the entry of a strategic investor. He also gave a specific date for the IPO.

Werner Dubach, who once sold a share package in the Eichhof brewery to Heineken, also joined as an investor. However, the IPO never materialized. The company collapsed. Investor circles assume that Dubach lost 50 million francs. The 79-year-old entrepreneur could not be reached for comment.

awakening experience

As he later said in an interview, during the bankruptcy period Roger Lienhard must have had a kind of awakening experience. After a conversation with his daughter, he realized that if the world’s population increased to ten billion by 2050, humanity would have to completely change its diet. He became a committed vegan and began investing in start-ups researching meat substitutes. The idea for Blue Horizon, a so-called impact investor for the new food industry, was born.

He again managed to gather influential investors and raise money for a fund. The idea was sparked. The German “Manager Magazin” called him “the extremist of the new food scene.” He wants to turn Blue Horizon into the Berkshire Hathaway of the food industry, he told Forbes Magazine. Berkshire Hathaway is the holding company of investing legend Warren Buffett (93).

Roger Lienhard is considered a brilliant salesman who started out modestly by selling advertising on placemats. At Blue Horizon, he managed to win over Urs Wietlisbach (62), co-founder of Partners Group, and Martin Bisang (Bellevue Group) as an investor. Investors such as the family office of billionaire Belgian beer tycoon Alexandre Van Damme (61; Stella Artois, Beck’s, Leffe, Hoegaarden, etc.) and the family office of Jonathan Ordway Fackelmayer (3M) also got involved. Thyssen-Bornemisza Group is also one of the donors. The Zurich-based holding company has a representative named Jeremy Abson on its board of directors.

Finma intervened

The goal was for Blue Horizon to go public. Lienhard recruited well-known people to the board, such as former Migros senior executive Walter Huber or a former Finma executive. He also filled his management team with first-class people. Although Blue Horizon managed to successfully launch its first fund, problems soon arose. The fund’s limited partners began to rebel and, after legal disputes, managed to withdraw fund management from Blue Horizon.

The financial market regulator stepped in and started asking questions. Suddenly, four members of the board resigned. A second fund has so far failed to raise targeted funds. There are now only a handful of employees working for Blue Horizon due to the financial company losing revenue and business. Many investors did not respond to requests for comment.

Lienhard now has a new dream: He is looking for investors to build a “Gigafactory” in the Arabian desert. Vegan foods made from alternative proteins will be produced here on a massive scale. The name of the project is Nuos. Although there are currently multiple ARs and no computer animations, the website loudly proclaims that Nuos represents “the greatest achievement in modern, sustainable protein production.”

Lienhard is looking for investors. “We are looking for passionate partners with strong investment opportunities,” the website reads. He promises them that Nuos wants to be the “world market leader in clean protein production.”

After Warren Buffett, Roger Lienhard seems to have a new role model: He now wants to be the Elon Musk (52) of the vegan age. The investor could not be reached by SonntagsBlick.

* Journalist Beat Schmid writes about financial matters at SonntagsBlick. He is the editor of the online media Tippinpoint.ch.