They made economic headlines in 2022

The turn of the year is a time to look back and look forward. A lot has also happened in the Swiss economy in 2022. Inflation, war, conflicts with employees: managers have their hands full. Sometimes this has been done more successfully, sometimes less successfully. Others have given up their duties in 2022 or are giving away in the new year.

Who made a name for himself in this context? Blick has identified twelve businessmen presented here in alphabetical order. Sequence numbers do not correspond to any qualitative or quantitative ranking list and the selection is imprecise.

Owner and manager of Alpnach Wardrobes AG, Alpnach Kitchens AG and Zurag AG, was named “Entrepreneur/CEO of the Year” at the Swiss Economic Forum. In 2020, she was honored as the “Women of the Year 2020” by the Swiss business magazine “Women in Business”. It manages 200 survivors of the 2004 tsunami, currently 90 percent male, and is strongly tied to the dual education system. She rewards particularly successful young professionals with the Breisacher Foundation.

Several scandals occurred during the tenure of Credit Suisse’s Group CEO. Costly fiascos, such as the bankruptcy of Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management in early 2021, resulted in huge losses and loss of confidence in the bank’s leadership. Gottstein took off his hat in July 2022, after the bank published consecutive quarterly crimson numbers and the traditional bank’s shares went into free fall. Of course, this does not leave Credit Suisse alone. The fact that Gottstein’s predecessor, Tidjane Thiam, later tried to publicly purge himself of any complicity in the CS debacle, fits the picture.

The head of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), who seems a bit stern in the media, is featured a lot this year on TV, radio and also on Blick: he ended the zero-interest period by raising the base interest rate several times. Failed forecasts for the development of inflation and the waiver of distribution to the federal government and cantons remain omnipresent. Even if this or that national bank investment fails, in Tesla, for example, Jordan’s work is generally successful: Switzerland does not expect a recession in 2023, the monetary policy situation is stable.

Switzerland’s top banker – member of the UBS Executive Board and President of UBS Switzerland – runs the bank calmly throughout the year as usual. UBS scores points unlike its rival, Credit Suisse. Keller-Busse’s participation in the board of directors of Zurich Versicherung, which was initially viewed as critical, is also developing positively. UBS and Zurich are doing well in 2022 and are high-flying in a tough year on the stock markets. The move to the top position at his troubled former employer, Credit Suisse, does not happen, but an innovation project with ETH.

The Swiss richest woman is on track to success with Ems Chemie (record sales in the first nine months of 2022) and, as usual, she’s outspoken on many issues. She is particularly interested in the war in Ukraine and its effects. His order not to talk about “war” within the Ems and to offer negotiations with Russia caused criticism. Praise makes him denounce the “robbery” of energy companies. The SVP national assemblyman, unlike his father, does not want to join the Federal Council when an opportunity arises.

The president of Hotelplan Group is heavily involved in the media and likes to proactively share his views on tourism issues, sustainability and women’s advancement on LinkedIn and elsewhere. He can also be seen and heard as a speaker at numerous forums and events. The digital specialist was named “Women of the Year 2022” by business magazine “Women in Business” and was also elected to the NZZ board of directors. You almost forget that Hotelplan is back on track after the problems caused by the pandemic, and that Laura Meyer promoted a woman (Nicole Pfammatter) to the CEO position at Hotelplan Suisse.

Earlier in the year, the Egyptian-Montenegrin entrepreneur handed over his Swiss-based corporate empire Orascom to his son, Naguib, who was a formerly tech entrepreneur. This one makes the headlines painstakingly with Sawiris’ plans for a resort, including a marina on Lake Uri. After the success at the resort in Andermatt – Samih Sawiris himself remains president of Andermatt Swiss Alps AG – this was to be a second blow to the canton of Uri. Also, Sawiris learned to play the piano within six years. And now he will be performing as a pianist with the Swiss Symphony Orchestra in Cairo and El-Gouna (Egypt) in January 2023. He donates the proceeds from the concert to charities.

Spuhler once again brought a multi-billion dollar order from Kazakhstan with Stadler Rail and handed over the CEO position to his friend Markus Bernsteiner at the beginning of 2023. If that succeeds—his first takeover as CEO in 2018 failed—he could better handle many of his duties and investments. Through its own PCS Holding, it has significant investments in Stadler (30.1%), Rieter (26%), Swiss Steel (10%), Aebi Schmidt (56.2%) and automotive supplier Autoneum (16%). He also has 13 directorships and directorships in various foundations and associations. After all, he resigned from the ZSC Board, gaining more time for his activities.

The Zug native has masterfully led the BKW energy group through the energy transition, initiating the phase-out of nuclear power before moving to Sulzer, where he will take over the chairmanship of the board in the spring. He immediately lifts himself into the operational CEO seat for a sensitive assignment in the traditional Winterthur group. Brave! One problem is that Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg is the main shareholder in Sulzer. As Thoma puts it, the situation is “non-ideal” due to the Ukraine war and US sanctions against Russian oligarchs.

The youngest on this list is the Managing Director of Crypto Valley Labs and runs Zug Crypto Valley with 1,200 blockchain companies. Many start-ups created employment in this environment. According to the current Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) Top 50 Report, the 50 largest crypto companies in Germany are valued at over $600 billion. Swiss-American Trachsler has no doubt that blockchain technology is the future. However, the turmoil in the crypto world at the end of 2022 caused the first scratches on the paint.

The former Raiffeisen CEO was sentenced to more than three years and nine months in prison in April, following a closely followed case by the public, including Blick. About hidden savings, unfair competition and nightclub visits billed as expenses. Now several of his villas have been confiscated. But the former top banker is still on the loose: the written decision still won’t be available by the end of 2022 and must be handed over to the parties in the first week of January. The whereabouts of Vincenz is unknown.

Vranckx, in his second year as CEO of Switzerland, faces harsh criticism, along with threats from staff to go on strike, due to operational problems in the summer flight schedule or high price surcharges. Ultimately, however, pilots sign new collective agreements with cabin and ground personnel, taking the airline into calmer waters. Moreover, the long-haul fleet shows its decision in favor of the Airbus A350. In 2023, the airline should take off after previous turbulent years. With Vranckx at the helm.