Three Swiss firms have won the Best Managed Companies Award for the first time this year in recognition of their exemplary business management, with G. Bopp + Co., Habasit International and Stallergenes Greer all impressing the independent judging panel with their high degree of agility, their resilience and their fierce innovative spirit. The Best Managed Companies Award is presented every year by Deloitte with the support of the private bank EFG International, Switzerland’s principal stock exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange, the Zurich Chamber of Commerce and the marketing agency WillisHenry.
Geopolitical challenges, unstable supply chains and tariff uncertainty are just some of the risks that companies are having to respond to more or less simultaneously, making the business environment extremely demanding at present. Yet some outstanding Swiss firms have not only succeeded in holding their own in these taxing times but have also managed to keep on growing and developing.
Four main pillars in the evaluation process
Three unlisted Swiss firms emerged from the rigorous selection process as winners of the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Award for the first time. “The three award-winning firms have all done exceptional results,” says Andreas Bodenmann, Programme Manager and Head of Deloitte Private. “In what has been a highly volatile and difficult environment, their management teams have shown in no uncertain terms that they are providing exemplary leadership for their businesses, developing them on an ongoing basis and making them more competitive as a result. This is something the companies can rightly be very proud of.”
The award is preceded by an intensive, multi-stage assessment process that all participating companies have to go through. The focus is on evaluating the company’s performance in the four core areas of strategy, productivity and innovation, culture and commitment, and governance and finances.
16 repeat qualifiers, several achieving the Gold Standard
The competition does not end after a year, however, as all the victorious companies can undergo the assessment process again on an annual basis, thereby proving that their leadership expertise is here to stay. This year, 16 companies that had previously received the Best Managed Companies Award succeeded in doing just that.
Worthy of special mention are those firms that have now qualified for the award more than three years in a row and have been awarded the programme’s Gold Standard.
The awards were presented at a formal gala held yesterday evening at THE HALL in Zurich attended by some 250 leading business figures.
Commitment to Switzerland as a business location
“The winners of this year’s Best Managed Companies Award are at the very pinnacle of their respective industries,” says Andreas Bodenmann. “They have demonstrated their innovative strength and creativity in impressive fashion while managing to stay true to their fundamental values. As drivers of innovation, privately held companies are crucial to the diversity and strength of Switzerland as a place to do business.”
Franco Polloni, Head of Switzerland & Italy Region at the private bank EFG International, adds: “We firmly believe that entrepreneurship, innovation and thinking for the long term are key. The Best Managed Companies programme recognises firms that stand out not only for their performance but also for their strong leadership, their resilience and their clear vision for the future. Congratulations to this year’s award-winners, whose achievements reflect the strength and momentum of the Swiss business landscape and serve as inspiring examples for generations to follow.”
Judging panel made up of business leaders and academics
As in previous years, participating companies were assessed by an independent judging panel: Jens Breu, CEO of the SFS Group; Dr Katharina Gasser, General Manager at Roche Pharma Switzerland; Carl Illi, Owner, Chairman of the Board and CEO of CWC Textil AG; Franco Polloni, Head of Switzerland & Italy Region at EFG International; Prof. Thomas Straub, Professor for International Management at the University of Geneva; and Tanja Vainio, Member of the Board of Directors of the Franke Group.
About Best Managed Companies
The Best Managed Companies Award is a programme that honours privately owned companies for their organisational success and their achievements. Conducted in around 50 countries, it compares businesses against Deloitte’s globally recognised benchmarks in a comprehensive assessment. The programme has been continuously enhanced in the more than 30 years since its launch. Participating companies receive an independent, in-depth appraisal of their governance methods and overall performance. This shows them where they currently stand in four key areas of business management compared with a global community of over 1,400 of their peers with outstanding management practices. Since its launch in Canada in 1993, the Best Managed Companies programme has developed into the most important business award of its kind.
Deloitte offers integrated professional services that include Audit & Assurance, Tax & Legal, Strategy, Risk & Transactions Advisory and Technology & Transformation. With around 2,500 employees at six locations in Basel, Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano and Zurich (headquarters), Deloitte serves companies and organisations of all legal forms and sizes across all industry sectors in Switzerland.
Our people deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets and enable clients to transform and thrive. Building on its over 180-year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories with approximately 470,000 professionals worldwide.
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