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Switzerland’s Best Managed Companies
Recognising Excellence in Swiss Private Business
Now in its sixth year, the programme celebrates Switzerland’s most outstanding private companies. Together with EFG Private Banking, we highlight the exceptional performance that drives these businesses and shapes Switzerland’s economic future.
The Best Managed Companies programme identifies Switzerland’s most exceptional privately owned companies by assessing their leadership, strategy, capabilities, and financial performance. Through a rigorous evaluation process, the programme uncovers achievements and areas for growth, recognising businesses that demonstrate resilience, innovation, and sustainable success.
Participants benefit from valuable insights and exclusive access to a community of like-minded leaders, helping to drive continued excellence and growth.
What you need to know
Meet the jury
Jens Breu
CEO of the SFS Group since 2016 and member of the board of Dätwyler since 2019. Having an engineering background, he has joined SFS in 1995 and since took on various management functions in the organization. Among others, as COO 2014-15 he was part of the SFS IPO team. Jens has played a key role in expanding the company’s international presence and strengthening its operational capabilities while driving innovation and sustainability. He holds an MBA from Cleveland State University (2007) and an engineering degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen (1996).
Dr. med. Katharina Gasser
Dr. med. Katharina Gasser studied medicine and gained practical experience as a physician in the fields of internal medicine and geriatrics. She then transitioned to the healthcare industry, where she held various leadership positions at several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in both the Swiss and global contexts over many years. Since September 2022, Dr. med. Katharina Gasser has taken on the role of General Manager at Roche Pharma Switzerland. She is characterised by a strong commitment to digitalisation in healthcare. Additionally, Katharina Gasser holds leadership roles in business associations, including serving as the President of the Zug Chamber of Commerce and as a board member of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce.
Carl Illi
Carl Illi is the owner, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of the family-owned enterprises of the CWC Textil AG Group. In addition to yarn trading, the textile group has been producing specialities for the automotive and textile industries for over 150 years in Switzerland, England and China. He is the president of the textile association Swiss Textiles and serves on the executive board of economiesuisse. Additionally, he is a board member of Rieter AG and on the board of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce. He graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of St.Gallen.
Franco Polloni
Franco Polloni is Head of EFG’s Switzerland & Italy Region, as well as a member of EFG International’s Global Business Committee and the Executive Committee of EFG Bank. He joined EFG in May 2017 and previously held leadership roles at Banca del Ceresio and BSI. Mr. Polloni holds a degree in business and economics from the University of Zurich, is a Swiss federal tax expert, and is qualified as a Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
Prof. Dr. Thomas Straub
Professor of International Management at the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM), University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is the co-director of the Master of Science in Responsible Management and teaches Corporate Strategy and Change Management. He is a permanent Visiting Professor and Chairman of the International Scientific Committee at the UNESCO department of the University of Bucharest, Romania and is a permanent Visiting Professor at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland. He leads R&D projects at national and international level (e.g. Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Swiss Development Agency - SDC).
Tanja Vainio
Ms Vainio serves as Member of the Board of Directors at Franke Group as well as Aspen Organization Central Eastern Europe. Tanja Vainio has more than 20 years’ Industry experience. She joined Schneider Electric from ABB, where she held various local and global leadership roles with increasing responsibility, most recently as Managing Director Business Line Automotive Supply Chain at Robotics & Discrete Automation Business. Ms Vainio holds a Master of Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) & Tampere University of Technology, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from MIT.
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