The proportion of foreign nationals in top management positions in Swiss companies “has never been higher”, a new report has found.
The data in question, the Schilling report, has been collecting data on the composition of the executive boards of 100 largest Swiss companies.
It found that the current proportion of foreigners in corporate management in Switzerland — 49 percent — is “unprecedented.”
In terms of new hires only, the proportion of non-Swiss is even higher, as it now stands at 63 percent.
Concurrently, there is a “significant decline” of Swiss nationals in top management positions within the country’s largest companies, such as Nestlé, Roche, Novartis, and Zurich Insurance, all of which recruited their CEOs from abroad.
While many are EU nationals, some come from third countries — for instance, the head of Novartis, Vasant Narasimhan, is American, while UK national Noel Quinn is the new chairman of the board of the Julius Bär private bank.
Why do so many foreigners head Swiss companies?
The answer is that no Swiss candidates fit the bill.
“Depending on the size of the company, the number of [locally-based] candidates is very limited for certain positions. Hiring foreign executives is therefore inevitable,” said recruiter Erik Wirz.
And while nationals of EU states are a logical step to fill the void (since they have the same rights to employment in Switzerland as Swiss citizens), hiring Americans and Brits is not an obvious choice, given stricter employment requirements for third country nationals.
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However, “in the United States, there are very qualified employees in the pharmaceutical and technological fields,” which explains why some companies will jump through the administrative hoops to get work permits and pay five to six-figure salaries — in addition to other bonuses and perks — to recruit these in-demand specialists.
And they are worth every franc, according to a Roche spokesperson. “What matters to us is the aptitude and performance of our employees. We want to attract the best talent, regardless of their origin.”
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