Yesterday, I visited Swatch Group headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland, where I had the privilege of sitting down with Hayek, Swatch Group’s CEO, for a long, involved conversation… 45 minutes of real inside talk about the Swatch Group and the Swiss watch industry, and we could have talked even longer. To visit my blog and access the audio of the full interview, click HERE.
Hayek offers some real inside information, talking about new developments in, and investments of, the Swatch group; provides insights about the new Swatch Sistem 51; makes a world-first announcement about future developments for the Swatch brand; speaks convincingly about the importance of the so called entry- and mid-level price ranges; gives an interesting outlook for Omega; and analyzes the well-being of the Swiss watch industry. He also demonstrates an impressive sense of humor about it all.
Opportunities to spend time with the very busy Mr. Hayek are quite rare, even for someone like myself, who has known him for many years. (We first met when he started working for the Swatch brand (not to be mistaken with the Swatch Group). Today, Nick Hayek is the president of the Executive Group Management Board and member of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group. Together with his sister, Nayla Hayek, chairwoman of the Board of Directors, and his nephew Marc Alexander Hayek, member of the Executive Group Management Board, Nick, Jr. carries forward the legacy of his father, Nicolas G. Hayek, the founder and former Chairman and Delegate of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group.
To hear the full interview with Nick Hayek, and to see more facts and figures about the Swatch Group, along with numerous photos taken during my interview, click HERE for the full post on Watch-Insider.com.
