The Lake Geneva region is a haven for multinationals and is fertile ground for executive recruitment. Hundreds of foreign multinationals have established their European or international headquarters on lake Geneva, seduced by tax advantages and the proximity of world-renowned institutions.

In Geneva, Merck Serono set up its new headquarters in July 2007. Nestle is based in Vevey, Philip Morris is in Lausanne, and Proctor and Gamble’s headquarters are in Geneva.

In spite of the bucolic look of the lake Geneva region with its rolling vineyards, countryside, lakeside and waterfront, the region harbors the greatest concentration in Switzerland of major international companies.

Most recently, Yahoo, Cadbury and Schweppes have joined the large club of multinational heavyweights installed in the region for its quality of life, standard of living, and favorable tax regimes. The environment

is particularly propitious, say recruiters, for attracting top managerial and professional talent, who consider the Lake Geneva region one of the most desirable places to live.

According to Merck Serono, Geneva (and Switzerland in general) offer a very favorable environment for pharmaceutical and biotech companies, with its superior universities and network of young tech companies.

According to data through 2007, the top 25 employers in the Geneva area are Rolex, Migros, Procter & Gamble, UBS Group, Firmenich, Pictet & Cie, Group Coop, BNP Paribas, Group HSBC, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, Credit Suisse Group, Group Richemont, Group ISS, Swissport, Patek Philippe, Merck Serono, Union Bancaire Privée. Securitas, Manor, Réseau La Tour, Givaudan, Groupe BCGE, Chopard, Protectas, and Japan Tobacco International.

The majority of the top employers which saw the most growth in top professional jobs and executives and management positions were in the luxury industries, with Rolex topping the list and strong showings by Proctor & Gamble and HSBC.

Job listings for sector ‘Management / Executive’

13.11.2008 - Engineering Manager - Merck Serono (Vaud)

12.11.2008 - Associate Director - Merck Serono Ventures - Merck Serono (Geneva)

12.11.2008 - Head of Configuration & Installation Management - Avaloq Evolution AG (Zürich)

12.11.2008 - Regional Sales Manager Ostschweiz - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

12.11.2008 - Global Commercial Manager, PB - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

11.11.2008 - Line Manager Data Management - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

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10.11.2008 - Worldwide Product Regulatory Affairs Manager - JTI Trading SA (Geneva)

10.11.2008 - Global Project Manager - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (International)

06.11.2008 - Regulatory Country Manager - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

05.11.2008 - Global Head Emerging Technologies - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

04.11.2008 - Global Marketing Director - Autoimmune & Emerging Therapies - Merck Serono (Geneva)

04.11.2008 - Manager, Global Regulatory Oncology - Merck Serono (Geneva)

03.11.2008 - Medical Director-Neurology - Merck Serono (Geneva)

03.11.2008 - Sektorleiter/-in Software Engineering Payments - Credit Suisse Group AG (Zurich)

Job listings for sector ‘Management / Executive’

10.11.2008 - Worldwide Product Regulatory Affairs Manager - JTI Trading SA (Geneva)

10.11.2008 - Global Project Manager - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (International)

06.11.2008 - Regulatory Country Manager - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

05.11.2008 - Global Head Emerging Technologies - F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel)

04.11.2008 - Global Marketing Director - Autoimmune & Emerging Therapies - Merck Serono (Geneva)

04.11.2008 - Manager, Global Regulatory Oncology - Merck Serono (Geneva)

03.11.2008 - Medical Director-Neurology - Merck Serono (Geneva)

03.11.2008 - Sektorleiter/-in Software Engineering Payments - Credit Suisse Group AG (Zurich)

Job listings for sector ‘Management / Executive’

30.10.2008 - Vice President Coal Origination - Essent Trading International SA (Geneva)

30.10.2008 - Teammanager SW-Development & Tools - Avaloq Evolution AG (Zürich)

29.10.2008 - Finance Entity Manager - JTI Trading SA (Geneva)

29.10.2008 - Financial Reporting Accounting Manager - JTI Trading SA (Geneva)

27.10.2008 - Head of Center of Expertise Patients Care Technologies - Merck Serono (Geneva)

24.10.2008 - Senior Training Manager - Project Leadership - Merck Serono (Geneva)

22.10.2008 - Business Service Manager Daten und Dokumente - Zürcher Kantonalbank (Zürich)

22.10.2008 - Regional Medical Director - Merck Serono (Geneva)

20.10.2008 - Director (D.1) - Global Challenges Division - WIPO (Geneva)

20.10.2008 - Director (D.2) - Chef de Cabinet - WIPO (Geneva)

20.10.2008 - Deputy Director (D.1) - ODG - WIPO (Geneva)

20.10.2008 - Chief Economist (D.1) - WIPO (Geneva)

20.10.2008 - Director (D.2) - Human Resources - WIPO (Geneva ? Canton)

20.10.2008 - Chief Information Officer (D.2) - WIPO (Geneva)

13.10.2008 - Project and Performance Manager - Merck Serono (Geneva)

Executive salaries in Switzerland continue to rise despite the deteriorating conditions in the global economy. While increasing instability in global markets and the onset of a recession in Europe are expected to have an impact on Switzerland at some point, the impact is as yet to be felt.

A study just published by Ethos Foundation inventories top executive salaries in Switzerland –including the highest CEO salary packages – of the top 48 companies in the SMI and SMIM indexes. Ethos represents 75 Swiss pension funds.

The average CEO salary is $10,000,000 (the exact reported average: CHF 10,7 million).

The #1 spot goes to Daniel Vasella or Novartis, with a total salary or CHF 30 million, followed by Brady Dougan of Credit Suisse with CHF 22.3 million, Franz Humer of Roche (CHF 21.6 million), Peter Brabeck of Nestle (CHF 18.7 million), and Jacques Algrain of Swiss Re (CHF 15.1 million).

Some less well-known names have emerged in the new ranking, such as Walter Kielholz, president at Credit-Suisse (CHF 14.6 million), and Pierre Cuoni, and executive at EFG International (CHF 10.5 million),

The level of transparency in Swiss corporate remuneration has improved considerably with the changes last year in the legal code, particularly articles 633b and 633c. So that while the area of salary payment has been rendered public, there remain however many opaque areas around bonus payments, options and stock options, the real versus declared value of aforementioned in the corporate accounting systems. In sum, there remain sizable barriers to an accurate picture of real executive remuneration in Switzerland, since important portions of it can be hidden from view. Whatever its true magnitude, to judge simply from salary payments, it is rising much faster than salaries in the rest of the economy.

Ethos recently sponsored a new resolution – and which is backed by major pension funds such as the Canton of Geneva, Pictet Funds, ABB, Credit Suisse, and Novartis— to be treated at the next corporate general assemblies in 2009 which calls for a modification to the statutes to permit stockholders to vote on the remuneration of company’s corporate leadership.

Over the past five years, salaries for top executives in Switzerland have roughly doubled.

The number of Swiss institutions granting management degrees seems set to proliferate as the management schools of the HES-SO (Haute Ecole Specialisé de Suisse Occidentale) begins offering curricula

The Swiss Federal government gave the go-ahead in 2007. Contrary to what one might think from the name, this master’s degree is not a postgraduate diploma like an MBA. It is rather a masters degree which follows on a bachelor degree, in the Bologna system. Studies last 2 years, adding to the 3 initial years of the bachelors studies in management.

If the degree title is unique for the HES-SO, five different orientations are proposed by the management schools in the French speaking part of Switzerland. The degree is supposed to be a more in-depth study, after general studies in the field of management. Management and services management are offered in Geneva, while Entrepreneurial studies are offered by Fribourg, as well as integrated

management of information systems, communication systems, and in Sierre public management and hotel and tourism studies (in collaboration with the Hotel School in Lausanne).

Each specialization corresponds to strengths developed by each of the Swiss schools over the preceding years.

Currently economy and services represent the largest part of the HES-SO, which has roughly 3300 students, which exceeds the number of students in the sectors of science and engineering (3100).

The Haite Ecole de Gestion de Genève (HEG) is planning to offer a new program of MBA or management specialization. According to a professor at the HEG, the school is seeking to develop a new discipline: the science of services. Around this theme the School plans to marshall tools, theories, and a critical knowledge base in the management of services, notably in the conception of a service, its valuation, and the attribution of pricing to services, as well as quality measurement, and client satisfaction.

The school also offers more entrenched subjects such as information systems engineering and MIS security, which is a subject of study highly in demand in the USA. Many business schools have developed specialized curricula around Securing information systems and infrastructures.

Because somewhere between 70% - 85% of western economies are now based on services – finance and banking, insurance, I.T., security, communications, training and education, trading, tourism, etc. – a business school curriculum around ‘services management’ seems a potentially innovative product.

The Haute Ecole de Gestion de Fribourg, which specializes in entrepreneurial studies, has implemented a curricula which goes beyond building a successfully company, to consider managing growth and innovation in an existing company.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, the university is now set to offer an American-style English language MBA, beginning in September 2008. The English branches will offer International Commodities Trading, international organization, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Telecommunications and Media.

There will remain as well a dozen branches that can be studied in French.

The financial and banking industries in Switzerland continue to show strong demand for career executives with banking and financial services experience. The majority of the demand for top leadership positions is in Zurich or Geneva, though there are a significant number of positions available in Lausanne, Lugano, Basel, and Berne.

The shortage of top talent and experienced executives in Switzerland is resulting in strong rises in salaries for executive talent. Most of the major banking and financial services companies are currently recruiting.

Some job vacancies appearing over the previous week:
JPMorgan Private Bank is seeking an IT Quality Assurance Lead for the Technology department of the Geneva office. The position is for both an organizer and a doer. As such he/she will be able to delegate and coordinate efforts, and lead by example. The candidate will focus both on form and content. Form: provide toolset and assist in best

practices for configuration management. Content: demonstrate interest and grow expertise in the business and SDLC domains. Key responsibilities: Administers the source code control repositories (Subversion, PVCS) and provide support to its users; Maintain and create tooling around the source code control repository; Build software packages for SIT, UAT and production deliveries; Member or lead into SCC and QA-related projects; The profile / required experience and skills : Drive for results: makes

things happen; is proactive; balances “analysis” with “doing”; sets high standards for self; commits to organizational goals Detailed understanding of development lifecycle and quality assurance phases; Structured and organized person, pays attention to details; Communications: ability to communicate with all levels of management and staff, including offshore partners. Establishing straightforward, productive relationships; showing great drive and commitment to the organization’s mission. Team-spirit: collaborates with others in own unit and across boundaries; acknowledges others’ contributions; Works effectively with individuals of different culture and gender; willing to seek help as needed. Resolves differences by determining needs and forging solutions that benefit all parties; promoting collaboration and facilitating teamwork across organizational boundaries. Experience in the following or similar technologies: Source code control systems (Subversion, PVCS, other), Languages: Perl, T-SQL. Interested candidates should send their dossiers to J.P. Morgan (Suisse)SA, Audrey Marendaz, Rue de la Confédération 8, 1211 Genève 11, Switzerland. Tel: 022 744 1674 Or by email to : audrey.marendaz@jpmorgan.com • www.jpmorgan.com

UBS is seeking a Client Advisor for International Wealth Management - Mexican Team for its Geneva offices to take responsibility for maintaining a close relationship with clients, provide advice on banking services and wealth management as well as access to various specialists such as asset management, financial planning, and corporate finance. The job: Assisting Client Advisors in their daily work (investment proposals, assist to client meetings); Wealth Management support activities (order transfer, client visit preparation, portfolio analysis); Client Experience by dealing with client needs. The selected candidate will be coached by a senior manager and supported by program management ensure that you are involved in day-to-day business and projects right from the start and that you can assume responsibility as quickly as possible. Specific off-the-job-training provides professional and personal skills and prepares you for your subsequent career. Requirements : Recently graduated with a Master or Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Finance or International Relations ; Deep

understanding of the Mexican market and culture; Good communication and interpersonal skills; Strong client facing capabilities; Ability to work under pressure; Fluent in English and Spanish, French would be an asset; Interested candidates may contact : UBS AG, Ms. C. Clerc, Recruitment Services, Tel. +41-21-215 31 97.

In the food industry, Nestle continues to recruit at all levels; Nestle posted record profits for 2007, and 2008 promises to be even more profitable. Currently, Nestle, is seeking a Release Management Specialist (the job code is CH-BTC/GSS) to take charge of most of the IS/IT Operations for Nestlé around the world. NBS IS/IT has a governance in Switzerland (Bussigny) with several regional offices (Sao Paulo, Toronto, Glendale, Phoenix, Sydney and Frankfurt). Some activities are also executed from India. In the frame of its organization, Nestlé is looking for its new BTC/GSS Release Management Specialist to undertake :
The BTC/GSS Release Management Specialist assists the Regional Release Management Team Lead in the delivery of the operational activities by coordinating Service Management activities and Supporting process users community. Mainly he/she will have to do: Process Management: Involve stakeholders and implement process (enhancements) through training or refresh sessions; Participate to CIP & PIR with the objective of improving the service delivered by his/her stakeholders (quality/speed/cost wise) to customers; Report on the performance of the process; Propose enhancements to the process/supporting tools to CPM. Operations: Manage emergency authorization related to Outages / Releases; Ensure procedures/work instructions are followed by stakeholders and re enforce the usage of those accordingly; Ensure Master Data related to his/her process is up to date; Provide Regional IS Release Planning to Customers (18 months releases plan + plan per release with content, timelines…); Communicate and manage expectations of the Customer during the planning and rollout of new Releases, especially in terms of Outage Management, Release notes, Known errors (with workaround); Manage interaction with Regression Testing team to ensure efficient & timely tests; Coordinate the distribution & implementation of the release (regional go/no go, starts & stops sub activities ). The profile sought: a candidate with a degree in computer sciences with several years experience in a large, complex and international environment. He/She has SAP Overview with operational knowledge (support, implementation), and a proven experience in ITIL Foundation. He/she has experience in release management and project management. Fluency in English required. Interested candidates should apply via the website at http://careers.nestle.com

Burnout is a common phenomenon among executives of a certain age. How does one recognize the symptoms of burnout and prevent the consequences?

Burnout among professionals and executives is increasingly common, it nonetheless remains largely taboo and is often experienced by those who suffer from it as an individual problem. Burnout results from a burgeoning chasm between what the individual executive gives to his work and what he receives from it. The dis-equilibrium leads to a physical exhaustion and an emotional disillusionment, as well a loss of motivation and performance.

The rise in the amount of work that one cannot handle, increasingly exorbitant demands, time pressure and deadlines, interpersonal conflicts, lack of liberty of action or of possibilities for development, limited opportunities to use one’s talents or do interesting things, lack of support, motivation or regular feedback from managers, bad work atmosphere or employment insecurity….

Burnout should not be confused with stress. There is always stress. But victims of burnout always cite the lack of support at their work and lack of recognition for what they do.

Burnout syndrome often afflicts colleagues who invest themselves in their work without counting – champions of productivity. One finds first among victims those with very high ideals of performance and success, those who link their self-esteem to their professional performance, and those without any other center of interest other than their work, to which they are very strongly committed, or those who have taken refuge in their work fleeing other aspects of their life.

Risky professional situations include those :
-strongly mental or emotional demands
-strong responsibility toward other collegues
-where on seeks difficult or impossible objectives
-where there is a major discrepancy between the tasks to be accomplished and the means at disposal to accomplish them

-where there is ambiguity or conflict of roles
-where there is a gap between the personal investment made in one’s work and the rewards one obtains

The warning signs of burnout are changes in behavior and physical symptoms such as lumbago, chronic cephalitis, dyspepsia, and sleeping disorders or cardiovascular problems.

No one becomes exhausted from one day to the next: the process is long and pernicious. Burnout is a reaction to chronic stress and has several dimensions:

—exhaustion — the most prominent manifestation

—cynicism — the individual distances himself emotionally and intellectually from his work, which is a common strategy used to deal with work stress. Distancing oneself is often manifested by a cynical attitude

— inefficiency – a work situation which has an excessive load ends up by loading the individual with a sense of being ineffectual

Society has every interest in preventing burnout since it results in long, costly, medical leaves and considerable medical expenses at both the individual and collective level. It causes high levels of absenteeism and lowers productivity.

The American psychiatrist Freudenberger proposed a questionnaire to detect the symptoms of burnout. One responds to each question with a grade of 0 (not at all true) to 5 (very true).
1. Do you get tired easily?
2. Do you feel more fatigued than energetic?
3. Do people annoy you when they say “you don’t look well at the moment”
4. Do you find yourself working more and more to produce less and less ?
5. Are you increasingly cynical and disenchanted?
6. Do you often feel an inexplicable sadness?
7. Do you forget your appointments or business frequently?
8. Are you more irritable?
9. Are you more nervous?
10.Are you disappointed by the people around you ?
11.Do you see members of your family or your close friends less frequently?
12) Are you too busy to do simple things like making telephone calls or reading articles or sending cards to friends?
13) Do you have frequent physical problems (headaches, backaches)?
14) Do you feel disoriented when the workday ends?
15) Are your moments of joy rare?
16) Are you incapable of having a laugh at your expense?
17) Do you have few things to say to people?
18) Does sex bore you more than bring you joy?
If your score is from 0-25, no problem. 26-35 – some beginning signs of stress.
36-50 – at risk of burnout. 51-65 – you’re already in a state of burnout.
Over 65 – highly dangerous state.

Several research organizations and think tanks have conducted studies on the subject, concentrating on different fields — such as the IT – or on specific countries . There are also a number of serious books examining the subject, such as Steven Berglas’ Reclaiming the Fire.

Being a good manager implies knowing how to get the best from each member of one’s team.

But how does one do this one when one is managing someone who is the same age as one’s parents? Is it necessary to behave differently with older staff than with others?

Experienced career managers in working in Switzerland and Swiss-based management consultants say that they don’t treat older staff preferentially but on the other hand they do take into account their (usually) long experience and excuse more easily the forgetfulness that comes with being close to retirement age.

In Switzerland it is more and more common to find young executives managing older employees. Companies in Switzerland now promote talented people quickly and a man can expect to achieve the summit of his career already between 30 and 45 years of age, according to Human Asset, a Geneva-based consultancy.

Some argue that the subtleties of managing a group of people, some of whom are considerably older than oneself, reduce to taking into account the specificities of each member of one’s team. Seniors need to feel respected, and young managers are often in a rush to get results: they want everything and right away. In such circumstances, in order to move forward, one has to make a certain amount of compromises.

Perceived humility in a manager is an enormous asset. A manager who conveys that he is willing to learn from his staff has already won half the battle.

Staff in the age range of 50-60 have different motivations. An executive manager working in Switzerland needs to redefine with senior staff objectives and expectations, as well as their mission within the enterprise. The talented manager does this with skill and finesse.

Managing older staff need not be more complex than managing other staff – as long as there is reciprocal respect, the factor of age is just one factor among others.

To express one’s satisfaction, to thank or praise, is not necessarily a natural aptitude among managers. Yet recognition and the subtle mix of material and emotional compensation, has a real effect on productivity and employee motivation.

The wandering management consultant or career executive in Switzerland will often overhear things like ‘impossible to work under these conditions! I have status, high salary, and social advantages but the sense of my work not being recognized is just unbearable !’ Thus do companies lose many of their best people, who end up leaving in search of jobs that carry a greater level of recognition.

Managers shoud not overlook the need among staff for recognition. According to a survey conducted by TNS Sofres, the lack of recognition figures among the most tenacious workplace problems, cited by more than 45% of respondents. Swiss managers and executive staff should take note.

In his book, ‘La Stress au travail,’ psychiatrist Patrick Légeron looks at why and how companies are reluctant to express their satisfaction or gratitude toward staff. The answer lies, according to the author, in our ‘negative culture.’ He argues that our culture tends to focus on errors to be corrected and rarely on what has been done well. Légeron claims that the current system perversely is one in which managerial and customer relations are based on the complaint.

Recognition, praise and congratulation have strong beneficial physiological effects and augment productivity, whereas when employees achievements are not recognized, unproductive stress mounts. Légeron writes that human beings nourish themselves from social recognition – the need to be valued, recognized by one’s colleagues is visceral and basic. Because of this, the absence of recognition and social reinforcement of workers be their management is a major source of unproductive stress.

What, then, is the proper mix of recognition that managers should employ to optimize productivity? A subtle alchemy of material and emotional elements –from the simple handshake to salary increases, with liberal use of verbal or written thanks, confidence visibly accorded in meetings or conferences – in summary: multiple signs which indicated that the person is appreciated for his work.

Experienced management consultants are quick to note that there is an important difference between recognition and compensation. The first is social and the second is financial. Both are important but only the first allows the employee to know and feel and what others think of his work. And that is what gives most people the sense of purpose in their work. Academic studies have long debated the issue of the relationship between recognition and compensation to productivity.

According to one Swiss management consultancy, effective compliments should respond to 5 criteria:
1) they should be sincere – insincere compliments are perceived as a manipulation and destroy trust
2) they should be based on concrete facts – avoid phrases such as ‘I heard that…’
3) they should be based on recent facts – there is nothing worse than recognition in December for work well done last February
4) be disinterested – the compliment should not be linked to anything
5) the compliment should correspond to the perception of work well done by the person to whom it is directed