John François Béguin, Chairman
Good design is good business.
Although lesser known than his famous (and trademarked) “THINK,” IBM founder Thomas J. Watson’s statement “Good design is good business” is, I believe, just as poignant today as it was in 1935, when he first made the remark. The act of conceiving and fashioning in one’s mind a business, a brand, a home or even one’s own life is no easy matter and the design must reflect both the practical and the aesthetic.
In this issue of Swiss Style, we take a look into different applications of design in the arenas of business, sustainability, finance, law, sports, cosmetics as well as education and art.
The first profile of this type will be François Carrard, a specialist in corporate as well as sports law. His résumé fits the definition of National Treasure quite nicely: Mr. Carrard was legal counsel to the International Olympic Committee, and its Director General from 1989 to 2003 and he also sits on the boards of the Bank of China (Suisse) S.A., Groupe Brugg Holding, OBS Olympic Broadcasting Services SA IOC Television & Marketing Services and even the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation’s Board. Our interview with him will give you interesting insights into a mixture of behind-the-scenes experiences he had in diplomacy and sports, law and business as well as art.
Also in the Sustainability section of this issue, environmental consultant and founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow think tank, Chandran Nair, calls Asia’s up and coming nations to forgo the temptations of consumerism and to adopt a more abstinent economic model that will allow for sustainable development and perhaps, save our planet… a challenge for a region where sales of Rolls Royce automobiles rose by 171 percent last year alone.
Switzerland, and Geneva in particular, are considered as major international hubs for the wealth management industry. But equally important to the local economy and international trade, are the commodity trading and financing businesses. Christian Weyer is considered by most as the father of the business of commodity financing in Geneva. He remembers how it all began…
As we approach the end of the year, and bypassing hype, Swiss Style Magazine presents its Design Special section. It is dedicated to unearthing emerging and established design trends available in and around Switzerland. It hopes to reflect opinions of Swiss based leading thinkers in design, describe concepts of contemporary style and, though the pages of our Directory, provide our opinion on what’s hot and what’s not.
It has been said that a designer is only as good as the star who wears her clothes. With this issue we hope to prove that a magazine is only as good as the readers who read it…
John François Béguin
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