Swatch Group - The End of an Era
WORLDTEMPUS - 30 June 2010
Not only Bell & Ross, who closed down its website for three days in honor of the Swatch Group CEO's passing, mourns the loss of an industry leader. The entire watch world seems to have come together to offer its profound feelings of sadness at the news of the sudden departure of the man who is often said to have been the savior of Switzerland's watch industry in the 1980s. Hayek passed away at work at the company he will go down in history for creating. Had he had the choice, this is probably the spot he would have chosen to exit this world.
When his name is uttered in Switzerland—and it is uttered often—anyone's first thoughts go to Swatch, the brand that has meanwhile lent its name to the entire group. Today, having passed through the era of the mechanical renaissance—which Hayek is rightfully said to have played a contributing role in kick-starting—we haute horlogerie snobs tend to forget the meaning of the Swatch watch and often dismiss it as "plastic." However, in the 1980s it was indeed this colorful ticking plastic chameleon that returned the world's eyes back to the Swiss stage, allowing the Helvetian country to once again become a star powerhouse of watchmaking.
Shrewd business decisions and a company that rapidly turned into a family affair in more than one sense allowed the SSIH (Societe Suisse de l'Industrie Horlogere) to become the SMH (Societe Suisse de Microelectronique dt Horlogerie), which in the new millennium was finally renamed to honor the brand playing the starring role: the Swatch Group was born.
Nick Hayek Jr. entered the marketing department of the family business in 1994 after having studied filmmaking in Paris. At the beginning of 2003 he was named president of the group's executive management board—thus effectively becoming the CEO of the company. This is a position he is now slated to retain.
Making her the most powerful woman in the Swiss watchmaking industry—an honorary title perhaps previously held by Swatch Group comrade-in-arms Arlette-Elsa Emch—Nicolas G. Hayek's daughter is now following in his footsteps as chairperson of the group's board of directors.
Dr. Nayla Hayek, a Swiss citizen, has been on the board since 1995; she was named vice-chairperson earlier this year. Active in various operational functions during the last years, she has been responsible for the Swatch Group Middle East, run from Dubai, Swatch Group India, and the Balmain brand. Following the agreement with Tiffany & Co. in New York, she took over the operational leadership of Tiffany watches, which was incorporated in January 2008 as Tiffany Watch Co. Ltd. As board member of the Hayek Group, she is responsible for Hayek Immobilien AG. She is also a member of the board of directors of Rivoli Investments L.L.C., Dubai, where she represents the interests of the Swatch Group, as well as member of the board of directors of Benelos Clean Power Holding Ltd. Nayla Hayek is also an accomplished international Arabian horse judge.
Nayla Hayek's son, Marc Hayek, has been CEO of Blancpain since 2002.
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