Home to some of the world’s largest and most iconic companies, Switzerland is a source of corporate excellence – and has been so for well over a century.

Thanks to the country’s much-cherished and long-standing neutrality – which made the Swiss reluctant to join any multi- or supranational organisation, Switzerland only joined the United Nations in 2002 – its companies have always looked at the wider world without prejudices or preconceived notions. Switzerland never possessed any captive markets such as colonies which forced its businesses to compete, harder than most, for market share.

Anywhere in the world, Made in Switzerland equates to superior quality. Anyone would be hard pressed to find something Swiss poorly made. It is not just that the country’s workers perform their job with clockwork precision, Swiss companies too have traditionally been run to the highest standards of governance. In fact, long before corporate governance became a hot topic, Switzerland’s largest corporations has already been put a a sustainable footing.

And it is not just big banks and insurance companies that Switzerland is known for: engineering behemoth ABB, food giant Nestlé, and leading pharmaceuticals such as Novartis and Roche Group all sprang from this small land-locked country in the heart of Europe.

Perhaps not a household name, global commodities trading powerhouse Glencore International, based in Baar just north of Lucerne, employs more than 60,000 people in 40 countries. The company trades in bulk commodities such as metals, minerals, oil, cotton, coal, and cotton amongst others.

Another almost hidden Swiss corporate, Xstrata, is one of the world’s largest mining companies with about 70,000 on its payroll. Xstrata is a major supplier of copper, ferro-chrome, and vanadium – the last two by-products of coal used in the manufacture of high-grade stainless steel.

Switzerland also boasts the world’s largest employment agency, Adecco; one of its largest cement makers, Holcimn; and Europe’s leading drug wholesaler, Alliance Boots which also operates around 3,300 pharmacies in the UK and ten other countries.

Small wonder the Swiss economy provides an excellent living standard to the country’s 8.4 million people and consistently features in the global top-ten for GDP per capita – currently estimated at well over $78,000 (PPP).

Long a safe haven for capital fleeing economic and political uncertainty – but no longer hiding place for ill-gotten financial gain – Switzerland battles the sort of problems other countries can only dream about: too much money coming in, seeking shelter, and pushing up the value of the franc. The Swiss now charge depositors for the privilege of parking their funds in the country with negative interest rates. So far, this has barely stemmed inward capital flows. Amazingly for a country without vast mineral resources, Switzerland maintains a current account surplus bordering 10% of its GDP – outpacing even Norway. It is one of the world’s largest creditor nations.

Whilst not every country in the world can be or become a Switzerland, the Swiss do show what dogged dedication to excellence in both public and corporate governance can establish. The nation may have become a by-word for boring – nothing ever happens there to cause a ripple, let alone a kerfuffle – the Swiss are quite content to leave others to take care of generating noise whilst they diligently continue their work, gathering riches and embellishing their national home – already a vast collection of Kodak Moments.

© 2020 Photo by Omid Visuals