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The Swiss Venture Club SVC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The entrepreneur network has made a name for itself throughout the country by awarding the various Prix SVC.
The Swiss Venture Club is best known for the Prix SVC, which is regularly awarded to exemplary SMEs in various economic regions of Switzerland. In recent years, the award ceremonies have developed into an important rendezvous for business, politics, society and the media. It all began in 2001, 25 years ago. To mark the anniversary year, we spoke to SVC President Hans Baumgartner.
The idea goes back to Hans-Ulrich Müller. I worked with him in the SME business at Credit Suisse in 2001. At that time, however, SMEs had a rather insignificant status at the big banks. SMEs did not appear in the quarterly reports; everything was dominated by the wealth management, asset management and investment banking divisions. Hans-Ulrich Müller in particular was of the opinion that this did not do enough justice to the performance of SMEs. He was aware of the economic importance of SMEs and wanted to recognize particularly exemplary companies. In particular, we wanted to highlight the fact that wealth is created through entrepreneurship and does not simply fall into the lap of an entrepreneur.
Yes, absolutely. In the meantime, awareness of SMEs has increased in the political landscape. But it must continue to be cultivated. We must not give up, otherwise this awareness will quickly be forgotten again.
The SVC immediately met with enthusiasm. Many people wanted to join. So we set about creating a viable organization: We founded an association and put together a neutral jury of experts. Everyone got the message out: SMEs form an important part of Switzerland's economic ecosystem. Together with McKinsey, we drew up a list of criteria for evaluating SMEs, and CS generously supported us with its resources, but never gave us any guidelines. We had a free hand.
Hans-Ulrich Müller's large network proved to be an advantage. It was important for us to find partners who are also strongly anchored in the SME business, not only today but also in the future. Personal access to the decision-makers of these partners was also crucial. This was the only way to convince them of our project.
We are very grateful to our long-standing Gold Partners and UBS as our current Presenting Partner. We still have to be able to convince all sponsors that they are using their money in a targeted and benefit-oriented manner. Commitments always need to be carefully considered. But our sponsorship offers are designed in such a way that they can also be individually tailored.
The first Prix SVC award in Bern in 2003 was a milestone, but I would describe 2006 as the real breakthrough year. At that time, CS was celebrating its 150th anniversary. On this occasion, the SVC received significant funding, which enabled us to award a Prix SVC in seven regions. Over 10,000 people took part in these events. This proved to be a huge boost. We subsequently introduced other event formats - some developed well, others were discarded. And more regions are being added all the time: Geneva in 2021 and Aargau Solothurn in 2026. The number of members has increased to 3,800 today, and our social media activities have also enabled us to increase our reach.
The Board of Directors always makes decisions without vested interests. All Board members are at home in the business world and have an interest in maintaining and promoting the innovative strength of SMEs. The award ceremonies and activities would not be possible without the support of our partners. They make a significant contribution to ensuring that the pride of the finalists and award winners can always take center stage at the events. This encourages other companies to continue and become even better. This is the only way to get on the jury's radar and be talked about.
There are a few, such as the inaugural awarding of the Prix SVC Zurich Economic Area. When I came up with this idea, I was initially told that nobody would be interested and that there were too many events in Zurich anyway. But things turned out differently. We filled the Hallenstadion with 1500 guests, and Zurich's SMEs agreed that they had never had such a good opportunity for networking. The jury days, when we visit all the finalist companies, were and still are impressive. I also have fond memories of the trips to Asia, where we were able to see how well Swiss SMEs have developed in Vietnam or China. Another thing that always makes me happy is to see how committed people are to a company they have nominated.
Yes, those were turbulent times. Corona was a big challenge. But we only had to postpone the award ceremony for the Prix SVC Espace Mittelland; we were able to hold all the others, albeit with conditions. This was a difficult time for the SVC, which thrives on personal contacts and networks. We were then able to successfully hold the Prix SVC Espace Mittelland 2021 in Bern's Kursaal in 2023. The story with Credit Suisse, which led to the takeover of CS by UBS, also took place in 2023. There was brief uncertainty at SVC about how to proceed, but positive signals were quickly received from UBS to continue CS's involvement. We were then able to conclude a new, long-term agreement in the course of 2024. Today, UBS is the SVC's presenting partner.
The characteristics of the regions should always be taken into account. We ensure this through the regional OC presidents, who are very well networked locally. Behind the scenes, the SVC office, headed by Franziska Bürki, pulls the strings. She is also responsible for looking after the members. The juries, with a total of 130 members, are organized regionally. Currently, 500 partners and sponsors are involved with the SVC.
The award ceremonies follow a standardized script. This is important for the quality of the events and the reputation of the award. However, there are of course regional variations and room for individual input. These are discussed in advance in close cooperation with the office.
In our view, it makes sense for these cantons to receive their own joint prize. Both cantons together form an economic «heavyweight»: Aargau as the «energy canton» and Solothurn with its many strong SMEs in the precision industry.
We want to use the anniversary year to raise the SVC's public profile even further. Four award ceremonies will take place this year. In addition, a 25th anniversary celebration will take place in August 2026 at the Annual General Meeting. Together we will look back, but also forward. Appearances by a keynote speaker and top people from the business world are planned.
Under the motto «We inspire SMEs», we want to position the SVC as the most important network of entrepreneurs in Switzerland. One goal is also to increase the number of members to over 4000. We want to be a player for entrepreneurs and engage in dialog with them. We will showcase more SME success stories and provide a showcase for the entrepreneurship that is responsible for the prosperity and success of our country.
About the person
Hans Baumgartner has chaired the SVC since 2023. He is the third SVC President after SVC founder Hans-Ulrich Müller and Andreas Gerber. Hans Baumgartner is a Senior Advisor at UBS and previously worked for Credit Suisse for over 30 years. There he held various management positions in the private and corporate client business.
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