JJR: You are often referred to as the ‘Wunderkind’ of watchmaking. Does this description suit you? Are you a kind of child prodigy of the industry?

GK: No, no! That’s far too pretentious. My company is successful, certainly. And it is an honour for me to be in charge of such a well-known brand as IWC. But all we’ve really done is make some good decisions.

JJR: But good decisions are not heaven-sent, are they?

GK: My biggest source of satisfaction is having been appointed CEO at the age of 36. I had some mentors in our profession – for example, Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert – who placed their confidence in me, and I am very happy that I did not let them down. At the time of my appointment, the Richemont group had just paid 3.2 billion Swiss francs for the acquisition of IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre and Lange & Söhne, following the decease of the proprietor of these brands. There was a great deal of insecurity among the personnel, and I found myself at the helm of a company that focused primarily on marketing. And of course I was extremely young for such a position! People didn’t understand, and I was bombarded with criticism, especially in the German-speaking part of the country. Lots of people were sure I was going to fail.

JJR: What was the impression people had of you at the time?

GK: That I was someone who had no idea about manufacturing and no sense of tradition. I was really taken aback by the vehemence of the response. I even received some anonymous letters. For someone who had always enjoyed a fairly easy life, this came as quite a shock and was very difficult to understand. And of course I was also much less sure of myself at that time. Today I feel certain that we are on the right track, whereas when I first took over I was very unsure about the direction I should take. I didn’t have the outstanding management team around me that I have today. I was criticised for recruiting specialists from the beverages sector, and we were sometimes referred to as the ‘Coca-Cola boys’. But over the past three years, we have written one of the greatest success stories in the history of the watchmaking industry. I don’t know of any other company in our sector that can match our growth record.

JJR: What was the driving force behind this remarkable recovery?

JJR: Which aspect of your work do you find the most rewarding?

GK: Design, creation. We do everything in-house, with the exception of advertising. I spend at least one hour a day in our design department. My father was a jeweller, but unfortunately creativity seems to have jumped a generation in our family and it’s my son who has inherited this talent. He is only nine, but he already possesses unbelievable drawing skills. I’m better at judging things. I know what is intrinsically beautiful, and I know what makes our brand beautiful.

JJR: Your father, René Kern, was a great jeweller and was regarded as one of the best in Europe, wasn’t he?

GK: Yes, he was certainly very well known, and he numbered various kings and princes among his clientele. He created many items of jewellery, some of which were copied by Cartier. He worked for his own company, called simply René Kern. When he died, his business was sold, and the company that bought it is now my second biggest client in Germany!

JJR: Where were you brought up?

GK: I was born and brought up in Düsseldorf.

JJR: So your mother tongue is in fact German?

GK: My family moved around a lot, so my mother tongue changed constantly too. I lived in Germany until I was seven and in France until I was twenty. Then I moved to Switzerland where I have lived ever since. I’m the youngest in the family. My father married three times, and my mother was his third wife. I have two half-sisters, who are nearly fifty, and a brother who is fortythree. I lived with my father, mother and brother. My father, who loved French culture, wanted us to have a French education, and that’s why we moved to Strasbourg.

JJR: Was this a good idea in your opinion?

GK: Definitely. There’s nothing wrong with being brought up in different cultures, though on the other hand it does uproot you. I want my son and daughter to be truly Swiss and speak Swiss German. I speak to them in French, but they are definitely Swiss whose mother tongue is züritütsch [Swiss German dialect as spoken in Zurich]. My wife is from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, and I chose not to enrol my children in the international school because I want them to have real Swiss roots.

JJR: What does this multicultural background mean to you today in practical terms?

GK: When I’m abroad I stand up for the Swiss, when I’m in Germany I stand up for the French, and when I’m in the US I stand up for Europe. I’m always an ambassador of other cultures.

JJR: Do you try to maintain a special rapport with the French language, for example by reading or watching films and TV?

GK: Happily many of my colleagues and staff speak French, but on the other hand I tend to watch the news on German-speaking stations now.

JJR: What attracted you to Switzerland?

GK: I initially studied political science in Strasbourg for two years or so, and although I enjoyed the subject, it doesn’t really lead anywhere. It was at this time that my parents were preparing to move to Switzerland, and at their instigation I enrolled at the University of St Gallen, from which I graduated in 1989 at the age of 24.

JJR: What were your first impressions of Switzerland?

GK: I was amazed by the infrastructure at the university. Modern libraries, computers: everything was of a much higher standard than in Strasbourg and at French universities in general. And this is still the case today. I found myself in an academic environment that was very civilised but perhaps a little uniform too. Everyone – professors and students alike – seemed to share a basically similar attitude. You can imagine what a contrast this was after France!

JJR: Did you fi nd Switzerland particularly attractive, or did you stay here more by chance?

GK: I found things a bit difficult at first, but I soon adjusted and went on to have four absolutely extraordinary years at the University of St Gallen. Afterwards I have to admit that I particularly wanted to avoid having to do military service in France, which is very long. I didn’t want to lose any more time. After all, I had already spent six years at university, and before that, even though I am Protestant, I had spent five years in a Jesuit boarding school, which gave me quite a foretaste of what military service was like! So I had to find a job in Switzerland. I had a friend who worked at Jakob Suchard in Neuchâtel and he found me a job there. I’ve lived in Switzerland ever since.

JJR: And you’ve obviously never regretted it!

GK: I stayed at Jakob Suchard for four years, then moved to tag Heuer. It was a great experience for me to work for a company that was initially very small, but which underwent rapid growth. When I sensed that tag Heuer was going to be sold to LVMH, I wanted to join the Richemont group, and it was Nicolas Hayek, head of the Swatch Group, who helped me accomplish this. It was through him that I was contacted by Franco Cologni at Richemont, who two years later appointed me CEO of IWC.

JJR: You have now lived in Switzerland for more than half your life and you also hold a Swiss passport.

GK: I love it here and have no intention of leaving. This is where I belong. Your home is where your family and friends are. My wife is Swiss, my children are Swiss. More so than I am: when I was granted Swiss citizenship and received a Swiss passport, my son wanted to know whether I now spoke Swiss German too! The quality of life in Switzerland is exceptional, unique: sometimes I wish the Swiss would show a greater awareness of the good fortune they have to be living here. Life is fundamentally more simple here, and this applies to all levels of society, from the poorest to the wealthiest. Switzerland has a sound economy and a very secure labour market.

JJR: Do you get the impression that Switzerland is losing ground versus its European neighbours in that its degree of prosperity is diminishing?

GK: The risk certainly exists. In my view, Switzerland should hold on to its trumps at all costs. I am totally against Switzerland joining the European Union. Switzerland needs to retain its independence and its economic strength. I am a liberal, and I feel that Switzerland should remain as non-interventionist as possible. What makes Switzerland strong is consensus. I do not need a union to treat my employees decently. Here there is a strong sense of civic responsibility. For example, the majority of people are aware of their responsibility towards the environment. It is essential to preserve this particular culture, since it is eroding. There is a strong desire here to emulate the EU in many ways, but in my view this is not the right solution. Switzerland is a paradise compared to Germany or France.

JJR: Do you think that Europe is heading for an irreversible decline with the rapid rise of Asia as an economic power?

JJR: If you had to ‘sell’ Switzerland abroad, what would your strongest sales arguments be?

GK: Switzerland is a country of excellence, and it offers competitive advantages at the fiscal level.

JJR: Switzerland is often criticised for its cumbersome consensusbased political decision-making process, which is poorly suited to today’s fast-moving world. What’s your opinion?

GK: This is a difficult question, because in the end we have to consider the outcome. The system has undoubtedly demonstrated its effectiveness: after all, it has made Switzerland what it is today. And though debate is clearly less lively than in France or other countries, consensus gives rise to unrivalled solidarity. Switzerland isn’t a country of revolutions, but then – do we really need them?

JJR: That all sounds wonderfully wise, effective and pragmatic, but isn’t it also a little monotonous?

JJR: Do you think Switzerland is creative in your own domain of design and creation?

GK: Certainly! There are many architects and designers who have made a name for themselves in the international arena, and in my own company we have Swiss designers as well as American, Italian and German ones. It is possible to be highly creative in Switzerland, and the Swiss can be highly creative themselves. I am in favour of the ‘free movement of persons’. Switzerland cannot exist in isolation.

JJR: What are your favourite places in Switzerland?

GK: I like all regions of Switzerland. And I can claim to know the country quite well. I lived in Geneva for two-and-a-half years, in Berne for two years, in Neuchâtel for over four years, and have now been living in Zurich for four years. I enjoyed living in all these locations, but if I had to state a preference it would be for Zurich. It’s the country’s metropolis; it’s an international city and it’s the most open. But I also love the mountains and I have always gone skiing at the resorts closest to the cities where I’ve lived. There are very few countries in Europe where you can stand in one place and see palm trees, lakes and mountains. Happily, a lot of effort has been made to preserve the quality of Switzerland’s environment.

JJR: What is your favourite Swiss cuisine?

GK: I prefer good solid dishes like rösti and geschnetzeltes [hash browns with veal stroganoff] or fish from the lake. I’m not really a lover of fine cuisine. For example, I’m very fond of the cuisine in Alsace, which is also fairly rustic. This reflects my own character: my watches also have to be solid. So you see, I’m really as Swiss as they come!