A passion for quality and precision

Decades of time out

A year turned into 29, because Aeschlimann has not returned to university until today. Instead, the Swiss national is now at the top of one of the most prestigious watchmakers in the world, known, among other things, for the first watch on the moon, the official watch of the James Bond series and the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games. How did that happen?

When Aeschlimann was in the midst of a personal journey of self-discovery in the mid-1990s, the traditional watch industry in his home country was in a deep crisis: international competitors were increasingly challenging the Swiss for their global leadership position. “Two-thirds of the employees in the Swiss watch industry lost their jobs,” Aeschlimann recalled at the Bildungscampus Heilbronn. “Nobody wanted to work in the watch industry. There were no jobs.”

Successful step into the Asian market

But an opportunity arose for him after all: a job in financial logistics at Omega was advertised in the newspaper. Aeschlimann, who had previously gained his first professional experience at the investment consultancy Complementa, applied – and the story took its course: he joined the company and worked his way steadily up. Among other positions, he held the roles of Vice President for International Sales, Retail and Distribution at Omega, as well as Brand Manager for Omega and Blancpain in Spain. Since 2016, he has been CEO of the company. And so he gave the students an important advice: “Choose your job well and follow your instincts. Everyone is different, so there are no bad jobs.”

One of his best decisions was to enter the Asian market. Aeschlimann recalled opening boutiques with Cindy Crawford in China and India. Omega was a pioneer in the Chinese market. But globalization has long since reached the watch market, and today, “Customers are the same all over the world – and that’s a good thing.”

Aware of tradition, yet innovative

In the subsequent question and answer session with the students, Aeschlimann presented himself as a businessman who is aware of tradition but nevertheless very open to innovation: He was critical of influencers and described smart watches as impersonal and not very sustainable. However, he sees great opportunities in artificial intelligence: “We should work with it as long as it helps us to ask the right questions. It’s really interesting to see in which areas we use it and how we can align it with our values.”

The Swiss business leader was very modest when Li asked about the legacy he hopes to leave behind one day: “If I disappear from this world one day, I would like at least a handful of people to continue on my path. I hope that our brand will still exist in 300 years.”