This year’s General Assembly of SEC was not only a celebration of our 25th anniversary, but also a testament to our resilience after difficult years and our growth since 2021.

The event, which took place on April 17, 2024 at Zimmer Biomet’s premises in Winterthur, highlighted a year of notable achievements and set a clear path for future endeavors.

Oliver Bertschinger, President and Managing Director of the Chamber, hosted the AGM and reviewed a year full of milestones. Particularly noteworthy:

• The number of SEC members has increased by over 25%
• A positive annual result for the first time in many years – a modest but symbolic profit of 88 francs

This growth not only underlines the SEC’s increasing importance in the economy, but also reflects our members’ confidence in our ability to create more and more value.

2023 was a dynamic year for the SEC, marked by numerous events, including the New Year’s Apéro, CEE Day, Business Luncheons, the Polish-Swiss Business Get-Together and the innovative CEE Swiss IT Matchmaking Summit, as well as various partner events. These meetings were instrumental in strengthening the SEC community and initiating new partnerships.

The meeting elected our new board member Thomas Zürcher, Senior Partner of OBT. With many years of experience in managing OBT’s CEE and Bakertilly relationships, Thomas is an excellent addition to our Board, committed to leading SEC to further success and innovation.

Looking ahead to 2024, our 25th anniversary, we are aiming for further growth under the motto “Inspiring Success Stories”. Our most important goals are:

• Increasing benefits for our members and partners
• Expansion of our Board of Directors
• Membership growth and profitability

In addition, we are pleased to announce our expansion into French-speaking Switzerland under the leadership of Louis Coomans with a launch event planned for August 26th. This strategic move is aimed at transferring our successes in German-speaking Switzerland to French-speaking Switzerland.

The meeting concluded with an informative presentation by Andreas Kläui, head of Zimmer Biomet’s Winterthur site, on modern manufacturing, followed by a tour of the most modern and largest factory outside the USA.

A big thank you to Zimmer Biomet and to Céline Faeh and Kamil Szydłowski for the invitation and to all members and guests who came despite the bad weather. Your continued support and commitment are driving the SEC forward and helping us to build a better connected and more successful business community in Switzerland and Central Eastern Europe.