The financial crisis of 2007 was one of the worst we ever experienced. Old sayings like “Even if real economy suffers, the banks do always win” can not be applied anymore, in fact, the financial system is in the center of the big storm which is currently raging over international economy. What’s worse: It hasn’t ended yet. Analysts predict fatal long-term effects.
But why be so negative? Several people have found a pretty good way of surviving the crisis, and one of them is Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of
Hublot, a Swiss watchmaker. But how does he do it?
“Luxury industry feels very little -if any- effects of general economic problems” was the old rule, because those who were rich enough to buy those goods we “normal people” can’t even dream about had enough money to not care about economic problems. But times have changed, explains Jean-Claude Biver, a native Luxembourgian of 59 years specialized in breathing new life into stagnating companies. Luxury goods are also facing a diminishing demand because those who generally bought them, bankers and brokers, are facing sinking salaries and unemployment. But this doesn’t stop Biver.
Positivity and enormous energy, these are the main characteristics of the CEO who dares to be different. Why hide and cry? Biver thinks that actually doing the contrary of what others do is the key to success. And his past life underlines this: When he came to Hublot, a prestigious Swiss watchmaker, in 2004, the company’s profits rose by 50% during the two subsequent years, and even in the crisis, they continue their rise – albeit only small in comparison to the preceding years. But Biver is sure to survive the international disaster and start just as fresh and strong after it: “You have to see over the mountain top” he says, and that’s what he’s doing: Constantly hiring new employees, making new projects for additional fabrication places and buying new machines for the production of his world-renowned watches.
The most expensive watch in the world was designed by Hublot in 2005 and immediately got rewarded for its astonishing design by the “Prix du
Design” at the “Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Lausanne”: The “Black Caviar” and the “White Caviar”, 1 million USD watches wholly covered in nearly 500 either black or white “baguette” diamonds whose weight sums up to 35.18 carats!
Making his employees feel positive about their future by constantly hiring and investing into the expansion of the company, Biver sets new standards for the economy in general. His “contrarian”-way of leading the company intrigues management specialists: It was made into a case study at the famous Lausanne Management School IMD in Switzerland and will certainly be adopted as a study subject by other analysts in the future.
Hopefully there will be more CEOs like M Biver, who will find new, intriguing and original ways to manoeuvre through the financial crisis.