An award for the future, not for the past
Geneva, 06.04.2017 - Speech by Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER Gallatin Award Ceremony
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Dear Ernesto Bertarelli,
Dear Bertarelli Family,
Mr. Cantonal Councillor,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
Let us remember that day.
The eighth of March 2003.
40,000 citizens of Geneva clad in red and white braved the cold to meet their heroes at the lakeside, where the dream started. The dream of winning the America’s Cup. The oldest and most prestigious trophy, not only in sailing, but also in sports. The dream had come true. The Cup was now there in Geneva, a city in the heart of Europe, without access to the sea even. It was a tremendous moment.
For many Swiss, the shared enthusiasm displayed in the streets was a staggering sight. Because most of us didn’t even know we were capable of such a display of emotion.
The truth is the Swiss always believed they were a little too uptight for that. Such public displays of joy, pride and patriotism have always seemed very ‘un-Swiss’. But so American.
So, on that day the Swiss discovered, to their own astonishment, that they were a lot more American than they thought. So what was it that allowed them to discover their hidden American self? As I said, first of all it was a dream. Winning the America’s Cup
Then a team. The Alinghi Team, united behind the dream. And above all, a leader with the self-confidence to make that dream come true. Ernesto Bertarelli. Somehow, nobody was better prepared to raise the banner and lead the Swiss in the pursuit of this dream.
Born in Rome in 1965, he came to Geneva with his parents in 1973, the most cosmopolitan city in Switzerland. His father set up the family shop here – rather a big shop as it happens: Serono was already a dynamic company with a long history.
Young Ernesto went to school in Geneva, grew up in the sheltered surroundings of a rather small but very open city. And he fell in love.
He fell in love with Lake Geneva – le lac de Genève – as the Genevans themselves love to call it to tease their neighbours from Vaud and in France. The French and the Vaudois prefer Lac Léman.
Anyway, on these beautiful waters with their capricious winds, Ernesto Bertarelli honed his skills as a yachtsman.
Yachting is a very demanding sport. You need agility, endurance, coordination, concentration, a sense for strategy and tactics, team spirit and absolute confidence in your equipment. As an alpinist, these skills are very familiar to me, I know what this means. Nevertheless, from Lake Geneva to Auckland and Valencia, there was still a long way to go.
It is true that even before the epic Alinghi adventure, Romandie produced some great navigators who brought honour to our colours: Pierre Fehlmann, Laurent Bourgnon and Steve Ravussin, to name just a few. So there were some big shoes to fill.
However, there were still a few missing ingredients. I think, they came together during Ernesto’s years in the United States, first at Babson College,then at Harvard.
Ernesto Bertarelli got more than just an outstanding education in entrepreneurship and business management during his years overseas. It was the immersion in American culture – the ‘can do’ attitude – that made a real difference. It suited his character, helped him to channel his fiercely competitive spirit and allowed him to set long-term goals without losing sight of the ultimate prize.
Maybe the Italo-Swiss Ernesto Bertarelli had always had this American spirit.Nevertheless, I am convinced that those years were decisive in forging his very American talent for huge visions and projects. Certainly for Alinghi, but also for Serono.
My dear friends,
for a new generation, taking over a family business is not always simple. Believe me, I know. But you have no choice. You have to deliver the goods. Besides, the family business is a success model. Especially in Switzerland where many successful companies are still in the hands of their founding families. In my view, one factor explains the success of this business model: the long-term view. You think in generations.
In this respect, Sereno was certainly a success. A thriving international company, with many good products in its portfolio. With Ernesto, the third generation took the helm. However, the pharmaceutical industry is possibly one of the most challenging businesses in the game. In most businesses, R&D is rather straightforward. When you decide to pursue a new idea, you have quite a good idea where it might take you.
Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, on the other hand, often seems to be a kind of a lottery. The only way to better the odds is to hedge your bets, either by investing in more substances, or by buying out smaller companies that have promising projects in the pipeline, but no marketing power.That means in this business you need capital and scale to survive as an independent company.
Ernesto worked hard for a more diversified drugs portfolio, in particular developing the American research wing near Boston. He also made good use of the fantastic opportunities provided by the scientific community in Switzerland.
Vying for the capital he needed to better the prospects of the company, Ernesto successfully took Serono to the New York Stock Exchange, raising its profile for the international investor community.
In Geneva he not only built new corporate headquarters, - the fascinating building in which we are now standing – but also a new corporate spirit, which became very American. Serono became a kind of community with flat hierarchical structures and easy-going working relations, where initiative and ideas were welcome.
However, scaling the business enough to guarantee an independent future remained difficult. Therefore, after much hesitation, Ernesto and the Bertarelli family sold the company. I would say: tremendous timing. That is what you should expect from a good yachtsman. Anticipating and tacking when the winds are going to shift.
I will not go into what happened to Serono after the buyout. It’s still a sore point for Geneva and even for Switzerland. Free enterprise is, as in the United States, one of the touchstones of our economic life. I am a staunch defender of this essential freedom, which has always guaranteed our prosperity. Nevertheless, the closing down of Serono’s headquarters in Geneva by the new owners was a hard pill to swallow for a minister of economic affairs.
This was also exactly the time I called not the sportsman or businessman Ernesto Bertarelli, but the philanthropist. We discussed the issue of Serono leaving Geneva. He said he would call me back in a week, which he did. He told me then that he was up for a new project. Campus Biotec was born and quickly took shape.
Dear friends,
Now, here we are together in this beautiful building that Ernesto Bertarelli and his family bought back in a consortium with Hans-Jörg Wyss - another Swiss philanthropist who owes a lot to the United States.
The EPFL and the University of Geneva became the other partners of the Fondation Campus Biotec.
The goal was not to offer the AmCham a magnificent and prestigious venue to hold this award ceremony today. Some very serious scientific research is conducted around you. This is the home of the Human Brain Project, a European Commission Future and Emerging Technologies Flagship. There are many other fascinating projects in neurosciences and bioengineering, but also in digital health. We are still at the beginning, but this ecosystem of knowledge about ourselves, our minds and bodies, is growing.
The ‘yes’ of Ernesto Bertarelli and his family was the ‘thumbs-up’ we needed in order for the project to fly. What I felt once more during the discussions we had to make this happen, was Ernesto’s ability to think big, to seize the moment and commit himself quickly and completely to the goal he has set himself.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Martin Naville has already outlined what the Gallatin Award is all about. Some two hundred years ago Albert Gallatin said something very interesting: "Government prohibitions do always more mischief than had been calculated; and it is not without much hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals, as if he could do it better than themselves."
Music to my ears!
Gallatin wrote this comment to Thomas Jefferson in 1807, when the US President was pondering an embargo on all exports towards a Europe in the turmoil of Napoleonic Wars. Gallatin’s reflection resonates with us today,especially as we follow with some concern the actions and declarations of the new US administration.
The Swiss government is committed to free trade. I think that all of you are no less convinced that ideas, goods and finance must be able to flow freely if we want to guarantee the prosperity of our countries and the world for future generations.
Flirting with protectionism, as is the case today in too many capitals, is certainly a bad idea. We should take to heart Gallatin’s advice to Jefferson and do everything we can to uphold free trade. Along with scientific and technological progress, it remains the driving force behind economic growth.
A distinction like the Gallatin Award therefore comes at a price for those who receive it. Because in my view, dear Ernesto, the Gallatin Award does not first and foremost reward you for what you have already done for the friendship between our Sister Republics. It is a lot more about what you can and will do in the future. As a businessman, as a sportsman and as a philanthropist. Therefore, my dear Ernesto, you are presented with a fresh challenge. To uphold the spirit of liberty, trust and friendship, which has always characterised the relationship between Switzerland and the United States.
Few are better equipped than you to play this role as a kind of unofficial envoy between our two countries, their business and scientific communities and their cultures. You have demonstrated this ability in the past and I am convinced that you will continue to demonstrate it in the future.
I know: you are already working on it. Tomorrow, Harvard Medical School and EPFL will hold – here in Campus Biotec – the 2017 Symposium of the Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering. A high-level scientific event we owe to you! Thank you for that!
Be assured, you are not alone, doing everything. Our friendship with the United States is too important for that. Everyone in this room, but also the Swiss government and the Swiss people are committed to doing everything what has be done to preserve stable and trustful relations between our two countries.
Dear friends,
In recognising Ernesto Bertarelli, the American Chamber of Commerce has honoured a man and a family that has done a great deal for Switzerland and the United States. Thank you for this. Thank you for this opportunity to come together and celebrate our friendship. Let us uphold the spirit of Albert Gallatin. The spirit of liberty and entrepreneurship.
And thank you, Ernesto, and all your family, for being the reason for our celebration this evening. My congratulations on receiving this award. You deserve it.
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