Farewell to Managing Director Andy Wild

Katharina Mäder: Andy, why did you decide to join Swiss Marketing?

Andy Wild: My professional career has been marked by great versatility. I have worked in communications and advertising agencies and in marketing departments at international companies, where I led teams; I shared my expertise with marketing and communications professionals; and I developed training courses for SAWI in the field of trade shows and events. This has allowed me to gain a wealth of experience in the field of education. Through my active involvement in the industry association, I saw an opportunity to contribute my accumulated experience to the marketing and sales community. I was also drawn to the challenge of taking on responsibility for the financial management of an association.

«We would very much like to see the clubs foster a greater sense of unity within the association.»

What motivated you to get involved with Swiss Marketing?

Working with President Andreas Balazs as a sparring partner was very interesting and motivating. His approach to handling challenging situations, his support of me as managing director, and his solution-oriented approach were very impressive. In addition, working with my team, the Central Board, and the 20 clubs has always been enriching.

What were the highlights of the past five years?

I have achieved my goal of restoring Swiss Marketing’s sense of pride, and I can also say that I have fostered a greater sense of unity among the clubs, in the educational sector, among the staff, and on the board—and I continue to feel this sense of unity time and again. In addition, the association is constantly seeking new sources of revenue so that it can continue to invest in the further development of training programs. For example, I was a co-initiator in the founding of the association’s own company, suxxess.org ag, which ensures the efficient organization of exams. We also launched the Senior Marketing Professional competency platform in Switzerland. Laying the groundwork and helping to develop the new strategy—including new membership models and the «one Services» for the clubs—as well as adapting the bylaws to meet the current challenges facing the association and the clubs was an exciting process in which I played an active role … and a special moment was always delivering the laudatory speech at the graduation ceremonies for SIB graduates and offering my congratulations at the leadership level celebration at the Hotel Jungfrau in Interlaken.

Clubs vs. Education: Challenges at Swiss Marketing

We will continue to need face-to-face interactions across different generations in the future. Regional focus is very important, and this is only possible within clubs. Although a regional focus can also lead to fragmentation, it is important that the national and international networks remain active. Thus, our collaboration with the EMC (European Marketing Confederation) is fundamental. With campus.swiss, we have launched a skills platform that, among other things, offers training courses in various fields for SMEs. We now need to integrate this into the new strategy and position it appropriately for our partners.

What are your hopes for the future of the association?

Strengthening a sense of unity within the association would be a major priority for the clubs. In other words, all for one—one for all. We need to provide central support to the regional clubs and evolve into a national association. Unfortunately, the Swiss “backyard mentality” is deeply ingrained in some clubs. But the next generation of members will embrace the vision of a national club. They want authentic communication—both nationally and internationally, face-to-face and virtually—which will shape the network and the association.

This article is a contribution from Swiss Marketing, an m&k partner association.