Continuity with creativity: Martin Walthert in the running for the "CMO of the Year" title
The finalists for Switzerland’s most prestigious marketing award have been announced, and on August 21, the title of «CMO of the Year» in Switzerland will be awarded for the fourth time. One of them is Martin Walthert, CMO of Digitec Galaxus. He stands out thanks to a rare combination of entrepreneurial foresight, creative consistency, and impressive perseverance.
Many years of leadership with a clear signature
Martin Walthert has been responsible for marketing at Digitec Galaxus for 19 years - and has played a key role in the company's development into Switzerland's largest online retailer during this time. Having joined the company straight after completing his studies, he is a prime example of sustainable brand management in an extremely dynamic environment.
Hands-on, creative and customer-centric
In his management style, Walthert combines creative thinking with pragmatic implementation strength. "In-house offers us more speed, shorter decision-making paths and greater proximity to our needs and brands," says Walthert. This is precisely what is of central importance to Digitec Galaxus' long-term marketing strategy.
Together with his team, he relies on personal responsibility, flat hierarchies and creative personal achievements - for example in the now iconic advertising campaigns such as "Sag's lieber auf Digitec".
Successful year 2024: growth and innovation
The year 2024 also underlines the strength of Walthert's work in figures: Digitec Galaxus achieved sales of CHF 3.2 billion - a growth of 18 percent compared to the previous year. The continuous expansion of Galaxus Mobile and the recent launch of Galaxus Internet are particularly noteworthy.
The brand is setting new standards in service, sustainability and customer focus: for example, by disclosing the countries of origin of fashion items, simplifying the resale offer and integrating tools such as Perplexity AI in the online store.
Sustainability with a system
Digitec Galaxus is also breaking new ground in terms of sustainability under Walthert's aegis. The company is a member of the Science-Based Targets Initiative and is committed to transparent and science-based targets. The new logistics center in Wohlen is powered by the largest reversible CO₂-heat pump in Europe - which reduces emissions at the site by almost 90 percent.
Creativity as the key
Walthert sees creativity as a decisive success factor in marketing - especially in the age of generative AI: "The more mediocre content is created, the more important real creativity becomes. We need bold ideas instead of tool fixation." In his team, he has observed that many top employees consciously choose the Digitec-Galaxus path - because of the clear attitude, the strong brand and the collective spirit of innovation.
The award as a signal
With the title «CMO of the Year» a top-class jury honors personalities who manage their brands with above-average success, set creative standards and are role models both as managers and as people. Martin Walthert embodies all of these qualities - and is thus exemplary of modern Swiss marketing.
