Optimism and olives

"Silvio Weilenmann (59) describes himself as an "agency director. Despite the communications successes he has achieved over almost 30 years in the PR and event business, the Zurich native has remained modest. The most important thing for him is to have good people around him: "Other people fascinate me, and I take great pleasure in interpersonal contact," says Weilenmann. "There are quite a few personalities who have shaped me and shown me new dimensions, because in a PR agency you have to deal with many different people from whom you get new impulses every day. I am grateful for that. The love of people is almost the most important thing I need for my business. Because dialogue works on the basis of it."

Weilenmann is proud that he never set up a business model for his agency, calculated a budget or fixed a strategy. "I never had what everyone says you absolutely need," he says. "And we've never had the difficulties that a lot of other small agencies have. For 28 years, F+W never had any financial problems - I'm particularly proud of that. In the process, I simply did my job every day with motivation and the greatest possible flexibility." Of course, with seven employees, F+W is "es kliises Budeli," the PR specialist admits: "You know your expenses and which clients you can generate which revenues with. And you sense immediately when things aren't going so well and can react flexibly. "But perhaps Weilenmann is simply a good businessman. In any case, he is an unwavering optimist for whom the glass is always half full and never half empty. "Even in difficult phases, I woke up in the morning and had the feeling that things were moving forward," he emphasizes. "And then it always did. Somehow."

Take off with tourism

Weilenmann was born 59 years ago in Zurich and spent his childhood and youth in the small city on the Limmat. After commercial training in a Zurich trading company and subsequent travels, jobs and language study trips, he studied tourism in Western Switzerland from 1976, later moving to Bern. It was during his studies that Weilenmann met his future wife - and for the two of them, Berne was the compromise between Montreux and Zurich. After graduating, Weilenmann works

Weilenmann worked for five years as head of media at the Berne-based tour operator Airtour Suisse. In 1983, he set up his own PR and event agency, F+W Communications.

Weilenmann quickly receives mandates from the tourism industry. With his communications experience in the travel industry, the 32-year-old fills a gap in the market: In the early 1980s, there was still no one in Switzerland who understood PR in tourism. "That was the reason why I founded F+W together with my partner at the time, Fritz Friedli," Weilenmann recounts. Friedli and Weilenmann soon parted ways, but Weilenmann still continues to run the agency under its founding name. And why not: from the very beginning, the "F+W" brand has stood for ideas and quality in the tourism industry.

Over the years, orders from other industries are added. "Tourism is the most beautiful industry, but not the most lucrative," Weilenmann says with a wink. "To cushion the economic risk for the agency, I also acquired mandates from other industries. In addition, new employees joined us from time to time, bringing new impulses and contacts with them." Today, F+W handles a wide range of mandates from the consumer goods, leisure and tourism industries, as well as from associations and public authorities, including for the International Alpine Symposium Interlaken, for Odlo International, Romantik Hotels & Restaurants Switzerland, WankdorfCity, the French haute cuisine brand Bonne Maman, the Swiss Metal Union, for the Leaders Club Switzerland, the Casino Kursaal Interlaken and the Emirate of Dubai. Weilenmann and his team have expertise in PR and event management, from consulting to conception, copywriting and project management to event planning and organization.

For all of this, Weilenmann employs six people - and, if necessary, experts from the network he has knitted together over 30 years. "I have always tried to keep our organizational structure lean. That's why I have a small basic team and bring in the right specialist for each project," he says. "As a PR guy, I'm horizontally oriented, which means I know a little bit about a lot of things, but a lot about a few. I have the communicative knowledge and the overview; for specialist topics, I work with external people."

Fascination Dubai

Dubai is a particularly exciting mandate for F+W: "We are the tourism and business representative of Dubai in Switzerland and Austria," explains the agency head. "My colleague Michelle Pétermann handles the two European economic markets and promotes tourism in the vibrant destination. Six years ago, the emirate was looking for a Swiss agency to represent Dubai abroad. With our concept, we were able to prevail over the very large Swiss agencies. The chemistry was simply right."

F+W is also responsible for the management and PR of Romantik Hotels & Restaurants Switzerland and Leaders Club Switzerland. At Romantik Hotels, Weilenmann is in the front line: He takes care of the marketing and communications activities of the 25 Swiss establishments and is the central point of contact for the media. At Leaders Club, a network of hospitality professionals, Weilenmann's colleague Yvonna Schindler manages the business. As the club's office, F+W provides impetus and organizes various events. Weilenmann is also intensively involved in the recruitment of young people for the Swiss Metal Union SMU: "We want to interest young people in metal construction and are looking for motivated and suitable metal construction apprentices for the SMU," he explains. "Bligg is the figurehead of the national young talent campaign, behind which F+W is the lead agency."

Perspectives in oil

In August, Weilenmann will turn 60. "An important moment," he says, meaning that it will soon be time for something else. Another round birthday is coming up in 2013: F+W will be 30 years old. For Weilenmann, that's the right moment to stop. "I'm going to go to the south of France and produce olive oil, that's my second life," says Weilenmann, and a liberated laugh betrays his huge anticipation of this step. For over 20 years, the "Agentürlileiter" has built up an estate in Provence together with his wife. There he not only accommodates guests, but also wants to produce exclusive olive oil in the future. "Together with some partners, I will develop an oil brand and later import the products to Switzerland. That's my vision."

Weilenmann's exit from the agency in two years is not a vision. The PR professional has already resigned from his various presidencies, supervisory and board memberships, communicated his departure and is on the lookout for a successor. "I definitely don't want to be stuck in here a bit more and there a bit more, stay a bit more and always be available if there are problems," he says. "Sometimes in life you have to say, 'Now I've seen this and now I want something completely different.' That's why, in 2013, I'm gone." That fits with the quote Weilenmann placed on the R+W website to characterize himself: "You don't discover new parts of the world without losing sight of the old shores."

Nevertheless, Weilenmann is not leaving F+W with flying colors. Before that, he is still taking his time to look for his successor. He envisions an entrepreneurial personality with the courage to take risks and lots of ideas, a flexible, motivated and life-affirming person who can hold a team together, promote and lead it. In other words, someone exactly like himself.

Anne-Friederike Heinrich