AGM 2023: A new President for the SCCIJ

Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan has a new President. Mr. Thomas Brodbeck, Integration Manager at Sika Japan, took over from Mr. Andre Zimmermann, Founder and President of ZAC, who led the Executive Committee for the last four years. The 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) also elected five members to the board.

Outgoing SCCIJ President A. Zimmermann congratulates his successor T. Brodbeck.

Change of baton

Mr. Thomas Brodbeck, the new President of the board, started his career at the Swiss specialty chemicals company Sika and held various positions within the organization over the last twenty years from Research & Development to Operations and Global business support before he relocated to Japan in 2019.

Currently, he is leading the integration of technical organizations of four legal entities into Sika Japan as Head of Applied Engineering & Technical Service. He entered the SCCIJ Executive Committee last year and served as a member of the Relationship Management Subcommittee.

Upon his election, Mr. Brodbeck commented: “I enjoyed the collaboration within the SCCIJ board and the fruitful exchange with all members during our events. I felt honored and grateful for the trust shown through the election as President of the SCCIJ. I am fully motivated to collaborate with our board members to continue delivering an attractive event program and realizing new ideas to expand our offering where possible.”

Unique chamber

In his introductory remarks, Dr. Andreas Baum, SCCIJ Honorary President and Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, thanked the outgoing President, mentioned his “no-nonsense pragmatism” and wished him an active future. In his review of the last year, Mr. Zimmermann pointed to positive developments, for example in the energy sector concerning the prevention of climate change, and highlighted the fact that the SCCIJ has a high membership compared to similar organizations. Also, Switzerland is well represented at the committees of the European Business Council (EBC), Mr. Zimmermann pointed out.

The SCCIJ Executive Committee lineup for 2023 (plus Special Advisors) with Swiss Ambassador Dr. A. Baum.

Changed board

The AGM changed the composition of the SCCIJ board considerably. Ms. Ayako Nakano (Director, Tokyo Center, Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH), Mr. Alexis Perroton (Piaget Regional CEO of Richemont Japan), Mr. Dieter Sommerhalder (Executive Director of UBS Group Japan), and Mr. Hiroki Yagi (Japan Representative of Julius Baer Nomura Wealth Management) were elected to the board. Ms. Yuko Sakai (Executive Officer at Nestlé Japan) who followed Guenter Spiess as ad interim member, was also elected.

They replaced five resigning EC members: Mr. Stefan Aebi (Managing Director, Gebruder Weiss Japan), Ms. Seema Bhayat (Local Managing Director, Lombard Odier Trust Japan) who left Japan in July 2022, Mr. Oliver Ryf (Managing Director, Aryzta Food Solutions JP/SK), Mr. Guenter Spiess (Senior Managing Executive Officer, Nestlé Japan), and Mr. Zimmermann (Founder and President of ZAC).

The Executive Committee is also supported by five Special Advisors, including Mr. Fabian Stiefvater, who replaced his predecessor Mr. Claudio Mazzucchelli at the Swiss Business Hub Japan in late 2022, and Mr. Zimmermann, who was asked to support the new board. Auditor Mr. Alain Delfosse was also confirmed in his position. Shortly after the AGM, the new board convened and chose Mr. Brodbeck as President of the SCCIJ. The full lineup is available here.

The four new SCCIJ board members with new President Mr. T. Brodbeck (from second left): Mr. A. Perroton, Mr. H. Yagi, Ms. Y. Sakai, and Ms. A. Nakano).

PR/Media

PR and Media Subcommittee head Mr. Nobuhiro Tajima (second member: O. Ryf) reported the issuance of 47 newsletters and the publication of 95 news articles in 2022. Members provided 27 news items. Social media followership increased: LinkedIn followers were up by 38% and Twitter by 7%, and Facebook followers grew by 10%.

Mr. Tajima thanked the SCCIJ sponsors who entirely financed the PR and media activities of 2022 with their contributions: Platinum – The Adecco Group; Gold – Hotel Grand Phenix Okushiga (Zuica International); Lombard Odier, Novartis, Reishauer, Roche, Straumann, SWISS International Air Lines (Lufthansa Group); Silver – Givaudan, Nihon Insight Technologies Corporation, Richemont; Bronze – Audemars Piguet, Breitling, CHPM, JSL International, Kellerhals Carrard, Nestlé, Sika, Unzen Kanko Hotel, Victorinox, and Zurich.

The three outgoing SCCIJ board members with new President Mr. T. Brodbeck (from second left): Mr. A. Zimmermann, Mr. O. Ryf, Mr. S. Aebi; and Auditor Mr. A. Delfosse.

Kanto and Kansai Events

Mr. Aebi presented the activities of the Kanto Events subcommittee (other members: M. Sutter, G. Muischneek): Nine luncheons with a total of 422 participants and 10 joint online & physical events with 20+ other chambers. The 5th Switzerland – Japan Economic Forum was jointly organized with the Embassy of Switzerland and IMD business school.

Mr. Sommerhalder, speaking for the Kansai Events subcommittee (head: Y. Sakai, the other member: F. Moesner), informed the AGM about its activities. The annual big Kansai event was the first “outing” since 2019 with a joint meeting of Swiss Pavilion Commissioner Mr. Manuel Salchli, Ambassador Baum, Osaka 2025 organizers, and a SCCIJ delegation, followed by dinner at Swissotel Nankai Osaka. Besides, there was a Swiss Young Professionals Kansai meeting and a SCCIJ Kansai Bonenkai.

The Annual General Meeting of the SCCIJ was well attended.

Relationship Management and Scholarships

Mr. Ryf, Head of the Relationship Management Subcommittee (other members: T. Brodbeck, N. Koyama, F. Stiefvater), reported positive trends for both members and luncheon participation in 2022. The SCCIJ membership increased by 2 to 191. The average number of luncheon attendees went up from 42 to 49. Mr. Ryf also reported the results of a sponsorship survey results.

Mr. Luca Orduña, Head of the Scholarship Subcommittee (the second member: D. Sommerhalder) reported that the “Swiss-Japan Scholarship Fund – powered by SCCIJ and SJCC” resumed its full activities after Japan reopened its borders in 2022. Three Swiss scholarship recipients arrived in Japan, the next two are coming in the spring of 2023. One Japanese recipient will leave for Switzerland in April 2023.