city guides

Zurich is defying its once-stuffy reputation by attracting foreigners and big business

Once the preserve of banks and insurance companies, Zurich is shaking off its staid image to emerge as a stylish European center. The Riviera like-lake and hip fringes of Switzerland's largest city are attracting a more diverse and international population. High-tech, biotech and industrial companies are setting up shop in the area, and the city still ranks number one in global quality of life surveys. It’s time to see what makes Zurich tick.

Stand on Bahnhofstrasse, the city s famous shopping mile, and you’ll see little indication of the changes under way in other parts of town—Zurich’s well heeled residents and visiting jet setters continue to fit right in here among the luxury jewelers and fur merchants. Discreet brass nameplates revealing the locations of private banks and asset managers suggest that the financial requirements of the upper classes are as well looked after as their material needs.

Urban renewal

But once you head away from the medieval town center, home to Swiss banking giants Credit Suisse and UBS, the city starts to defy its reputation for stuffiness. Perhaps inspired by the urban regeneration of Berlin, Zurich’s industrial districts, situated further up the Limmat River, are experiencing a major revival: Deserted warehouse buildings have been turned into shops, apartments and offices, creating a vibrant counterpoint to the city s traditional heart.

These changes have helped reinforce Zurich’s reputation as an international city and have attracted new industries to what was a predominantly banking and finance hub. Internet giant Google recently opened an engineering center in Zurich, which is also home to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Europe’s leading technical university. “Industry in Zurich has changed. Banking is no longer a self centered universe of secretive organizations,” says Martin Naville, chief executive of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce (amcham.ch), a former Boston Consulting Group executive and a one time JP Morgan employee. “Swiss banks are now global players,” he adds, “and on top of this, you have the Googles of this world, as well as companies like GM Europe, Dow Europe and Timberland, all of which have headquarters nearby.”

For such a small place,Zurich has more than its share of big business. Zurich punches way above its league in terms of its size and importance, says Naville. “We are a city of 350,000 people, and we consistently come out on top in many things. It really is quite amazing.”


The foreigner factor

With so many foreign companies and a high ratio of foreigners—currently 28 percent of the city’s population—it comes as no surprise that Zurich has a relatively straightforward business climate. English is almost universally spoken in major companies. Business practices are largely similar, explains Naville, but dress tends to be a little more casual, with Swiss men often favoring jackets and slacks. The Swiss defend their work-life balance more resolutely than North Americans, but they do tend to start work earlier: 7.30 a.m. is standard in some offices. And punctuality is a virtue in Switzerland, so always turn up two minutes early, or you’ll risk offending your host.

Margaret Oertig-Davidson, owner of Contexts (contexts.ch), an intercultural communications consultancy, says there is a higher degree of formality in Swiss business meetings. “The Swiss do not immediately try to break the ice,” she says. “They are formal, and they expect that it will take time for a relationship to grow. They don’t need to feel that they have hit it off immediately.” This attitude can jar with the more open U.S. style, but it doesn’t mean the Swiss are not open to doing business. When it comes to detailed negotiations, Oertig-Davidson notes one major difference between the Swiss and North American approaches: While the American inclination is to “win” the deal, the Swiss tend to seek a consensual agreement in which everyone stands to benefit. “The Swiss are very good at the so-called Harvard method of integrative bargaining, which goes beyond ‘winning’ and ‘losing,’” she describes. “And that’s for a very good reason: Switzerland’s business world is like a gentlemen’s club, and your negotiating partners will never forget you.”


A culture of trust

Another important distinction lies in the way Swiss companies are organized: In some cultures, managers play an important role in motivating and guiding the workforce, but Swiss employees tend to be more autonomous and willing to take on individual responsibility. This also means that once something has been agreed upon, it invariably gets done, without the need for managers to follow up or micromanage. “Doing business in Zurich, I was surprised that when a Swiss person said they would do something, they really meant it,” says Paul Selwold, a telecom project manager from Minneapolis, Minn., who first came to Zurich in 2000. “People found it unnecessary for me to follow up and confirm what was agreed on in the meeting—they felt their word was valid.”

The ease with which North Americans slip into Swiss culture is evidenced by the number of Americans who hold leading roles at Swiss companies. “Switzerland is probably the most American country in Europe,” says Naville. Two of the city’s biggest financial services companies are headed by Americans: Credit Suisse has chief executive officer Brady Dougan, while insurer Zurich Financial Services is led by Jim Schiro. In fact, many of Switzerland’s other major employers are managed by foreigners, be they American, British, French or German, a state of affairs that some neighboring countries would find difficult to accept.

It’s not hard to see why Zurich—nestled in a shallow valley at the end of a crystal-clear lake—continues to exert such a pull over foreign executives and their families. As well as a remarkable city infrastructure, Zurich offers best-in-class international schools and health facilities.
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THOMAS ARMITAGE is a freelance writer in Zurich.