IRF Top Executive Talk with Monika Ribar and Bernhard Heusler:

On 10 June 2015, IRF Communications welcomed around 25 invited guests to the IRF Top Executive Talk at the Widder Hotel in Zurich, which took place under the heading “Spitzenleistungen, wenn es darauf ankommt” (“Top performances when it matters”). In a discussion led by Thierry Lalive d’Epinay, Managing Partner of HPO AG, Monika Ribar, a member of several boards of directors, and FC Basel President Bernhard Heusler talked about what it takes these days to achieve top performances in business and sport. According to Monika Ribar, appointing the right executives to the board of directors and the management team is crucial for ensuring success in running a business and positioning it in the market. She also added that motivation to perform relies heavily on all staff being able to identify with the company. She highlighted SBB, of which she is a board member, as a positive example of this. Thanks to the employees’ strong affiliation with the company, she said, top performances can be delivered in increasingly complex activities day after day. In football, too, Bernhard Heusler referred to cultural aspects as the main factors that can make a difference. He believes that a culture characterised by humility is essential for achieving excellence on a sustainable basis. He also stressed that, to firmly embed this culture within the team and across the club as a whole, those at the top of the organisation – the president, the manager and the captain – must set a credible example by putting it into practice in their daily work. Another important success factor mentioned by Bernhard Heusler is loving one’s job – in this case football. After all, if you enjoy doing something, then you will do it with enthusiasm and, consequently, with success. The lively discussions on the key ingredients for producing top performances continued during a lavish drinks reception in the Widder Hotel’s “Zunftstube“.