Ernst Thomke

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Ernst Thomke (born April 21, 1939 in Biel , Switzerland ) is a Swiss industrial manager.

education

Thomke was born the son of a doctor in the canton of Bern . He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic at the clockwork manufacturer ETA in Grenchen, Solothurn, founded in 1856, and studied natural sciences with a major in chemistry in Bern and Lausanne from 1961 to 1967 . He then went on to study medicine in Bern while working , where he received his doctorate in 1975. Most recently, courses in management and marketing followed at the European Institute for Corporate Management ( INSEAD ) in Fontainebleau .

Beecham

From 1970 to 1977 he worked for the Swiss-based research laboratories of the British pharmaceutical company Beecham , for which he temporarily worked in clinical antibiotic research. He also worked at the pharmacological institute in Gothenburg, Sweden . Gradually he shifted more to business management tasks and became marketing director and most recently regional marketing director in the Europe division.

ETA SA & Ebauches SA

In 1978 Thomke returned to the watch industry . Subsequently, in view of the ruinous competition at the time in the mass business with the more attractive Japanese quartz watches, he played a decisive role in the concentration in the Swiss watch industry. In 1978 he became General Director of ETA SA, which then merged with the manufacturer A. Schild SA (AS) .

The new ETA with around 2200 employees subsequently presented further innovations and improvements in quartz technology and replaced the handicraft production that had prevailed until then with automation. In addition, Thomke largely united the administration and production areas of the individual companies with the other manufacturers in the long-standing company group Ebauches SA .

In 1982 he took over the management of Ebauches SA as a delegate to the board of directors and was also a member of the board of directors of ASUAG , the parent company of ETA. With the advice of Hayek Engineering SA of the entrepreneur Nicolas Hayek, the watch companies ASUAG and SSIH merged in 1983/1984 to form Société Suisse de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie SA ( SMH ), the later Swatch Group .

Swatch

Elmar Mock is with Jacques Mueller, co-inventor of the SWATCH watch concept under the direction of Ernst Thomke in the early 1980s. The fashion watch series of the " Swatch " brand, first presented in 1983, contributed most to the revival of the Swiss watch industry . The hundred millionth Swatch watch was produced in 1992. More than 700 million SWATCH watches had been sold worldwide by 2018.

SMH

Thomke headed SMH from 1984 to 1991 as general director. The SMH, which bundled all the earlier Ebauches companies in its subsidiary ETA, also gained reputation with the regained prestige of the exclusive brands (" Omega ", " Longines ", " Tissot "). In addition, the microelectronics division produced integrated circuits and chips. In 1989, SMH had sales of CHF 2.1 billion.

Thomke left in 1991. At that time, Nicolas Hayek had already become a decisive force at SMH as head of the board of directors.

Renovators

As a result, Thomke cemented his reputation as a successful renovator in the watch industry, as before, taking on several tasks at the same time.

Motor Columbus

From 1992 to 1995 he renewed the very complex conglomerate Motor-Columbus as a delegate to the board of directors on behalf of the main shareholder, the then Swiss Bank Corporation . In doing so, he realigned Columbus to the traditional and profitable energy business in ATEL .

Oerlikon-Bührle

Until 1997 he also worked for Oerlikon-Bührle Holding (OBH). From 1991–1997 he headed Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG in Stans as Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director. In the same functions, from 1995 onwards he initiated a rationalization course, especially in logistics, for the economically unprofitable shoe manufacturer and fashion retailer Bally International AG . The OBH rejected his plans to bring Bally to the stock exchange to secure further liquidity, which is why Thomke withdrew completely from their company in 1997. In 1999 OBH sold Bally.

Saurer AG

As early as 1995, as head of the board of directors, he had taken over the management of the ailing Saurer AG in Arbon and had therefore left its main shareholder, BB Industrie Holding AG (22%). The previous main shareholder Tito Tettamanti had expanded the Saurer Group, which was founded in 1853 and specializes in textile machines and drive technology, to include the textile machine manufacturer Schlafhorst , which was marked by excess capacities, and the drive technician Ghidella . Thomke consolidated Saurer as CEO until 1996 and then headed the Board of Directors until 1999. He promoted transparency in the group, made working hours more flexible, cut jobs and improved accounting. In 1996 Saurer returned to profitability, with the significantly tightened Schlafhorst contributing more than half to sales of CHF 1.7 billion at the time.

Holdings

Biotech AG

As a result, Thomke took on other supervisory board mandates and worked more in the background of Swiss economic life. He turned back to the medical sector and bought shares in the holding company BB Biotech , a sponsor of innovative drug developers.

Métaux Précieux SA Métalor

Thomke also paid more attention to the watch sector. For example, he became the largest single shareholder in Métaux Précieux Metalor , the largest Swiss manufacturer of gold watch cases.

British Masters

As early as 1995, he was one of the co-founders and majority owners (25%) of the exclusive watch company British Masters .

Awards

Memberships

Offices and a .: Chairman of the Board of Directors (BB Biotech AG, since 1993; Métaux Précieux SA Metalor, since 1998; BB Medtech AG, since 2000; Nobel Biocare, since 2001); Board of Trustees, Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (since 1995)

Private

Thomke is married and has three children. He runs a converted farm in the south of France. Skiing, sailing and tennis are his hobbies.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Development: "It was grueling monster work". In: Balance. April 12, 2013, accessed July 31, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Jürg Ackermann ,: A dyslexic in the fast lane. In: Lucerne newspaper. June 13, 2018, accessed July 31, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Thomke, Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss industry manager
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Biel / Bienne