SMG New Year's reception 2026

Georges Kern studied political science in Strasbourg (France) and earned his degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). He gained experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector at Kraft Foods Switzerland before moving into the watch industry and joining TAG Heuer.
In 2000, he joined the luxury goods group Richemont and was actively involved in the integration of the acquired brands A. Lange & Söhne, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and IWC Schaffhausen. In 2002, at the age of only 36, he was appointed head of IWC Schaffhausen, making him the youngest CEO within Richemont. In 2017, Georges Kern was promoted to head of watchmaking, marketing, and digital at Richemont, with particular responsibility for managing all watch brands.
In 2017, Georges Kern was appointed the new CEO of the independent watch brand Breitling SA, of which he is also a shareholder. In this position, his mission is to further develop one of the world's most established watch brands into the leading neo-luxury watch brand.
Georges Kern was a member of the Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum from 2005 to 2010 and became co-founder and curator of the Global Shapers Community in Zurich in 2011. In 2020, he was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

Milan Prenosil joined the family business Confiserie Sprüngli in 1991 and became CEO and Marketing Director in 1994.
Today, as Executive Chairman, he runs the company together with his younger brother Tomas in its sixth generation. Millan Prenosil is President of the City Association of Zurich, which represents 1,350 companies and around 60,000 jobs in Zurich. He also chairs the board of the ShopVille HB Zurich tenants' association.
He was a member of the Swiss National Bank's Regional Economic Advisory Council between 2004 and 2012 and chaired this body from 2010 to 2012. Today, he is involved in the board of Zurich trading companies and is active in various administrative and foundation boards.
He ended his military career in 2013 as a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander in the Airport Regiment 4 in Zurich-Kloten and later in the cantonal command staff of Ter Reg 4.

Thomas P. Meier has been CEO of Ricola since 2019. He brings many years of experience in marketing, sales, and general management roles within the consumer goods industry.
Before joining Ricola, he served as CEO of Franke Coffee Systems, a globally active division of the Franke Group, and was also a member of Franke’s executive board.
Prior to that, he held various key positions over two decades in the branded goods industry both in Switzerland and abroad, working for Lindt & Sprüngli, Unilever, and Wander AG.
Thomas P. Meier holds a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing from the University of St. Gallen.
The 54-year-old is originally from Bülach (Zurich), is married, and father of three daughters

Markus Streckeisen has been an independent member of the Board of Directors for companies in the mobility, logistics, real estate, retail and catering sectors since 2021. He previously worked for SBB AG for almost three decades, most recently as Chief Transformation Officer, Head of Sales, Member of the Executive Board and Deputy CEO of SBB Cargo AG. He also heads the MAS in Real Estate Management at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (HWZ).