Greater Zurich Area appoints Honorary Ambassadors on the East Coast

The Greater Zurich Area appointed six U.S. executives, entrepreneurs and influencers with strong ties to Zurich region as Honorary Ambassadors on the East Coast. The program is essential for building a network, promoting the region and identifying suitable companies.

At swissnex Boston, Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA) for the second time appointed six U.S. executives, entrepreneurs and influencers as Honorary Ambassadors. The program recognizes each executive’s outstanding accomplishments between the United States and Switzerland. GZA’s Chairman Balz Hösly said in his opening remarks, “After we successfully launched the program on the West Coast last year, we decided to bring it to the East Coast. Numerous life sciences and technology companies have successfully established their operations in Greater Zurich over the past few years thanks to, among other things, positive word-of-mouth from peers. The Honorary Ambassadors are vital for the reputation and to conveying Greater Zurich’s overall message.”

Balz Hösly together with the guests of honor Josef von Rickenbach, Parexel Co-Founder and Board Chairman, and Giorgio Pompilio, Deputy Consul General of Switzerland, then appointed the Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassadors.

The Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassadors on the East Coast are:

• Alison Finger, Bluebird Bio
• Michael Hardgrove, DLA Piper
• Roman Kern, MassChallenge
• Michelle Lock, Sage Therapeutics
• Orlando Oliveira, TESARO
• Gene White, First Names Group

After the ceremony, Michael Hardgrove, Partner at DLA Piper and newly appointed Honorary Ambassador, commented, “For nearly 20 years the Greater Zurich Area has been, and continues to be, an excellent location for centralized global business activities for dozens of my clients. From Schaffhausen to Zug and Zurich in between, the area continues to provide technology companies, as well as those in many industry sectors, with needed qualified resources and infrastructure support which allows them to manage functions such as global supply chain operations and product distribution, in a timely and efficient manner.”

The global biopharmaceutical company TESARO is another Greater Zurich success story: “TESARO successfully established our International headquarters more than three years ago in the Zurich area. With a culture that fosters innovation, access to a highly-skilled workforce, and a favorable business environment, we knew Switzerland was the ideal location for our fast growing company. I look forward to representing the Greater Zurich Area as an Honorary Ambassador and continuing our great partnerships with the local authorities,” said Orlando Oliveira, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TESARO International.

Roman Kern, another newly appointed Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassador and Senior Director of Programs and Operations at MassChallenge said, “We need to create an ecosystem that encourages all kinds of entrepreneurs – first-timers and serial entrepreneurs – to take their ideas and make them a reality. It’s great to see that the Greater Zurich Area focuses on fostering startups and helping create an environment that allows them to grow. We’re proud to be part of this journey with MassChallenge Switzerland, and help support startups from all around the country, and beyond.”