Greater Zurich Area appoints Honorary Ambassadors for the global promotion of Zurich as a technology and business location

The investment promotion agency Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA) has awarded ten entrepreneurs and executives as "Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassadors". The award recognizes the outstanding achievements of these personalities as well as their merits for the Greater Zurich Area in Switzerland. The new Honorary Ambassadors represent start-ups, established technology companies and universities.

On the occasion of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the investment promotion agency on the campus of ETH Zurich, the best university in Continental Europe, Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA) appointed ten entrepreneurs, executives and opinion leaders as "Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassadors". After appointments in San Francisco (2017) and Boston (2018), GZA has for the first time awarded personalities in Zurich.

In addition to honoring outstanding achievements, the Honorary Ambassador program has great value for GZA's activities. The Honorary Ambassadors carry the excellence of Greater Zurich as a technology and business location out into the world and inform and support other companies interested in expanding into or within Europe in a credible manner.

Sonja Wollkopf Walt, Managing Director of GZA, appointed the following "Greater Zurich Honorary Ambassdors" (in alphabetical order):

• Mario Jenni, Co-Founder and CEO, Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich
• Mads Joergensen, Chief Financial Officer, Georg Fischer AG
• Andreas Lamprecht, Chief Technology Officer, AirMap, Inc.
• Annette Luther, General Manager, Roche Diagnostics International AG
• Lorenz Meier, Co-Founder, Auterion AG
• Kevin Sartori, Co-Founder, Auterion AG
• Sarah M. Springman, Rector, ETH Zurich
• Lea von Bidder, Co-Founder and designated CEO, Ava AG
• Andreas Wieland, CEO, Hamilton Bonaduz AG
• Katherine Xin, Associate Dean (Europe), China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

After the award ceremony, Mario Jenni, Co-Founder and CEO of Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zurich, said: "By combining world-class universities, large international companies, innovative SMEs and dynamic start-ups with an unbeatable quality of life, Greater Zurich is playing in the top league of globally successful metropolitan regions. It is a great honor for me to represent this business location internationally as an Honorary Ambassador."

Mads Joergensen, Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Committee of the industry group Georg Fischer, said: "I am thrilled to work with GZA to promote our region, the Greater Zurich Area – not only as one of the best business locations in the world, but also a location which offers so much quality of life."

Andreas Lamprecht, Chief Technology Officer of California-based tech start-up AirMap: "The Greater Zurich Area is the ideal location for AirMap to develop and test the drone traffic management system of the future. In addition to the well-known locational advantages, we also find first-class partners from the drone and robotics ecosystem, as well as the support of the relevant authorities like the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) and air navigation service provider Skyguide." AirMap founded its European headquarters in Zurich in 2018 with the support of GZA.

Kevin Sartori, Co-Founder of Auterion: "I'm proud to represent the Greater Zurich Area abroad and delighted by the Honorary Ambassador award. I lived and worked in Silicon Valley for several years and decided to come back to Zurich with the intention to found Auterion. The Greater Zurich Area offers highly skilled and diverse engineering talent, a strong ecosystem in drone technology, solid international connections, and an unrivaled quality of life. This made it the ideal location to found Auterion, a deep-tech company focused on international customers."

Lea von Bidder, Co-Founder and designated CEO of Ava, was also delighted with the award: "As a young Zurich entrepreneur, I am proud to continue championing the Greater Zurich Area as an Honorary Ambassador". Ava, whose bracelet for measuring the female cycle is already sold in 36 countries, is one of the flagships of the startup scene of Greater Zurich.

Andreas Wieland, CEO of the medical technology company Hamilton Bonaduz AG, explained: "On behalf of our employees, I received the diploma of Honorary Ambassador, which I was very pleased about. Hamilton will continue to advocate Greater Zurich as a location."

Preview from the award ceremony on August 27, 2019 in Zurich. See the full gallery here.

From left to right on the first picture: Sonja Wollkopf Walt (GZA Managing Director), Lorenz Meier (Auterion), Kevin Sartori (Auterion), Balz Hösly (GZA Chairman), Andreas Lamprecht (AirMap), Carmen Walker Späh (President of the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich), Annette Luther (Roche Diagnostics), Mario Jenni (Bio-Technopark), Andreas Wieland (Hamilton Bonaduz), Sarah M. Springman (ETH Zürich). Missing in the picture: Mads Joergensen (Georg Fischer), Lea von Bidder (Ava), Katherine Xin (CEIBS).

All Images © Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA) - These images may only be used for non-commercial purposes and with complete citation (Greater Zurich Area Ltd / Jean-Luc Grossmann).