The history of Executives International goes back almost half a century, when it was founded by the great and sorely missed Maurice Raphaël – president since the club's inception and for a glorious 22 years. In 1990, Maurice stepped aside to allow John Fearn to take the reins, the first of the new wave of elected presidents serving much shorter terms.
Past Presidents
Maurice Raphaêl
Period: 1968 - 1990
From its inception in 1968 and for well over twenty years Maurice ran the club he created - gradually building its membership, creating business-related events, inspiring speakers and tirelessly handling all the administrative tasks and member liaison single-handed. Now in its fourth decade, Maurice was extremely proud to see his club having developed into a dynamic, networking group serving members of all nationalities throughout the Léman region and beyond. Even of late, Maurice kept abreast of EI's activities and never failed to wish us well before an event.
For those of you who had the privilege of knowing Maurice, we are sure you will agree, he was a true gentleman and quite remarkable even in his 99th year. He always remained spot on with current affairs and wasnever lost for a pertinent story oran amusing anecdote. Maurice - an outstanding personality - with his gentle manner, humourand steadfast encouragement- will be sorely missed.
John H. Fearn
Nationality: British
Profession: Human Resources and Executive Search Consultant
Period: 1990 - 1993
John is a managing partner of Fearn Associates, a successful Executive Search and consulting practice he founded in 1979 in St-Sulpice. He held the position of President of Executives International from 1990-1992.
In June 2011, after 21 years as an active Committee member, John has decided to step down. Nevertheless, we still look forward to seeing John at our events and to sharing his good wit as the Committee is delighted to announce that he will remain with us as Honorary Life President of our business-metworking group. Our many thanks to John for his continued support and bonne continuation!
Philip Hoegarts
Period: 1993 - 1996
Jonathan A. Bourget
Profession: Business Development
Period: 1997 - 1998
After acting as an adviser on real-estate investment strategies for institutional investors, Jonathan directed his career into international business development and strategic planning. A Business Analysis Manager for a leading global company, he oversees the activities of a group of European manufacturing locations.
Jonathan held the position of President of Executives International during the 1997-1998 season when he successfully led the re-engineering of the club, helping to forge it into the dynamic networking platform we enjoy today.
Having returned to Switzerland in 2003, we are pleased to welcome Jonathan back as a Member.
Jan Nigel Bladen
Period: 1999 - 2003
Jan Nigel Bladen joined in 1996 and held the post of Treasurer in 1997-98, taking the role of president in 1999.
Jan was born in the Netherlands in 1968 and is both a British and Swiss citizen. Brought up in the Far East, Middle East, Europe and Africa, he was educated in French embassy and British public schools. Fluent in English, French and Spanish and obtained an MBA (Summa cum laude) from Lausanne in 1993, Jan is married and has a daughter.
Jan's professional experience combines operational risk and consultancy experience in both national and international levels. From 1999 to 2002 Jan was the President of Executives International, and also during this period, was a Committee Member of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce. His leisure activities involve both horses and mountains (including a Mt. Everest Expedition and more recently the Complete Lunana Snowman Expedition through the Kingdom of Bhutan). Despite his transfer to Dubai, Jan remains a member of Executives International and is regular contact with our business group which we feel remains very much dear to his heart.
Barry Mitchell Craker
Period: 2003 - 2004
Barry Mitchell Craker was an independent advisor to a private bank in Geneva, acquiring new clients for the bank and acting as protector to the client. He arrived in Switzerland in 1967 and spent most of his professional career in banking and finance. EI Member since 1998 and President from 2002-2003.
It is with much sadness that we learnt that Barry passed away on October 9th 2005, aged only 59 years. Doubtless, many will recall Barry's unique charm, his impeccable, very British manner and ever-jovial nature. He is particularly remembered not only for his hard work, both as a Committee Member and during his term as President, but also for the boundless enthusiasm he always showed for Executives International. There is probably a humorous anectdote that may come to mind when thinking of Barry and, we imagine, this is the way he would probably wish to be remembered.
Marco Baiguini
Nationality: Swiss
Period: 2004 - 2008
More than 20 years' experience in the travel and tourism business makes him an all-rounder in this field - as well as well as training in sales, marketing and tactical management.
Marco further strengthened his management know-how through an executive MBA programme at the Business School Lausanne.
His interests include travel, photography, biking (Harley Davidson, director of the Geneva Chapter) and cooking.
Paul J. English
Nationality: Australian/Swiss
Profession: Managing Director - English Communications S.A.
Period: 2008 - 2009
Originally from Sydney, Australia, Paul worked as a teacher, career advisor, coach and consultant. He also worked in Australia and overseas as a professional singer and musician. Moving to Switzerland in 1991, Paul qualified and worked as a radio journalist and on-air presenter for Swiss Radio International and then Geneva’s WRG-FM (which he helped to found). Later, he was the WRG-FM station manager before moving to the I.C.R.C. as a senior manager, heading the Production, Marketing and Distribution Division for over five years.
Active in the fields of communication and audio-visual production, Paul has also run his own Swiss-registered voice-over and voice-training agency, Voicebox since 1998. He now combines all of his in-depth knowledge and considerable experience in education, management and communication in offering multimedia production services as well as exciting communication workshops with his new company, English Communications SA.
Bill Morrison
Nationality: Scottish
Profession: Management consultant (focusing on sales & marketing)
Period: 2011 - 2015
Bill has been an international sales and marketing leader for more than two decades and set up the Swiss office of Sandler Training in late 2009. Having lead business development campaigns in markets as varied as Scotch Whisky and Gore-Tex for companies ranging from start-ups to Rolls Royce aerospace, he has wealth of experience to draw on.
Since joining the expat community in the Suisse Romande he has been an active member of the local business world and is keen to help business find new ways to expand. Bill completed his post graduate studies at the Edinburgh Business School and through the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Simon Hardy
Nationality: British
Profession: Owner of Fitting Wines / Personal Wine Consultant
Period: 2015 - 2018
Simon spent almost 25 years in consumer marketing and strategy development roles at Nestlé where he managed brands with global reach such as Nescafé, Maggi and Friskies.
After a variety of assignments in the UK, USA and Switzerland he moved here permanently over ten years ago.
In 2010 he started his own business, Fitting Wines, offering a range of personalized wine services to both private and corporate clients in Switzerland. He is a qualified wine expert having passed the Diploma in Wines & Spirits at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, the leading industry training body in the world, and holds a Master of Arts (Joint Honours) in French and German at the University of Oxford in the UK.
