With the Hidden Champions series, HSG Alumni invites you behind the scenes of Switzerland’s most fascinating, globally successful yet low-profile companies. These exclusive events offer direct access to entrepreneurial excellence — from family-owned businesses to industry leaders — that shape global markets while staying rooted in Swiss values.
Meet the people behind the success, experience company culture up close, and gain insights that go far beyond the headlines.
The Hidden Champions series was launched thanks to the initiative of HSG alumnus Christoph Walser. He has over 20 years of international leadership experience in the retail and consumer goods industry, including as country manager and member of executive boards. Today, he supports Swiss and European SMEs in strategy and transformation projects and acts as a sparring partner for entrepreneurs and CEOs. Next to his own business he works as Senior Advisor with HSG Alumni Career.
Our third HSG Alumni Hidden Champions event, hosted by Christoph Walser, brought us to Femtoprint in Agno, Ticino a fascinating example of Swiss deep-tech innovation with global reach.
Using ultra-precise lasers, Femtoprint manufactures microscopic 3D structures inside glass to produce advanced components for photonics, watchmaking, and medical technology.
During the visit, Co-founder and CEO Nicoletta Casanova shared fascinating insights into the company’s technology and growth journey. With around 60% of turnover generated in the United States and ~30% annual growth, Femtoprint is now entering a new phase focused on industrialization and scaling production. The company plans to expand from 900m2 in 2024 to 2,400 m² by the end of 2026 to support increasing demand.
In a panel discussion with Andrea Lovato, CTO at Femtoprint, we also explored strategic questions around geopolitical resilience, attracting talent to Ticino, and global expansion — including the potential creation of a production subsidiary abroad, while keeping R&D firmly rooted in Switzerland.
Beyond the impressive technology, what made the visit in Ticino truly inspiring was seeing the HSG community come together: alumni from across Switzerland joined, and five students from SGOC even traveled from the University of St.Gallen back to their home canton of Ticino to engage directly with one of the region’s most exciting deep-tech companies.
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Hidden champion under pressure – and on the move
The second edition of "HSG Alumni Hidden Champions" at Thermoplan impressively demonstrated how the global market leader for professional fully automatic coffee machines combines quality and resilience. Despite the burden of 39% US tariffs — now reduced to 15% — CEO Adrian Steiner remains optimistic: crises are opportunities to learn and move forward
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The HSG Alumni Hidden Champions series kicked off with an inspiring afternoon visit to Lantal Textiles AG in Melchnau. Founded more than 130 years ago, Lantal is a global leader in premium interiors for aircraft, trains, and buses, a true Hidden Champion combining Swiss innovation, craftsmanship, and long-term entrepreneurship.
CEO Dr. Urs Rickenbacher and Luzius Rickenbacher, EVP Aviation Interiors, personally guided participants through the production facilities, offering first hand insights into Lantal’s culture and leadership. Their dialogue reflected the family firm’s enduring values of transparency, trust, loyalty, and continuity, as well as its remarkable resilience and innovation capacity.
Moderated by Dr. Christoph Walser, initiator of the Hidden Champions series, the visit brought entrepreneurship to life with personal stories, authentic encounters, and inspiring conversations that continued well beyond the factory tour.
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