Today, Andreas Häberli has been Chairman of the Board of Directors for 100 days

Andreas Häberli was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Komax Group's Annual General Meeting on April 16, 2025. He succeeded Beat Kälin, who stepped down as Chairman after ten years, but will remain a member of the Board of Directors. Andreas Häberli has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Komax Group since 2017. He is Co-CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of PhenoSign AG, Bubikon, Switerland, and a member of the Board of Directors of the listed company Kardex Holding AG in Zurich. He is also Chairman of the Swissmem Research Commission and a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the ETH Zurich. Andreas Häberli is 57 years old, married and the father of two daughters and a son, all adult by now. Today, Andreas Häberli looks back on exactly 100 days in his tenure and we took this opportunity to meet him for an interview.

Andreas Häberli, you have been on the Board of Directors of the Komax Group for eight years. What do you think characterizes the company?
Komax is a company that has had to face new challenges through time since it was founded in 1975. Time and again, it has succeeded in bringing innovations to the market that would inspire customers. This has shaped a culture that I consider to be unique. To carry on the history of an innovation and market leader is a privilege for all of us, but we also have the responsibility to continue to successfully shape the future of automated wire processing with passion and commitment.

What are the biggest challenges for the Board of Directors in the current economic climate?
The global power blocs that have been established over decades are currently undergoing profound shifts - a political upheaval here, a military volcanic eruption there. What we once cherished as secure values, what has stood the test of time and how we have positioned ourselves, is being called into question. This creates uncertainty, which is unfortunately also reflected in our customers' reluctance to invest. For the Komax Group, this means finding the right balance between change and preservation and not only confronting the new order but also seeing it as an opportunity. It is a challenge for the Board of Directors to regularly review the strategy together with the Group Management and adjust it where necessary so that we are all pulling in the same direction.

How do you assess the future prospects of the Komax Group?
The prospects for the future are very good. We are supported by trends such as automation and the increasing demand for high-quality connections, whether in vehicles, aircraft, complex installations or other demanding applications such as robots and drones, whose potential uses are increasing thanks to artificial intelligence. Furthermore, global changes are opening up opportunities that need to be used to our advantage. In this regard, exciting innovation projects are underway at various Komax Group sites, which gives me additional confidence.

However, the main reason I am highly positive is that we have the opportunities and the skills to actively shape the future of our business. It is important that each and every one of us contributes to continuously improving customer experience, further developing our offering and making our processes more efficient. This involves recognizing changes in the market at an early stage and acting accordingly. It is our will to create, our curiosity, our courage and our creative power that determine the future prospects of the Komax Group. With this in mind, I would like to quote Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the pilot and writer, who is said to have made the following statement: “Il ne s'agit pas de prévoir l'avenir, mais de le rendre possible - As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it."

What role do sustainability and social responsibility play for the Komax Group?Sustainable business practices and a responsible approach to people and the environment are at the heart of the Komax Group's strategy. They influence not only our long-term goals, but also our day-to-day activities. The matter is not about blindly implementing new rules. Rather, clear guidelines combined with common sense help us to act in a sensible and coordinated manner.

In this regard, nature's water cycle is an inspiration for me. It is made up of streams, rivers, oceans, clouds, rain and mountains. Each element contributes something to the cycle and I too want to be part of a sustainable cycle with my daily work. This is not always easy, especially in our fast-moving times. It requires us to think beyond the moment. The Komax cycle will only remain sustainable if we create real value with innovative products, fair wages and healthy, profitable corporate growth and can pass these values on to customers, employees, partners and shareholders. This includes facing up to ecological challenges, treating each other with respect and building trust through transparency and fairness. I am convinced that the Komax Group is on the right track.

What appeals to you about working on a Board of Directors?
I have been operationally active in various roles for over 30 years. This has given me a lot of pleasure, but has also taught me humility, because a team can always achieve more than an individual. In the operational hustle and bustle, I was sometimes overwhelmed without even realizing it. At such times, I sometimes wished I had someone who could observe and support me with an independent perspective and a little distance from the day-to-day business to ensure not to lose sight of the big picture. My understanding of the role of a member of the Board of Directors can perhaps best be described as a “critical friend” of the CEO and the Group Management. In this sense, she or he provides support, advice and critical scrutiny to ensure that problems are addressed openly and challenges are not hidden under a cloak of supposed harmony or excessive demands, but are tackled and resolved consistently and in the best interests of the Group. It is important that we as a Board of Directors actively take on this role, because I am convinced that we can contribute to the success of the Komax Group by doing so.

To conclude, a personal question: How do you prefer spending your leisure time?
I enjoy spending time in nature with my family or playing sport. An example: I discovered my passion for badminton about fifteen years ago. Since then, I've been meeting up with an engineer, two wood artists, a bus driver, a policewoman and a banker on Sunday mornings at 9:30 o’clock and usually one additional evening during the week. After an ambitious game, we chat about the world over coffee, cider or beer and forget both our victories and the defeats we have suffered.