The CEO of Ulysse Nardin, Patrik P. Hoffmann, can look back on many years of experience in the watchmaking industry. He will continue the management of the company in the spirit of Rolf W. Schnyder, who unexpectedly passed on in mid-April 2011.

 

Patrik P. Hoffmann was born 30 November 1964 in Reigoldswil, Switzerland, where he lived until 1989. Following his training as Accountant, qualifying with the Swiss Federal Certificate (CPA), he was drawn to the USA, where he continued his education at Andrews University, Michigan, studying English, Marketing Management, international Marketing, Sales Management, Marketing Research and Marketing Decision Making. In 1991 he returned to Switzerland with the intention of advancing his knowledge in the field of international sales, and here, in the position of Regional Sales Manager at the watchmakers Oris SA, he looked after the markets USA, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Germany, and Scandinavia, in the period until 1996.

 

In the year 1996, the watch distribution company Swiss Prestige Ltd. offered him a position in Malaysia, so Hoffmann moved to Kuala Lumpur with his wife and three children. As managing director of the firms Swiss Prestige Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, and Swiss Prestige Pte Ltd, Singapore, he supervised all marketing operations in Singapore and Malaysia, among other duties. One year later, in 1997, he additionally assumed the management of Oris International Ltd, Hong Kong, and after one more year, again in addition to his existing work, became managing director of the Asia Pacific regional office of Oris SA Switzerland in 1998.

 

During his sojourn in Malaysia, Hoffmann met Rolf W. Schnyder, who was then the owner and president of the Swiss watch manufacture Ulysse Nardin. Mr Schnyder was looking for a dynamic leadership personality with solid marketing skills and a thorough knowledge of the international watch industry to build up the market position of Ulysse Nardin in the USA. Schnyder and Hoffmann quickly realised that they shared the same vision.

 

In 1999, Hoffmann and his family relocated to Florida. Being the new Vice President and Managing Director of the regional office North America and the Caribbean of Ulysse Nardin Inc., Hoffmann was in charge of the entire business supervision. Under his leadership Ulysse Nardin enormously expanded its presence in the USA and in the Caribbean. The year 2008 saw Patrik P. Hoffmann being appointed to the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing Worldwide, and since then he has been dividing his working time between Le Locle (Switzerland) at Ulysse Nardin's head office, and Boca Raton (Florida, USA) in the U.S. corporate offices. In addition to this he regularly travelled to visit the retail outlets of Ulysse Nardin around the world. In the year 2010 Ulysse Nardin opened the first free-standing boutique in the United States, another milestone in the company's history.

 

After the sudden demise of Rolf W. Schnyder, the Extraordinary General Meeting on 27 April 2011 nominated Patrik P. Hoffmann as the new CEO of the traditional Swiss manufacture.

 

Like his predecessor Rolf Schnyder, Hoffmann too sees the independence of Ulysse Nardin as one of the central factors in the corporate strategy.