Juliana Pantet appointed to lead Y-Parc

Juliana Pantet was nominated at the end of the recruiting process led by the selection committee and the Board of Directors of Y-Parc. Around eighty entries were received following the call for applications. She will succeed Sandy Wetzel who retired office in May 2017.

Pantet holds a doctorate in law from the John F. Kennedy School of Law in California. Following her studies in the United States, she began her career as a trade commissioner at the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco for four years. She then served as Director of Partnership and Growth for Beehive Holdings between San Francisco and Vancouver from 2013 to present.

As a Trade Commissioner, Pantet accompanied Canadian companies interested in establishing a presence in the United States and, conversely, American companies interested in Canada. "She was advising them, helping them raise funds, or building partnerships. This applies not only to start-ups but also to multinationals", said Vice-President Pierre-Luc Maillefer.

Building on the experience gained in investing in Silicon Valley technology start-ups and the overall economic development for the Canadian Consulate in the areas of technology, trade and innovation, Pantet will focus on strengthening the positioning of Y-Parc as an internationally recognized innovation center, with a view to supporting industrial and technological companies, in particular start-ups.

"Taking the direction of Y-Parc, with its 150 companies and 30 start-ups, is a very interesting opportunity," says Juliana Pantet.

Y-Parc, a rare jewel
According to the new director, Y-Parc is a rare jewel, with its mix of productive and innovative companies. "I noticed with Silicon Valley and East Coast partners that they were very interested in investing in Switzerland," said Pantet. But to realize such settlements, we must be able to present them with opportunities. This is the importance of a network but also of exchanges between companies, parks and universities in order to identify the potential."

For the board of directors, the appointment of a new director is an opportunity to give a new impetus to Y-Parc. "We have the ambition to reposition Y-Parc, which, if it represented something new to its creation, it will be realised at a certain moment," acknowledges Jean-Daniel Carrard, Chairman of the Board of Directors. With 25 hectares available, it still has considerable potential for expansion. The Y-Parc must be an unavoidable element in the economic development of the country. We also count on the sales talent of our new manager", he added.

(ran)