Recruitment heralds new phase for start-ups

Utopia Music, a music technology company based in Zug, is embarking on a new chapter with the appointment of Alain Couttolenc as its new CEO. With over 25 years of experience, Alain Couttolenc is a highly recognized business leader with a deep understanding of data and media. Prior to joining Utopia Music, he served as the Chief Development Officer at Ipsos, one of the world’s largest data companies and held top leadership positions at Nielsen Media.

Couttolenc will further develop Utopia’s solutions for the music industry by leveraging data to help music companies understand, reach, and engage with their consumers. He will focus on strengthening Utopia’s services by improving how data is processed and enhanced, as well as delivering clear and accurate data with the goal of creating added value and ROI for Utopia’s clients. Mattias Hjelmstedt, who has been leading Utopia as its Executive Chairman since February 2023, will step down from his executive position and resume his former role as Chairman of the Board. “I stepped into the role as Executive Chairman to guide Utopia through a tough but necessary transformation that was brought on by changed market conditions. With a lot of this work being behind us, I’m now very excited to hand over to Alain.»

ExerGo - Chief Commercial Officer

In a strategic move, ExerGo, a startup specializing in solutions for low temperature thermal networks for smart heating and cooling, has appointed Julien Favre as their new Chief Commercial Officer. Julien is equipped with nearly two decades of experience in international business development and finance. Before joining ExerGo, he worked as a European CFO and Business Unit President at KraftHeinz, where he managed large multinational teams in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “Having a market-ready technology and its first project completed, ExerGo is ready to expand. I believe that my skills and international experience will benefit the development of ExerGo», Julien Favre explains.

KetoSwiss – Head of Finance

KetoSwiss, a Basel-based startup in the field of medical foods, recently also welcomed a new senior-level team member. Oliver Scherrer, a high-level professional with over 20 years of experience in financial planning, accounting, fundraising and e-commerce ecosystems, has joined the team as head of finance. He brings a plethora of expertise and entrepreneurial spirit, having worked in various industries and holding a Master’s degree in international relations and an MA in international trading, commodity finance and shipping. He has founded, grown and sold several companies and worked as an investment manager, trader and in business development.

(Press release / SR)
Picture L-R: Alain Couttolenc, Julien Favre, Oliver Scherrer