Interview with Paul Merz, new Chairman of the Alp ICT Expert Committee, and Delphine Seitiée, General Secretary
"For a long time, I thought Alp ICT was an empty shell," says Paul Merz, new chairman of the platform's expert committee.
Since January 1, 2022, Paul Merz has been Chairman of the Board of Experts of Alp ICT, the platform promoting digital technology to SMEs in French-speaking Switzerland. With Delphine Seitiée, the organization's General Secretary, the Geneva-based serial entrepreneur details his vision for Switzerland to (finally) take its rightful place in the tech ecosystem.
Mr. Merz, you've set up six companies in the last ten years. Has the Alp ICT network played a part in your entrepreneurial adventures? ?
Paul Merz: No. I tried to get closer to the platform when I launched in 2014, but for a long time I didn't understand what Alp ICT was for, what it could bring us. I would find it appropriate for companies to be more represented in public bodies that support the economy. To understand business, you have to live it. At the time, I hadn't identified the networking opportunities offered by Alp ICT, and the monitoring we did in-house seemed more relevant. I quickly turned my back on it, before getting interested again about 3 years ago.
Why chair the expert committee of a platform whose usefulness you have long failed to understand? ?
PM: For all those companies that, like mine 10 years ago, need help today. As a young entrepreneur, I didn't find the people who could have guided me towards the right tools and referrals. I didn't see what Alp ICT had to offer, its wealth and its network. I wasted a lot of time, energy and money trying to find solutions on my own. I've learned a lot from my mistakes, and now I'd like to share my experience so that others don't repeat them.
" We need to get the formidable talent pool that Romandie has to offer working on the right subjects."
I also know that Switzerland has a place to play in the European tech ecosystem. To do this, we need to feel the winds of innovation, understand the real needs of companies and get the formidable pool of talent in the French-speaking part of the country working on the right issues. I want to raise awareness of these issues within the ecosystem, so that we can obtain the resources we need to meet the colossal strategic, economic, social and even ethical challenges we face. I have watched with interest the initiatives of the team that has taken over the operational management of Alp ICT in 2019. I've seen them bring a fresh look, a new approach and a lot of energy. They convinced me that this platform was the right vehicle for moving forward.
Delphine Seitiée: Paul is very critical, but also very constructive. It was for these qualities that we identified him with the former chairman of the expert committee, Pascal Eichenberger. We wanted a fresh, unformatted, field-oriented viewpoint.
"Share your experience" . What do you mean by this ? What do you have to pass on to SMEs in French-speaking Switzerland ?
PM: My original career path has led me to deal with a wide range of technology-related subjects and issues. From web designer to web developer, I became director of MAJ digital. In this digital agency, I advised major local companies on their digital strategy, developed innovative applications requiring the implementation of new business models, structured information systems and implemented projects for the tokenization of assets on blockchain.
Then I became an investor, then the owner of an industrial SME with Motosacoche. I had to hire and manage dozens of employees, implement software and SAAS solutions to manage accounting, marketing, HR and logistics, and manage networks of computers and servers. Digitalization affects all levels of a company, whatever its sector. My background is full of problems in the field for which I've had to find solutions, and I'm happy to share them with anyone who needs them.
DS: Paul's state of mind and his willingness to share his experiences and his vision of the digital world are a real asset for Alp ICT. Paul tells us what he thinks, we move fast, test and adapt.
Alp ICT is financed by the French-speaking cantons and SECO as part of an institutional program to support innovation. Doesn't this complexity hinder your work? ?
PM: It took me a while to understand the ecosystem, the limits and the missions of each stakeholder. Unlike a private company, these public bodies have very limited spheres of action. Drawing up a strategy and an action plan is sometimes a balancing act. But the diversity of viewpoints and expectations is more enriching than hindering. In day-to-day operations, it remains a small, agile structure that can draw on a powerful network. I'm not in favor of creating a behemoth; we need to keep this agility, it's a strength. All we need is the resources to match the stakes.
DS: This rich and dense network gives us operational staff a multitude of points of contact with the field. They support us and open doors for us, while leaving us a great deal of autonomy. The cantons play the inter-cantonal game very well. It's important to emphasize this in a country where people are proud to be Swiss, proud to be from Geneva or Neuchâtel, but rarely proud to be from Romandy.
"The digital train left a long time ago and Switzerland was left on the platform."
Chairman of the Alp ICT expert committee is an open-ended assignment. What do you want to have accomplished before you hand in the suit you've just donned? ?
PM: Beyond the representative role of the platform's expert committee, most of the work is advisory. The digital train set off a long time ago, and Switzerland has been left behind. But even if our country has a very slow adoption curve for digital tools, it can count on a high-quality pool of technical skills that leads to excellence. We know we won't be the first, but we have the means to be the best. I'm convinced that we can still hold our own in the great global digital game if we work together with universities, clusters, cantons and companies, and choose our battles wisely. At Alp ICT level, this means making intelligent use of our limited resources to be as exhaustive in our monitoring as we are in the subjects we support. Together with the expert committee, we have to build bridges between the needs of companies and the objectives of the country, in collaboration with the cantonal economic services. If, through my commitment, I can have played a part in this, I'll be satisfied with my results.
Very well, then. But how ? Alp ICT presents itself as a " platform" , a " liaison agent" or even a " network" that aims to " encourage synergies in the field of information and digital technologies" . What does this mean in concrete terms ?
DS: We're doing everything we can to connect the tech and SME worlds through our primary mission, which is to share information. At our " Tech Demo " or " Industry Connect" events, when a partnership takes shape or a business leader gets an answer to a question that Google doesn't know the answer to, we've fulfilled our mission. And this is happening more and more often, because we build our programs around feedback from the field, to ground them in real life, the real issues facing SMEs.
Our events are a far cry from a series of "keynotes" given by eloquent "speakers". We invite project managers who have their hands in the grease all year round, and prepare them to come and present exemplary achievements that can inspire their peers. After nearly four years' work in this direction, word of mouth is beginning to spread: what we offer is both very "down-to-earth" and very accessible. People know.
PM: This is indeed what has changed at Alp ICT. It's no longer a question of pushing top-down information opportunistically, disconnected from reality and consumed passively. The team spends a lot of time listening to companies to understand their needs. It responds by delivering intelligent, dynamic information via events in which participants actually take part.
" We're going to shine a spotlight on the hidden digital nuggets in French-speaking Switzerland !"
You can prove it, this paradigm shift ?
DS: Yes, we score an average of 90% in satisfaction surveys carried out on the events we organize. At the same time, the number of followers and subscribers to the Alp ICT newsletter has continued to grow. Today, 14,000 people follow us, including almost 2,800 on LinkedIn. That's four times more than at the start of 2020! We're also very proud of the fact that, every year, we're the source of around a hundred contacts between companies in French-speaking Switzerland.
This will be your first building site ?
PM: No, my third. My first task was to understand the complex environment in which Alp ICT operates, and to find out how I could add value to it. The second will be my scheduled meetings with our various partners. A good way of gauging our room for manoeuvre. I'd also like to encourage the committee of experts to think about other performance indicators, revealing both the economic and environmental impact of our actions.
DS: Paul also spends a lot of time answering our questions. His knowledge and vision of the digital environment are invaluable to us as an operational team. He guides us in our choices. For example, he helped us design the new portrait format we'll be launching next month: we'll be shining a spotlight on the hidden digital nuggets in French-speaking Switzerland!
Interview by Charles Foucault-Dumas
Paul Merz in 5 dates
2004 Leaves school at 18, works in sales and learns to code in his spare time
2010 Embarks on entrepreneurship by selling his first websites
2012 Founded his first company, MAJ Holding, in Geneva. Over the next 10 years, he set up 5 other companies in Switzerland, France and Portugal.
2020 buys the legendary Geneva brand Motosacoche and relaunches it
2022 Takes over chairmanship of Alp ICT expert committee