Nearly half of top managers and executives in Switzerland come from abroad, the latest report from executive recruitment agency Schilling Partners has revealed. In recent years, expats have become all the more essential in running Swiss businesses, and now head some of the country’s most well-known firms.

Nearly half of top executives in Switzerland aren't Swiss

According to the report, the number of executives without a Swiss passport has soared in the last 18 years. In 2006, Swiss citizens made up 64 percent of executive board members at the country’s 100 largest companies. Today, it is just 51 percent.

As of 2025, those with residence permits now make up 49 percent of board members and top executives, and in the last year, 63 percent of people being given CEO, CFO, CIO and other top jobs come from overseas. 48 different nationalities are now represented in the executive branch of the 100 top Swiss companies, up from just 23 in 2006.

Switzerland remains attractive for expat workers

Writing in the report, publisher Guido Schilling attributed the rise to the strength of Swiss salaries and the good performance of the economy in recent years. “Neighbouring countries, particularly Germany, have struggled with a recession since COVID-19, making Switzerland and its employers more attractive,” he explained.

“While it was more challenging to recruit qualified executives from abroad in recent years, Switzerland’s stable economic environment has once again enhanced its appeal… We have always been a country of immigration, which is reflected in the high proportion of foreigners who have spent most of their careers in Switzerland,” he concluded.

Expats now head some of the country's most well-known businesses

Along with packing the boards of the largest companies, recent years have seen internationals take the lead of Switzerland's most well-known banks, financial institutions and other major firms. At the beginning of April, for example, British national Sir Noel Quinn assumed the chairmanship of Julius Bär - he doesn’t even speak German. Irish national Colm Kelleher is the current chairman of UBS, while at Nestlé, only two of the 18-member board are Swiss. 

Blick noted that of the top 10 largest companies in Switzerland, only two have a Swiss CEO, namely Ticinese Sergio Ermotti at UBS and Aargauer Peter Voser at ABB. When it comes to chairpeople, only internet provider Swisscom and insurance firm Swiss Life have Swiss hands at the wheel.

Thumb image credit: Yasemin Yurtman Candemir / Shutterstock.com