{"id":25560,"date":"2023-08-02T10:08:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T08:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swiss-watch-passport.ch\/interview-tekitoi-vladimir-zennaro-ceo-de-bergeon\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T14:20:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T12:20:43","slug":"whoareu-interview-bergeon-ceo-vladimir-zennaro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swiss-watch-passport.ch\/en\/whoareu-interview-bergeon-ceo-vladimir-zennaro\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhoAreU\u201d Interview: Bergeon CEO Vladimir Zennaro"},"content":{"rendered":"

My name is Amandine, I am 11 years old. I am keen on watchmaking and, since the age of 7, when asked what job I want to do, I answer \u201cwatchmaker-designer at Bulgari<\/em>\u201d\u2026 In the meantime, I am interviewing people in the sector.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Amandine, the youngest Swiss Watch Passport columnist<\/em>
\nPortrait Amandine<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Insta SWP<\/a> | Insta JSH\u00ae<\/a> | Insta Amandine<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | Linkedin<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Who are you at the office?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m the director of the Company Bergeon. And my name is Vladimir Zennaro, a first name of Italian origin I might add.<\/p>\n

And who are you at home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m the same Vladimir Zennaro. I don’t really change who I am. I’m a happy father and grandfather.<\/p>\n

How did you get involved in the watchmaking industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

By pure chance! I came to Bergeon a few decades ago with no idea of what the watchmaking world was like. I was looking for a challenge in a position linked to procurement, purchasing and sales. There was an opportunity and I joined the company where I’ve been for 36 years now.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

What do you remember about your first watch?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That’s a very good question, and you see, without knowing that you were going to ask me today, I thought about it not so long ago. I had an uncle who was working for a big Swiss watch company. And he used to give watches to his children. When I was six or seven, I told him that I was a little disappointed that he’d never given me one and he came for Christmas with a magnificent watch for me. I’m not sure what brand it was, but surprisingly, it must have been a LIP model. For those who know, LIP is a very old company and I don’t know what happened to it, unfortunately. I was very proud of this watch and wore it for years at school, and everyone wondered where I got it. Then I got others and I don’t know where that very first one gone.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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What do watches mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They represent exceptional, complicated, interesting and volatile know-how. And at the same time, it’s a source of ambition for many people. Owning a watch wasn’t necessarily a foregone conclusion, but today we can see that interest in watches, across all generations, has not decreased at all. They represent something quite special in terms of an object you can covet, the object you can afford in your lifetime.<\/p>\n

You are CEO of Bergeon, which manufactures tools for watches. Can you tell me a little about this company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few words won’t be enough. Joking aside, we’re an SME with around sixty employees. It went through the transition from a very family-run business at the origin, over two centuries ago, to a more regional and then international company (a hundred years ago, we were already selling all over the world). This organization grew with the international distribution until its reconversion, some ten years ago, from a primarily commercial company to one that produces and carries out its own projects. It’s a game change that brought a company with a craft vocation to an industrial enterprise.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Why should I buy a Bergeon tool rather than another? An Asian one, for example?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may seem anecdotal, but basically, in absolute terms, any Asian tool will look like a Bergeon tool. So a priori, if I don’t have an absolute reason, I can buy an Asian product. However, what we’ve been seeing for a very long time now is that, over time, the Asian tool will break down a little more quickly, or even much more quickly. And the tools we manufacture at home, because we also have a tradition of using tools, enable us to have objects that are very durable, with no programmed obsolescence, unlike electronic devices, for example. The company’s proximity to the watchmaking world also means that the products we develop and produce are driven by the watchmaking spirit. So we’re in tune with the finished product. This also gives the user of our tools the conviction that when he buys a Swiss product, and if possible Bergeon in absolute terms, he has bought a small part of the watchmaking world.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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I saw that Bergeon is also involved in medtech, why is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because there’s a similarity in terms of precision and microtechnology. But it’s important to understand the difference between producing objects that go into the human body, be they syringes, implants or prostheses, and producing the tools that will enable these objects to be manufactured. Our vocation is obviously not to be linked to the products that go into the human body, but rather to be the partner of the companies that produce these objects. If we take, for example, our tools for measuring the tightness of a screw, we can understand the importance of control in certain aspects of medicine, when we have to ensure the resistance of a screw in an object, in an arm, on a bone. This vocation to be a microtechnology at the service of many professions, including medtech, seemed to us to be quite opportune. We are therefore in the process of completing a number of stages and gaining certification from customers who are directly involved in the medical sector.<\/p>\n

I’ve seen that Bergeon is very active on social networks. Do you prefer TikTok, LinkedIn or Instagram?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Vladimir Zennaro: LinkedIn is something extremely important for us because it's a professional network that allows us to communicate about the company's values, its developments as well as its employees.\"<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Instagram, in absolute terms, for extremely ephemeral publications. That’s what we do, and today we have someone in the company who’s in charge of it. We’re going to play with objects and highlight some features. LinkedIn is also extremely important for us, because it’s a professional network that enables us to communicate about the company’s values, its developments and its employees. I have to admit that TikTok isn’t one for us at the moment. We’ll see if we’re pushed to use this network too.<\/p>\n

Since youth and training seem to be important to you, what advice would you give to a young person like me who is interested in watchmaking?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>