Nicolas Hayek, head of the Swatch Group, has confirmed that he plans to concentrate on the chairmanship of the company. The cigar-smoking boss owns 36 per cent of the Swatch Group, which produces not just the eponymous plastic watch, hut also brands such as Omega, Tissot and Blancpain.
Hayek, best-known as the manager who tuned round the ailing Swiss watchmaking industry with the plastic Swatch in the 80s, says he wants to hand the CEO role, and day-to-day operations, to his son Nicolas Hayek, Jr. Some fund managers believe Hayek's son, who has studied American marketing and management techniques, is better suited to leading the company. They point to the CEO's autocratic style as being ill adapted to the group's global strategy.
