Leading and managing the project, taking care of the brand collaborations and ensuring the R&D partner acquisition for some fields. By implementing the strategy and breaking it down into operational goals I take care of the alignment with all internal and external stakeholders, checking in on milestones and defining priorities. I also act as the sparring partner for the Marketing team to visualize our groundbreaking ingredient brand and technology. In short, my contribution is connecting the dots and holding the fort together, from our headquarters in Zürich.

Regarding motivation, being part of the fashion industry for so long I am thrilled to work towards a new textile future – textile 2.0 – where brands work together, commit to sustainable goals and the end consumer is aware of their impact. Fashion and Textile must reinvent itself. The old textile world as we know it will soon no longer exist. 

Brands need to network with new partners and adapt their vision to a new reality. A brand message nowadays needs to contain more than the color and style definition for the next season. Brands need to be authentic and transparent by transmitting a sharp vision of how they deal with the priority topics of society such as politics, ethical standards, diversity, and inclusion, as well as the challenges the industry now faces. And this includes the sustainability gap, the unnecessary textile waste, or the changing desires of Gen Z.

Looking at this from an organizational point of view and coming from somehow overstructured companies I am excited about how fast you can go with a visionary and relentless leader, a handful of skilled people with good manners and no politics that are intrinsically motivated and have the freedom to operate. We launched the project one year ago in October 2021, and it is amazing what we have achieved in only 12 months! This is more than a compliment for everybody involved and all HeiQ people working in the matrix organization supporting us along the journey.