Zermatt Magazin 2017

Persönlichkeit aus Zermatt | Zermatt Magazin 29
took him to the top of the international
business world was purposeful
and devoid of any major stumbling
blocks.
However, it was a gradual process.
When the exceptionally sharp son
of a good family in Zermatt left college
in Brig with a business degree,
his later career path was not yet
clearly defined. However, it soon
became apparent that this bright
son of a Zermatt hotelier would
make something of himself.
Leadership qualities
and social skills
He learned the skills of the hotel
and restaurant trade along the way
but despite his outstanding personal
skills, running a luxury hospitality
venture was not his true calling.
As the manager of his brother Max,
an Olympic skiing champion, he
entered a whole new world. A world
that really suited him. As a sports
journalist and author of the book
“Pirmin Zurbriggen, Man and
Champion” he amassed his first
and lasting experiences of the world
of media. This inside knowledge
was to prove a positive asset and
give him an edge over rivals in a different
business sphere in the years
to come. As a sports marketer and
manager of international ski stars
such as Pirmin Zurbriggen, Vreni
Schneider and Petra Kronberger,
he gradually built a successful career
in the sports industry. Accolades
were merely a matter of time.
His appointment as CEO of the international
ski company Völkl was a
springboard for his rise to the top of
Intersport International at the age of
40. It was in this fast-changing industry
that Franz Julen made history.
When he joined the company,
Intersport was represented in 16
countries and had a turnover of five
billion Euros. In his 17 years as CEO
Intersport grew to being the largest
sporting goods retailer in the world,
with companies in 65 countries and
an 11.3 billion Euro turnover. That
balance sheet caused the business
world to sit up and took notice of
this successful, multilingual manager
and self-made man. His talents
as an astute tactician and diplomat
with a tenacious focus on achieving
his objectives did not remain hidden
within Intersport. He was
preceded by his good reputation as
a modern manager with clear, strategic
guidelines who was able to
lead this global corporation without
neglecting his obligations
back home.
His leadership qualities, honed at
all levels, along with innate social
skills when dealing with his employees
brought him recognition and
respect. Julen shied away from
headhunters: “I knew what I had
and what I was doing at Intersport.”
Julen held back on the offer
of various directorships until his
retirement became imminent. To
date, the only directorship he has
taken on is that of Valora, a small
European retailer in high frequency
locations with a turnover of
2.5 billion francs. Valora is represented
in Switzerland with K Kiosk
Press&Books, Avec, Spettacollo
and Brenzelkönig. Julen will become
Chairman of the Valera Board
in the spring of 2017.
Franz Julen’s
internal clock!
Franz Julen must have an internal
clock ticking away. Through all his
various career stages, he has always
had a sixth sense for choosing the
right time. This was the case with
Intersport: He felt that after 17
years of “working all over the
world”, the moment had come to
step down as CEO and pass the
mantle on to his successors. “There
are enough CEOs who feel that
they are missing out on power, money
and PR when they leave. I’m
not one of them”, is Julen’s view on
this topic.
Enough time
for everything?
Last autumn, Franz Julen spent
many weeks touring the globe with
his successor, the American Victor
Duran, visiting the company’s most
important franchise partners and
suppliers. “At 58 years of age I
didn’t want simply to put my experience
and creativity on ice, which is
why I’m taking on the role of ZBAG
Chairman in Zermatt. I can manage
maximum 3 or 4 directorships in
companies that appeal to me without
overstretching myself and having
a negative effect on efficiency”.
Franz Julen wants to spend more
time with his family, which has been
somewhat short-changed over the
past few decades thanks to his global
obligations. Nurturing friendships,
travelling and taking time to
play sport also feature in his plans
for an active early retirement. In
terms of his hobbies, Julen puts his
robust good health, which he has
continued to enjoy despite his extensive
work commitments, partly
down to sport. “I try to build in an
hour’s sporting activity almost every
day and the weekends tend to
belong to my family”. His sporting
preferences include skiing and tennis.
“My Olympic champion
brother Max had more talent, but I
had more ambition, which is why
I’m still an active inter-club tennis
player at TC Schlieren in the National
‘A + 55’ age group!” Golf has
never had much of a look-in due to
his professional commitments. “But
that’s something that could well
change in future”, hopes Julen. He
remains true to his chosen TV sport
of football, with FC Bayern München
his favourite club. A more intensive
involvement in various cultural
and classical music activities
is, “assuming I have time for everything”,
packed neatly away as an
inner reserve in his holiday luggage.
Zermatt can rejoice. Franz Julen is
on his way!
zm