january-2012

THE POWER OF SPORT
GENEVAISTHELITTLECITYTHATPUNCHESFARABOVE
its weight. It is famous as the home of luxury watches and the
birthplace of the internet. It’s celebrated as a city where diff erent
countries and cultures come together: more than 20 international
organisations have their base here, including the
United Nations. It also has some 11 museums
and is one of the greenest cities in Europe. But
sport? While bursting with potential, Geneva
has still to make it on the sporting stage. Until
now. Hugh Quennec (pictured right), a Swiss-
Canadian entrepreneur and fi nancier who grew
up in Montreal, became president and co-owner
of Genève-Servette Hockey Club (GSHC) in
2006. With a wealth of business experience and
a passion for ice hockey, Quennec has devoted
himself to putting Geneva on the sporting map.
But his goal isn’t just to give Geneva’s ice hockey
team a shot at winning the championship. It is to give the city all
the benefi ts that a strong sporting philosophy can off er.
Before we met, I did a little background reading to get a taste
of what Quennec has already achieved in the last six years. Since he
took over at GSHC, average attendance at the games has almost
P R I V A T A I R
Hugh Quennec has injected his business philosophy
into the Genève-Servette Hockey Club. As a result,
the club’s mission is now about far more than just
winning games, says Charlotte Pénet
Eighty
doubled and today regular sell-out crowds reach 7,200. Sales of
season tickets rose by 70 per cent, the ice-rink at Les Vernets has
been renovated and the project for a new bigger, better rink with
increased capacity is expected to fi nish in 2015. Th e team’s
performance has gone from strength to strength
under the management of Chris McSorley, who
co-owns the club with Quennec. Th ey have
reached the play-off s seven times in the last eight
years and have twice been the Swiss vice-champions
in the last four seasons. Th ere’s a new
consistency to the performance that is a sure sign
of a solid structure. Home games are no longer
just sporting events; they have become huge
spectacles that keep pulling in the crowds. Fans
no longer come just for the game alone, they
come for the experience, the music, the giant
screens, the animations and the mascots Calvin
and Calvina. Th ey come to see the live eagle, Sherkan, soar above the
rink at every game. Th ere’s real, palpable emotion and GSHC has
become an environment fi lled with positive energy where politicians
and business executives sit alongside working-class fans. Quennec
and McSorley have managed to completely transform the club.
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