About the ranking
The Swiss Lions Advisory Board
The Swiss Lions 100 is reviewed by the Swiss Lions Advisory Board: three independent experts who each take responsibility for one part of the method, review every change to it, and check the results before an edition is published. The editor is the fourth founding member and is accountable for each edition.
The board was formed with the first edition. Its founding members are introduced below as they are announced.
Founding members
Each adviser reviews the evidence behind one part of the methodology and checks the results before an edition is published.
Founding member
Global Business Adviser
Reviews the revenue and financial figures behind the global scale part of the methodology, and the assessment of Swiss value.
A background in applied mathematics, consulting at a Big Four firm and general management, including the administration of a Swiss business faculty.
Founding member
Sustainability Adviser
Reviews the climate and sustainability evidence behind the impact part of the methodology.
A sustainability strategist who advises international organisations and companies on climate, impact and reporting.
Founding member
Philanthropy Adviser
Reviews the foundations and charitable giving behind the impact part of the methodology.
A grantmaking and fundraising specialist with experience in Swiss foundations and international humanitarian organisations.
Founding member
David Towers
Founder and Editor
Responsible for the ranking and its publication. Leads the global visibility part of the methodology, which draws on brand and media data.
Senior Partner at a global media agency, with more than 15 years in media and advertising for global brands. Co-chair of the EACA AI Hub, contributor to the World Economic Forum's work on AI in media and entertainment, and board member of several foundations.
What the advisory board does
The editor is accountable for each edition. The advisory board reviews it.
Its role
The board reviews any change to the method before it is applied, and checks the draft results before an edition is published, to catch errors and inconsistencies. It advises on how each measure can improve as better public data becomes available, and members answer questions from journalists and researchers on their area of expertise, alongside the editor.
What it does not do
It does not set or adjust individual scores. Every score follows from published data and the published method. Board members and the editor do not review the scores of organisations they work with or for, and declare such links to the board. Members are not paid by ranked companies for their role on the board.
How the board works
The year runs to a data cut-off of 30 June. Over the summer the editor collects the figures and calculates the scores under the published method. The board then reviews the draft results and any proposed change to the method, in writing and at one meeting, before the editor signs off and the edition is published in the autumn with its sources. Between editions, members answer questions on their area and bring forward improvements as better public data appears.
From the editor
Why I started the Swiss Lions 100
When I became Swiss, I was curious which of the companies that carry Switzerland’s name around the world are still Swiss in any real sense, where they are run, what they make here, who owns them and what they give back. No single source answered that with public, verifiable data, so I built one.
Only one of the 100 brands in this ranking was founded in the last twenty years. I hope the Swiss Lions 100 encourages the next ones, and helps keep a good part of the value they create in Switzerland as they grow.
I have worked in brand building in Lausanne for over ten years, and some of the brands in this ranking have been clients of my employer. To keep the ranking fair, every score comes from publicly verifiable information, and an advisory board of independent experts reviews the sources, the weights and the methodology.
David Towers, Editor
Questions about the method
Journalists and researchers can contact the editor with questions about the method or a particular result.