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Maximilian Büsser

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Maximilian Büsser
Maximilian Büsser
Occupation(s)2005-present Founder, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of MB&F
1998–2005 CEO of Harry Winston, Inc. Rare Timepieces
1991–1998 Senior executive at Jaeger-LeCoultre

Maximilian Büsser is a Swiss businessman and founder of the watch brand MB&F. Prior to his work at MB&F he was the CEO of Harry Winston, Inc. Rare Timepieces (1998–2005) and a senior manager at Jaeger-LeCoultre (1991–1998). Büsser has lived in Dubai since 2014.[1]

Jaeger-LeCoultre (1991–1998)

Büsser studied engineering at EPFL and received his diploma in microtechnology in 1991.[2] While Büsser left university with the intention of working his way up the ranks of a large international company like Nestlé or Procter & Gamble. However, he was convinced to join the then relatively small Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre, which was then struggling to rebuild after the Quartz Crisis, by Henry-John Belmont, then CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, with the words, "Do you want to be one among 200,000 in a big corporation, or do you want to be among the four or five of us who can save this beautiful company?"[3]

Büsser credits Belmont and Günther Bluemlein (who helped relaunch International Watch Company (IWC), Jaeger-LeCoultre, and A. Lange & Söhne as playing large roles in his early career development.[4][5]

Harry Winston Rare Timepieces (1998–2005)

In 1998 Büsser was headhunted from Jaeger-LeCoultre[6] to become CEO of Harry Winston, Inc. Rare Timepieces based in Geneva. At the time Harry Winston, Inc. was still controlled by the Winston family.[7]

In his seven years at Harry Winston Rare Timepieces Büsser (bought by The Swatch Group in 2013) increased revenue from $8 million to $80 million [8] and created the ground-breaking Opus series of ultra-complicated mechanical watches in collaboration with independent watchmakers.[9]

MB&F (2005 – present)

While at Harry Winston, Inc. Rare Timepieces Büsser had developed concept-style watches for the Opus series, which motivated him to create his own brand and focus on creating three-dimensional kinetic art that he calls "Horological Machines".[10][11]

Büsser's goal for MB&F (for Maximilian Büsser and Friends) is for the company to remain small enough not to require a middle layer of management, which Büsser feels is detrimental to creativity. To that end he has capped the head count at 20 people and sells his timepieces in the hundreds rather than the thousands, although the majority of the brand's watches sell for upwards of $50,000.[10] [12]

Büsser created the first MB&F M.A.D. Gallery in 2011 in Geneva,[13] Switzerland. "M.A.D." stands for Mechanical Art Devices. Büsser considers his timepieces to be kinetic art[14] and created his own art gallery to display his sculptured Horological Machines in the context of mechanical art by other artists.[15]

In addition to Geneva, there are now M.A.D. Galleries in Dubai,[16] Taipei[17] and Hong Kong.[15]

Awards

In 2018, Maximilian Büsser was awarded the Prix Gaïa "Spirit of Enterprise"". . . in recognition of his creative approach to watchmaking in the design and marketing of his products, and for the innovative way he manages his business."[18]

References

  1. ^ "One on One: MB&F CEO Maximilian Büsser Celebrates 10 Years of Creativity". Haute Time. 2016.
  2. ^ "Maximilian Büsser (MT'91)". EPFL Alumni (in French). 13 August 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Maximilian Büsser: 'This Is My Life". The New York Times. 2016.
  4. ^ "Maximilian Busser – Master Horologist". luxe.in.a.city. 2013.
  5. ^ "JCK Asks…Maximilian Büsser". JCK Online. 2011.
  6. ^ ""Keeping time is not the point": Maximilian Büsser". The CEO Magazine. March 2019.
  7. ^ "New Partners Hope to Expand Harry Winston". The New York Times. December 2000.
  8. ^ "Maximilian Büsser: 'This Is My Life'". The New York Times. January 2016.
  9. ^ "The Harry Winston Opus Series: A Complete Overview From Opus 1 Through Opus 13". Quill & Pad. 2015.
  10. ^ a b "MB&F's Maximilian Büsser Is Making Outrageous $230,000 Watches -- And His Business Is Thriving". Forbes. 2015.
  11. ^ "The storyteller: Max Busser". Esquire Middle East. 2015.
  12. ^ "Controversial Watchmaker Maximilian Büsser Reveals What Makes Him Tick". Robb Report. 2015.
  13. ^ "Visiting the MB&F M.A.D Gallery, the crazy artistic universe of Max Busser & Friends". Monochrome Watches. 2016.
  14. ^ "Max Büsser's Accidental Art Gallery Empire". Watch Journal. May 2018.
  15. ^ a b "5 Awesome Mechanical Sculptures You Can't Miss At M.A.D.Gallery". Asia Tatler. 2019.
  16. ^ "Design Days Dubai in partnership with MB&F M.A.D Gallery". Gulf news. 2016.
  17. ^ "MB&F – Second M.A.D.Gallery in Taipei". Europa Star Dubai. 2015.
  18. ^ "The 2018 Gaïa Prize". Feberation of the Swiss Watch Industry. October 2018.

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