Ivan Zhitenev Participated in Swiss Business Representatives Meeting with Ueli Maurer

Mr. Zhitenev, why do you think you have been invited? What is so unique in Streamer?

Well, being a Swiss project, Streamer has a global reach: we scale up know-hows via the Swiss company throughout the world.
Streamer Electric AG has been implementing projects in China, UK, Indonesia, Colombia, and many other countries.
Apart from the geographical expansion, we cooperate with the universities from Switzerland, Italy, Indonesia while playing a role of an integrator of innovations in the field of the lightning protection of power transmission lines.

What was the meeting dedicated to?

Mr. Maurer wanted to know about the activities and issues of the Swiss business. He wanted to see how companies interact on other regions with each other. This was the subject of the meeting with the businessmen.

Were there any other business representatives apart from you?

There were also representatives of ABB, UBS, Nestle, and other major companies.

How long did your conversation with President continue? What have you managed to discuss?

Each of us was given 3-4 minutes for a speech. My speech has sparked the interest of the other parties and it continued for about 10 minutes because Mr. Maurer was asking additional questions.
During my speech, I mentioned that we have lost scientific personnel from the Swiss company in favor of Australia. This was really on point because everybody knows the Australian rating system where the migration policy is very closely related to economics. This is what Switzerland lacks. 

Using a special demo-box, I showed operation of the FIPRES; it is unique for the market.  One of the elements of the system is a sticker determining the temperature: when the threshold values (for instance, 70 degrees) are exceeded, the indicators change their color. The Ambassador showed his interest in this product – he began measuring temperature of the nearby hottest item, a cup of tea.  The indicator was not actuated, as far as the temperature was insufficient. However, when boiling water was brought in, the experience was successful and the thermo indication was activated. This seemingly simple but interactive demonstration of function of the production is always more fascinating than just presentation of facts.

What are your impressions of doing business in Switzerland?

Switzerland has its intrinsic benefits and disadvantages. The benefit consists in the fact that the country is located in the center of Europe, however many regulations are well-designed and are respecting the business interests to a more degree than in other European countries. Due to this, Switzerland remains the economically advanced state. However, at present, we have to target not only the countries of Europe but the economics of Asia as well.
There is an area where Switzerland looses – the ratio of specialists creating intellectual property changes, more and more of them are localized in Asia, because it is easier and faster to gather an international team there.
That is why, in the coming 10-20 years, the Swiss should build more open economics and migration policy.

Were there conditions for networking at the meeting with Ueli Maurer?

The atmosphere at the meeting with the top public official was very welcoming. He made a specific mention of 200 years of the warm relationship between our countries. 

During our conversation, a big Sennenhund-type dog entered the conference room. The dog was very kind and calm, it was interacting with the guests and everyone wanted to pat it. It turned out that this was the dog of Ambassador who was even giving it food from the table. When I wanted to take a selfie with the Sennenhund, Ambassador suggested me the dog's favorite treat to give it to the dog and to get a photo of us both very happy. 

When Mr. Maurer was going to leave, I asked him to have a picture taken together. 
I also presented a Streamer's branded bicycle kit to the head of Switzerland. It was apparent that it had been an unusual and pleasant gift adding a special vibe to our meeting  – warm, free, and cheerful.

What is the President's mission in your opinion?

The mission of president of any country is to serve interest of its people. For sure, they should guarantee for people rights.  Based on this, the head of the state may be a defender, a peace-maker or a reformist. The president's role is very diversified and it depends on current goals based on people democratic choice rather than on the personality.