Swatch Shareholders Rejects U.S. Investor’s Call for Shake-Up

By Rob Bates | May 21, 2025

At its annual meeting today, Swatch Group’s shareholders rejected an activist investor’s attempt to win a seat on its board of directors, with a reported 79.2% shareholders voting against him.

Steven Wood, founder and managing director of New York City–based GreenWood Investors, which owns 0.5% of Swatch, had pledged to play a constructive role on the company’s board if voted in. Prior to the meeting, he put out a 14-page document filled with ideas about what needed to be improved at the watch giant.

Wood’s main argument was that Swatch should focus more on its premium brands, since that is where the watch industry has seen the most growth. Swatch’s gains have primarily come in the entry-level segment, he said.

“The [overall] market for entry-level watches, priced at less than 3,000 Swiss francs, has not grown for the last 20 years,” Wood told Swiss publication The Market. “In fact, it has shrunk by 1.3% per year. The high-end segment, on the other hand, watches priced at more than 3,000 francs, has grown by 6.5% annually. This is where they should focus on. It’s almost as if the group is uninterested in the luxury brands.”

Wood’s document singled out three Swatch luxury brands: Harry Winston, Omega, and Breguet.

Harry Winston, the jeweler that Swatch purchased in 2013, needs to “emphasize the brand’s core design elements through annual collections that both reinforce the icons and the exceptionally rare jewels that the group is known for,” it said.

Omega, it added, should “add new collaborations, [which stay] true to the brand’s core DNA but…make the brand more relevant with Gen Z.”

GreenWood said Breguet needs to “improve [its] retail experience, add personalization programs at scale, reduce the wholesale channel variety, and improve residual values.”

Swatch shareholders were largely unconvinced—not surprising given that the Hayek family, which founded and manages the company, controls around 44% of its voting rights.

In a notice sent to shareholders before the meeting, Swatch Group stated that “Wood, a U.S. citizen, has no apparent connection to Switzerland or to Swiss industry and its products. The Swatch Group proudly bears the Swiss cross in its logo. It has been committed to Switzerland as a production location for decades, and it is important to it that its board members are Swiss citizens or live in Switzerland. Mr. Wood does not meet those requirements.”

After the vote, Wood complained on X that shareholders were offered a false choice between him and former Swiss National Bank president Jean-Pierre Roth, whom Swatch called the current representative of the bearer (non-registered) shareholders.

“Over the last weeks, we have received overwhelming support from investors, industry experts, and Swatch employees,” Wood wrote. “This has only reinforced our conviction that fresh perspectives on the board are essential to enhance performance and unlock the full potential of the company’s outstanding brand portfolio….

“We will carefully evaluate our next steps, including the possibility of requesting an extraordinary general meeting, to ensure that the election of a representative of the bearer shareholders is conducted in line with best practices and Swiss law.”

Top: Cité du Temps, the museum located on the Swatch Group campus in Geneva (photo courtesy of Swatch Group)