About SWB

Martin Heller draws on more than four decades of international entrepreneurial, commercial and brand-building experience. With an academic background in law, his career has spanned an unusually broad range of industries and markets.

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His early career combined product management for international consumer brands with international sales and cross-border trading, ranging from commodities to precious materials. These experiences gave him a practical understanding of products, markets, distribution and cross-border commerce long before his later involvement in technology and luxury brands.

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As a technology entrepreneur, he founded and developed an ICT company specialising in remote monitoring and smart sensor applications, in research partnership with the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the University of Zurich. The company raised approximately CHF 15 million, including from institutional investors such as pension funds, generated revenues in the millions and achieved a valuation of around CHF 100 million more than 25 years ago. This gave him first-hand experience of building and financing a growth company, working with professional investors and translating innovation into commercial reality.

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His subsequent entrepreneurial activities have included the development of a high-end jewellery brand and the relaunch of his own heritage Swiss watch brand — with direct involvement in product development, production, positioning and international marketing — alongside a long-standing advisory relationship with a premium US fashion company.
 

The watch industry has formed two distinct chapters of his career. Combined with his wider entrepreneurial background, this gives him a perspective extending well beyond the transfer of a trademark. A dormant Swiss watch brand is not simply a name or a set of rights, but a business asset whose provenance, legal position, product potential, commercial viability and future positioning need to be considered together.

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This perspective shapes SWB’s approach to every acquisition: preserving the substance of a brand’s history while assessing how that heritage can provide a credible foundation for its future.

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Buyers deal directly with Martin throughout the acquisition process, from the initial discussion and evaluation of suitable opportunities through to completion. Where required, SWB works with experienced external specialists in areas such as trademark law and historical research, allowing each project to draw on the expertise it needs while keeping the buyer’s relationship with SWB direct and personal.