Swatched! René Kamm, CEO of Baselworld Parent, Resigns

In seeming fallout from Swatch Group's decision to leave the Baselworld fair, René Kamm, the longtime head of Baselworld parent company the MCH Group, has resigned An MCH release said the decision was made "By mutual agreement," adding "The time has come for a change in the operational leadership of MCH Group in view of the fundamental transformation phase in business operations." Group chairman Ulrich Vischer will take Kamm's role until a successor is found Kamm ran the watch industry's leading trade fair beginning in 1999 and ascended to the top job at its parent company in 2003.

In his nearly 20 years at MCH, Kamm helped lead Baselworld through an assortment of stormy seas, including the SARS epidemic, the 2008 financial crisis, and an ill-fated attempt to open a second Basel show in Zurich It probably didn't help when Swatch CEO Nick Hayek took clear aim at MCH Group and its management in explaining his decision to depart, complaining that he had little communication with them An MCH statement said that "[those] responsible for Baselworld are engaged in an intensive exchange with major segment representatives and have created a solid basis for a successful Baselworld 2019 in the form of [conceptual] innovations. Source