Mister Swatch: Nicolas Hayek and the Secret of Success

With the global economic collapse, creative entrepreneurs are once more seen as the solution to the business of making commerce pay and there is no doubt that one of the most capable and successful of them all is Nicolas G. Hayek. Hayek has the Midas touch. He is considered the wunderkind of free enterprise. Franco Cologni - former head of luxury-goods brand Richemont - has called him "the god of the watch industry." Hayek is a living legend about whom, on average, at least two articles are published each day in the Swiss press. But his public image is largely his own creation. Until now, important chapters in his life have remained a mystery: his birth and upbringing in the Lebanon, his ascent from penniless immigrant to in-demand managerial consultant, and his true role in the success of Swatch. Author Jurg Wegelin has kept track of Hayek's business affairs for 30 years. Wegelin has travelled to the Lebanon, interviewed many of Hayek's competitors - along with politicians and former