Xavier Comtesse

Mathematician & Founder of Manufacture Thinking

Xavier Comtesse, a graduate in mathematics and a PhD in computer science from the University of Geneva, has been passionate about communication and computer science since the 1970s.

A pioneer and visionary, he co-created Zoé publishing, the local radio station Tonic and the telecommunications start-up "Le Concept Moderne" in the 1980s.

In 1992, he joined the Swiss government as a personal assistant to the Secretary of State for Science, Research and Education, before being appointed science diplomat at the Swiss Embassy in Washington in 1995. In 2000, he became the first Swiss Science Consul in Boston, where he created the Swissnex concept.

Two years later, he was appointed the first French-speaking Director of the Avenir Suisse think tank, focusing on metropolitan and innovation issues.

From 2003 to 2006, he served on the board of the Moser School (Geneva, Nyon, Berlin). In 2012, he co-founded the "Swiss Creative Center" for the Neuchâtel Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a center dedicated to the new industrial revolution. In 2014, with Elmar Mock, co-founder of Swatch, he established the first "Industrial Think Tank" of its kind.

In 2015, he launched "Manufacture Thinking", a think tank dedicated to the industrial revolution, bringing together several experts.

A prolific author, Xavier Comtesse has published numerous works, including three major ones: "Dartfish, Logitech, Swissquote & Co" (Orell Füssli, 2005), "Le Feu au Lac" (NZZ, 2006), and "Gouvernance à géométrie variable" (Tricorne, 2012). From 2008 to 2010, he wrote a series of booklets on "Soft-Governance" for the Geneva Foundation.

Visionary and always ahead of his time, Xavier Comtesse continues to inspire and guide the industry in French-speaking Switzerland to new heights thanks to his expertise and dedication to innovation.