PhD in sociology, with a focus on political science and media studies

He was a founding partner of Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten, specialising in the positioning and profiling of companies and individuals, crisis communication and reputation management for executives. Previously, he advised Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti and headed the press and information service of the Federal Department of Home Affairs. As First Vice President of an international group, he was responsible for global corporate communications.

Viktor Schmid is today active as a coach and business adviser at Wise Advice Viscoma Consulting AG and is Senior Advisor and board member at Strategic Board Advisors. Among other roles, he is President of the Robert Walser Foundation, a member of the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection and a member of the University of Fribourg Foundation. He was Chairman of the Board of Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten AG and is Honorary President of the Club Politique de Berne.

Email: Dr. Viktor Schmid

Dominique Reber is Managing Partner of Strategic Board Advisors. From 2012 to 2026 he was Equity Partner at Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten. There he combined institutional experience with strategic reputation work.

He guided a federally owned industrial group through its unbundling and a major energy company through the 2022 energy crisis, led sector coalitions in the financial industry to successful conclusions and built the communications office for a reigning princely house. In 2010 he accompanied the climate negotiations in Copenhagen as a member of the Federal Council delegation.

Before that he sat on the executive board of economiesuisse, where he was responsible for political work in infrastructure, energy and the environment; earlier he was head of communications at Sunrise, head of public affairs at Swisscom and worked for eBay International in Europe – after starting his career in journalism. He co-founded the global MOSAIC Network, an international network for public affairs and political strategy, chairs the Club Politique de Berne, is a Forum Einstein holder and serves as strategic adviser to the Swiss Green Economy Symposiums.

Email: Dominique Reber

Hugo Schittenhelm, lic.rer.pol., specialising in economics, was an independent communication adviser in Bern before joining Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten as a partner.

From 1999 to the end of 2005, as head of communications for Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger, he led the press and information service of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications.

Previously, as spokesperson for the Federal Department of Finance, he worked with Federal Councillors Kaspar Villiger and Otto Stich. At the start of his career, he was a political journalist for Associated Press and the daily newspaper Der Bund.