Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)

Marc Spirig has been working as project manager for Group Corporate Development at the LLB Group since the beginning of 2016. He did an MSc degree in mechanical engineering with a major in robotics and innovation at ETH Zurich. This led to a position with Hamilton Bonaduz AG, which is involved in developing laboratory automation. At the LLB Group, Marc Spirig often deals with Group-wide change processes. He lives with his family in Balzers.

Dr med. Martin Risch and his brother Lorenz are the second-generation managers of Dr Risch Medical Laboratory. In 2017, the two brothers were recognised for their outstanding performance with the Entrepreneur of the Year in Liechtenstein award. The family company is among the biggest laboratory groups in Switzerland. Martin Risch is a practising doctor and a specialist in clinical laboratory analytics and medical microbiology. After spending some years in Berne, St. Gallen, Zurich and Lucerne, he and his family now live in Vaduz.

Mr Risch, identity is something we are given, how did you grow into your family company?

MR: My brother Lorenz and I saw as children what it means to build up a medical laboratory. I learned about everything, from the cellar to the attic. We laid cables, archived files, and later even ran our own tests. We accompanied our father to the laboratory on Saturdays, and developed in tandem with the different technologies.

Today, we realise that we have to separate family and laboratory. Family may not be just another container for business decisions.

Martin Risch (photo)

Listen, watch, feel.

Everything starts with respect.

Marc Spirig (photo)

MS: I can imagine that such a family identity is based on very specific values.

MS: Treating one another with respect, having integrity – these are also two values embodied by the LLB Group, this is how clients become partners and colleagues become allies. This is the foundation for trust, which is also important when it comes to financial services.

MR: Exactly. For Lorenz and me, the most important value is mindfulness.

MR: This is closely linked to esteem, goodwill and tolerance. In a family company it is also important to listen to people, to be their point of contact, to create a working climate that motivates the employees to work together in a spirit of confidence.

Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)
Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)
Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)
Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)
Martin Risch and Marc Spirig (photo)

MS: Respectful coexistence also leads to innovation.

Only those who feel accepted will reveal their ideas. To summarise: no respect, no ideas, no innovation. And those who believe that robots are innovative are making a mistake. Robots only do what they’ve been programmed to do. Only people can think innovatively.

MR: What’s also important is the experience needed to assess situations and risks and to judge whether a decision was correct, to identify weaknesses and strengths.

But experience is not gained by snapping your fingers, experience grows in you.

And if you don’t accept any risks, nothing will happen. We abide by the motto: the road that we travel with 500 employees is the goal.

Artificial intelligence will never be able to do more than the people who create it.

Marc Spirig (photo)
Martin Risch (photo)

Good experience with experience?

MS: For me, change is the normal condition.

The road that we travel together is constantly changing. The openness to always adjust to new client needs, regulations or to digitisation – change is constant. The pace is determined by the competition.

MR: Those who manage to survive in the market have understood their customers.