Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus AG needs an independent board of directors and two tourism commissions for the Engadin and St. Moritz brands. There, service providers and municipalities can exert their influence on tourism marketing. A contribution to the discussion.
The new composition of the Board of Directors is an opportunity to position the company even better, as it is something of an “organizational restructuring case.” The appointment must be carried out in accordance with clear criteria and transparently so that the population and service providers can build trust in the new leadership.
Flashback: When the “new ESTM” was presented in 2016, it was underlined that it operates in a dynamic economic environment. It should therefore be organized as a joint stock company and not as an association of municipalities. This argument was and is correct.
However, the appointment of the Board of Directors destroyed the good intentions: The Board of Directors was staffed like the board of a municipal association. Proposal rights from service providers, local distribution across the entire valley and other interest groups produced a board of directors, which was formally asked by many sides to interfere in operational business. But that is not his job.
The pursuit of particular interests is legitimate
Hotels, apartment rental companies, mountain railways, tour operators, restaurateurs, etc. and the tourism departments of the valley communities are ESTM's customers. It is legitimate that they want to represent their interests and tailor the work of the ESTM to their needs. However, the Board of Directors is the wrong stage for this.
The protection of interests must be located at operational level. This is where the actual tourism marketing takes place and that is where the needs of service providers and the places must be known. This is already working for the St. Moritz brand: Here, the municipality's tourism commission is an actual sparring partner for brand managers. I hear that the cooperation is good and successful.
A counterpart should also be created for the Engadin brand: In an “Engadin Tourism Commission”, stakeholders of Engadin service providers and communities can contribute their interests. The TK Engadin may be slightly larger than a VR and can therefore also better represent the diversity of the Engadin and its offerings.
Independent boards of directors
The idea that service providers and therefore customers on the ESTM Board of Directors see to the law is no longer up to date. As VR, they will always be tempted to represent the particular interests of their group and therefore interfere in day-to-day business. However, this is contrary to corporate governance.
The new board of directors of ESTM should consist of personalities who advance ESTM with their education, experience, know-how and network. However, they should be independent of customers, i.e. service providers and individual communities, and only feel committed to the cause, the success of the entire ESTM.
In order to appoint new members to the Board of Directors, clear requirement profiles must be drawn up for the individual members and an overall profile of the committee. This is a very demanding task. The Committee of the Conference of Presidents should be accompanied by an external expert. This must be independent of the region, tourism and its actors.
Only when the profiles of the Board of Directors and its members are clear can the new Board of Directors be elected. The profiles should be published and the parts of the valley and service providers should be given the right to make proposals. However, it must be clear that the municipal presidents will only elect candidates who actually meet the requirement profiles.
A Board of Directors composed in this way can then focus on its strategic tasks and duties and respect corporate governance.
Don't rush
The intention to reappoint the board of directors of ESTM as quickly as possible is positive in itself, because the company needs functioning management. However, we should not rush things and set up a transitional board of directors for a transitional period.
From April 2020, he will be able to manage the company for a few months and provide the ESTM active team with the necessary guidance and support. The transitional board could, for example, consist of the external expert and two community presidents.
During the transition phase, service providers and municipalities can also develop the “Engadin Brand Tourism Commission” in a guided process and prepare to fill it.
Continuing operational business
Although the ESTM is an organizational restructuring case, in addition to all the headlines, it should not be forgotten that the ESTM team is doing a very good job. It needs our support and the necessary financial resources.
The new appointment of the Board of Directors and the necessary changes in the company's regulations are a nuisance for many, but at the same time an opportunity for Engadin. A board of directors of independent personalities makes ESTM controllable again. Two tourism commissions, for the Engadin and St. Moritz brands, ensure the involvement of service providers and municipalities in tourism marketing.
In this way, ESTM's current problems can be solved simply and transparently and trust in the tourism organization can be restored to the population and service providers. And so there will also be the necessary political majority in all municipalities for the replacement and restart of the Board of Directors.
The discussion can continue!