Dominique Reber

Introduction.

Dominique Reber has been advising companies, institutions and public authorities at the intersection of politics, media and business since 2012 as a partner at Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten. Most of his mandates are long-standing and range from global technology and pharmaceutical corporations to energy and financial companies, cantons, sovereign entities and foundations. He works according to the principles of Humble Consulting: listen, understand, then advise — fact-based, counsel-like and discreet.

Main areas of expertise.

• Public affairs and government relations: political monitoring, campaign and coalition management, representation vis-à-vis parliament, the federal administration and regulators (including the Price Supervisor, the Competition Commission COMCO and the FDPIC)
• Crisis and issues management: leadership transitions, takeovers, parliamentary oversight (Control Committees, Finance Delegation), critical media enquiries, litigation-related communications
• Positioning and coaching of senior leaders: publishers, board chairs and CEOs — from storyline and media training to the public appearance itself
• Board advisory: independent reviews and leadership dialogues for boards of directors, sparring partnership for chairpersons, advisory board mandates
• Social partnership and labour relations: communications on collective labour agreements and association strategies, particularly in retail
• AI-powered public affairs: co-development of an AI intelligence platform, AI-based monitoring in daily practice; He publishes regularly on public affairs and artificial intelligence.

Experience.

Dominique Reber has been a partner — today equity partner — at Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten since 2012. Among other engagements, he guided a federally owned industrial group through its unbundling, supported a major energy company through the 2022 energy crisis, led industry coalitions in the financial sector to successful outcomes, and built up the communications office of a reigning princely house. He is a co-founder of the global MOSAIC Network, a leading international network for public affairs and political strategy (together with Dominik Meier and Pieter Walraven). He is the president of the Club Politique de Berne, the founder and host of the Forum Einstein, and serves on the strategic advisory board of the Swiss Green Economy Symposium.

Until 2012, Dominique Reber was a member of the executive board of economiesuisse, the umbrella organisation of the Swiss economy, where he led political affairs in the fields of major infrastructure, energy supply and environmental policy; in 2010 he accompanied the climate negotiations in Copenhagen as a member of the Federal Council’s delegation. Before that, he served as Head of Communications at Sunrise, Head of Public Affairs at Swisscom and in European roles for eBay International — following early career years in journalism.