A winning approach

Former Olympian and BDO Switzerland CEO Thomas Studhalter was a Swiss rowing champion. Since retiring from the sport, he has swapped his oars for the world of business and is applying his winning sportsman’s mindset to achieving extraordinary success for the company and his clients.

Studhalter started rowing professionally at 17 years old and competed in the coxless pair at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Afterward, he went on to complete a Bachelor of Business Administration at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Art. He was then certified as a Swiss Certified Public Accountant and has since gone on to enjoy a stellar career in the sector.

“I started my career with KPMG in the field of auditing and spent about 15 years with the company, working for a short time in Buenos Aires,” he tells The CEO Magazine.

“I joined BDO Switzerland over 10 years ago, was nominated as CEO in 2021 and was also recently appointed to the BDO global board.”

Tailored client solutions

Part of BDO International, a leading global network of independent accounting and consulting firms, BDO Switzerland offers a wide range of professional services to businesses across various sectors, working with clients to navigate complex financial, regulatory and strategic challenges worldwide.

With a strong background in leadership and strategic management, Studhalter has played a pivotal role in steering BDO Switzerland toward continued growth and success. With him at the helm, the company has solidified its position as a key player in the Swiss market, which offers a broad range of services, including audit, tax and advisory to clients big and small.

“I’m happy to drive a company that helps other companies toward future success,” he says. “For me, leading a professional service firm with 1,800 employees that serve 25,000 clients every day, that’s my purpose in life.”

With 42 offices in Switzerland, BDO Switzerland has grown substantially under his leadership.

“One of our major strengths is that we have access to decision-makers in all of our three market segments,” he reveals. “These include small and medium-size enterprises [SMEs], large international corporations, and public sector and nonprofit organizations.”

There are marked differences when working with clients from these varying sectors, Studhalter says.

“For every client base, we establish a core set of services to best serve that market,” he explains. “So for the SME market, we typically have audit and fiduciary services, whereas for international business clients, while we also have audit services, the audit looks different in an international context.”

---

“Since 2010, we have proudly supported BDO Switzerland on its digital transformation journey – enhancing seamless collaboration both internally and externally while unlocking the full potential of Microsoft 365. Working with BDO means true partnership: combining expertise, co-developing tailored solutions and continuously refining our own modern work solutions to meet its needs and drive innovation overall.” – Reto Meneghini, Co-Founder & CEO, MondayCoffee

---

Advertisement

According to Studhalter, SMEs in particular face specific challenges.

“We constantly analyze our customers’ unique needs and offer them ready-to-use solutions. For example, SMEs typically don’t have the resources to apply the latest technologies like the big internationals do, so we offer this service and develop solutions tailored to their specific needs,” he says.

“Often, SMEs can’t afford to have a CIO, which is why outsourcing that role to us ensures they will remain competitive and stay on track. Our goal is to strengthen our clients’ businesses by offering services that are holistic, affordable and easy to implement.”

Client-centric leadership

Studhalter’s leadership is characterized by a focus on client relationships, innovation and fostering a dynamic and inclusive corporate culture. He does this by leveraging deep industry expertise and a global network to create value for BDO Switzerland clients.

After taking on the role of CEO, Studhalter focused on developing the company’s strategic orientation and the setup of strategic partnerships.

“I updated our governance and established a new strategy that fit our modern reality and was more market-oriented,” he says.

“Then I initiated a change in cultural strategy. We reviewed the values of our firm and now adhere to a human-centric leadership approach, which includes embracing diversity and fostering inclusion.”

Among the company’s valued partners are MondayCoffee, which provides Microsoft 365-based collaboration and workspace management solutions to streamline teamwork, improve productivity and ensure compliance, and Younitec, a software development company that was instrumental to BDO Switzerland’s digital transformation.

“Our partners are strongly contributing to our success. Their state-of-the-art services are complementary to our know-how and fundamental for our future development,” he adds.

Technology has also become a major focus for the company, which has significant benefits in efficiency and effectiveness in the finance industry. However, there are some challenges, for SMEs in particular, for which BDO Switzerland can offer insight and benefit with its extensive expertise and focused offerings.

“When it comes to SMEs, there are massive investments necessary in digitalization required in order for them to stay competitive,” he says.

To this end, BDO Switzerland has launched BDO Digital, a service offering tailored digital solutions for its clients.

“BDO Digital is constantly working on developing innovations and state-of-the-art digital solutions to meet our clients’ individual needs,” he explains.

“Security is one of the main concerns an SME has in the context of digitalization. We listen to our clients to understand their requirements and are constantly developing and redefining our products to meet their ever-changing needs.

“Our main objective for this service is to devise scalable solutions to allow clients to integrate the latest technology and then continuously improve on efficiency themselves with our service.”

Stretched goals mean success

While Studhalter may no longer be rowing professionally, the sport is still very much a part of his day-to-day.

“Rowing is something that I’ve kept with me all through my life. I’m still rowing and meet up with my buddies from the past who are still my best friends,” he reveals.

He says he likes to row when he’s pondering business quandaries to clear his mind because, more often than not, it helps him to find a clear solution.

“You can’t imagine the power you feel when you’ve seen the sun rising on a lake after a good rowing session and then go back to the office re-energized and with clarity of mind,” he enthuses.

“I need the sport in order to perform. I couldn’t perform as a CEO if I didn’t play any sports. A lot of the things I learned as a 20-year-old when I was rowing still shape the values I carry today.

“As a competitor, I was used to setting stretched goals and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. People used to say to me, ‘This is not possible; you can’t go to the Olympics because you’re too slow.’ If I’d listened to those people, I wouldn’t have competed. But I did go to the Olympics because I didn’t listen to them.

“Instead, I focused on my stretched goals and consequently, achieved success. I’ve put this to business as well and witnessed that a stretched goals approach is also the key to achieving success.”