Swatch Group wins second round against activist investor Steven Wood

Zurich - Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group won a second round on Tuesday in its battle with activist investor Steven Wood, whose bid for a board seat was rejected.

For the second time, the American investor, who is highly critical of the company's governance, sought a seat on the board of directors. However, his candidacy was rejected by 79.6 percent of the votes, the Swiss group stated in a press release following its annual general meeting.

“Shareholders were clearly opposed to his election,” Swatch Group said in the statement.

Steven Wood, whose firm Greenwood Investors holds a 0.5 percent stake in the Swiss group, had already made an unsuccessful attempt last year, arguing that the board of directors needed to be refreshed.

According to him, the company has “enormous potential”. However, minority shareholders have little chance of making their voices heard on the board of directors, he wrote on his blog ahead of the general meeting.

“Without independent oversight, fresh perspectives and balanced representation, even the best companies can begin to malfunction like the mechanism of a jammed watch,” he insisted.

The company is managed by Nick Hayek and chaired by Nayla Hayek. They are the heirs of the group's founder, who rejuvenated the Swiss watch industry in the 1980s with his famous multicoloured plastic watch.

Steven Wood's candidacy was supported by the firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which issues voting recommendations, as well as by the Ethos Foundation, which represents pension funds in Switzerland.

The foundation regularly intervenes in general meetings. It had pointed out that the “Hayek pool,” which includes the heirs and close individuals and institutions, holds 26.4 percent of the capital. However, it controls 44.5 percent of the voting rights.

The Ethos Foundation also believed that “a renewed board of directors, with sufficient independence and diversity of skills, is an essential condition for the long-term success of Swatch Group.” The foundation stated this in a press release in late April, which detailed its voting intentions.

In 2025, the group, which also owns other brands including Tissot, Longines and Omega, saw its turnover fall by 5.9 percent to 6.28 billion Swiss francs (8.03 billion dollars). Its net profit also plummeted by 88.5 percent to 25 million Swiss francs.

The group, which also manufactures watch components, explained the decline was due to its decision to maintain employment levels while awaiting a market recovery. The sector experienced a difficult year with falling demand in China and customs duties in the US. At the end of 2025, the watchmaking group employed 31,796 people worldwide.