ETH Alumni: Jeannine Pilloud hands over to Ruedi Hofer
Following the resignation of the ETH Alumni Association Board of Directors, outgoing President Jeannine Pilloud looks back on the last two years and explains where the Association stands today.
On the evening of 26 June, the delegates of the ETH Alumni Association elected Ruedi Hofer as the new President and appointed six new members to the Board of Directors. The elections were necessary because the previous Board, headed by President Jeannine Pilloud, declined to stand for re-election.
“Firstly, I would like to sincerely thank Jeannine Pilloud and the entire outgoing Board for their outstanding commitment,” ETH President Jo?l Mesot commented on this changing of the guard. He added that the team had dedicated countless hours of unpaid work, establishing a foundation to guide the Alumni Association towards a successful future. “At the same time, I wish Ruedi Hofer and his team the energy they need for their tasks and much fulfilment in their work.”
Although it occurs from time to time, it is uncommon for all the members of an association’s Board of Directors to resign at once. In this interview, Jeannine Pilloud looks back on her time in office and explains how this resignation came about.
Jeannine, when you look back on your last two years as Alumni Association President, what are you proud of?
Proud is a big word. But the growth in our membership numbers does indeed fill me with great satisfaction. The increase we have seen in recent years can in no way be taken for granted. After the pandemic, many Swiss associations lost members – around six percent on average. This may not sound like a lot, but for the ETH Alumni Association, with its 30,000 members, it would mean quite a cut.
How did you achieve this?
At the beginning of my term of office, we launched the Winning Members project with the Board, in which we considered how we could improve communication with potential members. For example, we intensified our collaboration with ETH Zurich Corporate Communications, particularly on social media channels. We also invested heavily in expanding our own channels.
Were there other goals you set yourself when you took office?
In consultation with the ETH President, we were tasked with transforming the Alumni Association into a modern organisation within the space of two years. This involved a great deal of groundwork. For example, we had to revise all the Association’s documents – such as its by-laws, regulations and financial regulations – or create new ones. While this was necessary to strengthen the connection between the Alumni Association and ETH Zurich, it also ensured compliance with data protection requirements.
You wanted to strengthen the connection between the Alumni Association and ETH Zurich. How did this collaboration develop?
We considered the strategic goals that ETH aims to achieve through the Alumni Association and how we could support them. We repositioned ourselves organisationally by exploiting synergies, while the new Alumni Engagement Team within the Office of the ETH President assumed specific tasks for the Association. We also expanded our cooperation with ETH in the area of services – for example, by offering more joint events. Incidentally, I still see great potential here: by offering alumni exclusive access to events at ETH Zurich.
The projects sound like hard work. How strenuous was this time for you?
The last two years have indeed been tiring. As the Board of Directors, we were not able to concentrate solely on strategic considerations, but were very much involved in operational activities. This was also due to the fact that the administrative office was primarily entrusted with administrative tasks. A further important element of the transformation consisted in establishing the aforementioned Alumni Engagement Team with the aim of exploiting synergy effects with ETH Zurich.
Were there any projects that proved to be particularly tough nuts to crack?
We faced challenges primarily whenever a voluntary board was expected to function like a management board. Some of the Association’s delegates expected more frequent information on the transformation process as well as on certain projects such as the Knowledge Network. This platform, which was supposed to connect our members worldwide, did not actually take off in my two years in office. Pressure from the delegates forced us to abandon the project.
But what ultimately led to the collective resignation of the Board?
Partly the restriction on the term of office. But for most of us, excessive expectations led to our resignation. We all do the work of the Board in our free time and most of us also have demanding jobs and families. Placing expectations on a voluntary board that only a paid management board can meet in terms of the workload involved basically does not work. At the same time, many delegates wanted to be involved in operational decisions. That is not realistic either, especially in an organisation with 30,000 members.
A new Board is now taking over. What do you wish for your successor?
I hope that the transformation has laid the foundations for the Association to continue growing in calmer waters. I am confident, especially as we were recently able to appoint our preferred candidate to head the administrative office. In order to make the process sustainable, I would like to see the Board not only discuss substantive issues but also take another look at governance – in other words, the distribution of roles and thus the management of the Association. And, of course, I wish everyone every success and hope that their work is appreciated.
What does your resignation mean for you personally?
I did the Alumni Association’s work in my spare time. I also have my job at ETH and am involved with various administrative boards. For now, I’m taking the time to devote myself to my other interests and am looking forward to reading more and doing more sport again.
The new Board of Directors of the ETH Alumni
Association
