“In processes of change, I see a creative leeway which I think of as an opportunity to be seized” declares Romain Jeannottat. The new Deputy Head of Agroscope since 1 October 2018, Jeannottat also runs the Resources Unit. He takes up his role at a time when Agroscope is in the midst of change, and courses are being charted for long-term development.
Over the course of his professional career, Romain Jeannottat has contributed to several processes of change – most recently, in the planning and implementation of the revised Asylum Law for the State Secretariat for Migration SEM, where he was Vice-Director and Head of the Planning and Resources Department from 2010 until his move to Agroscope. “Spearheading changes and implementing innovations are demanding management tasks. Such processes lead to a dynamic with which we can together achieve a great many positive results” says Jeannottat with conviction.
Working together with employees in pursuit of development
The Resources Unit at Agroscope combines a number of cross-sector tasks, including human resources, finance, IT, infrastructure and security. “For me, learning how we can provide optimum services is of prime importance for the future development of the Unit.” According to Jeannottat, in order to promote individual responsibility and responsibility towards the system, and in order to develop a unit or an institution, it is important to delegate responsibilities in a manner appropriate to position in the hierarchy, which implies mutual trust. “I’ll work to ensure that the Executive Board is able to focus on strategic issues, and that the research divisions are given more leeway to control their operational budgets during the financial year. There’s also a certain potential for delegation within the Resources Unit.”
Varied, international professional experience
The new Deputy Head of Agroscope can draw on many years of management experience, firstly as Head of the Evaluation and Controlling Section in the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, and as a Division Head and Member of the Executive Board at the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. In addition to this, he served as Sales Manager at the energy and infrastructure company BKW AG, and Senior Manager at consultancy firms in Switzerland and Germany. “In particular, I’ve been shaped by my years as a Strategic Management Consultant” says Jeannottat. As part of his consultancy mandates, and under time pressure, he successfully navigated his way in an international environment, in different sectors and markets, different types of organisations, and different corporate cultures. He looks forward to bringing his experience to the research and agricultural sector, inter alia in his capacity as the new Chairman of the Editorial Board of the journal Agrarforschung Schweiz/Recherche Agronomique Suisse.
Romain Jeannottat studied Business Administration at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris as well as in Political Science at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.
Linking different spheres of life
This familiarity with different spheres of life and their interrelatedness is also reflected in the various places that Romain Jeannottat has lived, as well as in his personal activities: he grew up in Jura in a bilingual home, lived in Germany and France for several years, and nowadays resides with his family in Fribourg. Romain Jeannottat devotes his leisure time to sport (sailing, hiking in the mountains) and music (guitar, piano).
