“An entrepreneur is ambitious, has a vision for the future of his firm and for the future in general. With regard to a hi-tech enterprise, this vision is basically all that an entrepreneur has to have. All the rest can be outsourced “ Jane Royston.
In order to succeed an entrepreneur must develop a solid vision, he must be able to surround himself with talented people, effectively communicate his vision and allow it to be improved by colleagues, mentors and stakeholders. Vision is important because it is all about ones ability to dream the future.
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Who is Jane Royston ?
After studying pure mathematics at the London School of Economics, Jane joined DuPont de Nemours in Geneva, before becoming head of IT for DuPont France, in Paris.
In 1986, she founded NatSoft SA, a software engineering company, in Geneva, and grew it to just over 100 people. In October 1996, Jane sold NatSoft to Cambridge Technology Partners, and became Regional Vice President for Southern Europe, with responsibility for Switzerland, France, Italy and Spain. She oversaw the integration of NatSoft and CTP, and left in May 1997.
Jane was Swiss Business Woman of the Year 1993 & 1994, and, in November 1994, NatSoft was awarded the Strategis prize for the best managed SME in Switzerland.
After leaving NatSoft-CTP, Jane worked in the hi-tech start-up world, and became the first woman in 55 years to sit on the Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation. She also served on the Swiss Science Council and the Swiss Space Council between 2000 and 2003.
In 1999, Jane became the first professor of entrepreneurship & innovation in Switzerland, holding the first named chair at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). The immediate success of the programme she developed, encouraged other universities, including the IMD, to invite her and her team to teach on a regular basis.
In 2002 Jane designed the new Swiss national entrepreneurship programme, destined to receive CHF 27 million of public funding over a 5-year period.
Currently, Jane's main occupation is as a board member. She chairs the board of AQUA+TECH Specialities SA (chemicals for water treatment), and sits on the boards of Nobel Biocare AG (an SMI company, world leader in dental implants, crowns & bridges), SuperComputingr Systems AG (high performance computing), the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in New York (largest non-profit making cancer research organisation), PRO (a foundation that employs some 160 handicapped people) as well as the Endeavour VC fund. She is also on the board of the Universities of Applied Sciences (HES-SO).
Jane is one of 20 women to sit on the board of a Swiss Market Index company (out of a total of 256 board members)
She chairs the Cluster European Entrepreneurship and Innovation Task Force, and speaks regularly at events in North America and Europe. She has been asked by the president of Switzerland to advise on revitalising the Swiss economy.
Jane is a member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering and writes regularly on entrepreneurship in the economic press. A British and Swiss national, she has two daughters aged 11 and 15.
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