You are currently viewing Grégory Dourde: The Master Craftsman of Timepiece

Grégory Dourde: The Master Craftsman of Timepiece

For centuries, numerous watchmakers have built watches with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles and opened up a whole new world for timepieces. But even today people believe in the tagline ‘Like shopping for a Swiss watch; Hard to make a mistake.’ Hence, to keep the honor alive, Grégory Dourde, the CEO of HYT Watches decided to promise guarantee of excellence to watch lovers with the innovative hydro-technological timepieces. This incorporated mechanical watch movement as the trigger to the fluid propulsion.
Dating Back to the Beginning
In his early days, Grégory Dourde had always tried to develop as many inter-connections as possible between the different branches of his education. Meanwhile, he completed his scientific engineering studies and then graduated as MBA from University of Stuttgart in 1997. Soon after his graduation, he started working for major organizations in the field of production, operations, strategy, distribution and finance in the luxury, electronics, medical and automotive industries, among others. During this time, Grégory had gained a wealth of experience, which allowed him not only to apply best practices and adopt the most holistic approach possible, but also crucially to avoid being trapped in a single business model or mono-culture.
In exchange, Grégory found his own consulting company and decided to work on performance enhancement and development projects for companies operating in the medical, watchmaking and other related high-tech sectors. On the other hand, he even started to focus on his passion for physical sciences, biology, philosophy, plastic arts and music nurture to enrich his ideas through an interdisciplinary approach using cross-pollination on the basis of research into innovative and original solutions.
A Thought Paved the Way
In the initial stages, Grégory invested most of his time with his personal, intimate and family life and faced difficulty in balancing his professional life. During this time he had a thought about his education life, where one of his subjects was based on a strong individual selection. There, he had to complete a task on an exercise along with his colleagues that compared the results of the same test under two conditions. As everyone had to find a solution to a problem, the task was observed first individually and later as a group. Soon after the show, Grégory understood that the group is always more strong and effective than the individual. Eventually, he decided that one of his core objectives is to create a strong team which is able to work together and share the same values. Reflecting from his thought, Grégory recognized spirit and presence are essentially required in order to maintain the balance, because their longevity depends on how well they are balanced. Further he even learned to make the two coexist better over time.
An Ecosystem that’s Uniting Science and Art
Headquartered at Neuchâtel area, Switzerland, HYT Watches’ aim is to recapture a pure, fluid time that makes sense. HYT Watch specialists operating under the strategy leader always keep in mind that their customers are unique and have their own reasons for buying HYT products. Owing to its unique technology, HYT only produces a few hundred watches per year. These limited volume approach is enabling the company to foster a closer relationship with end customers, which is extremely valuable.
With its sixty points of sale around the world, what matters most is how the experts are able to communicate the concept in the best way possible to their commercial distribution partners. In other way they decided to serve as “ambassadors” and stepping forward to communicate with their end customers about the HYT product features.
While having a talk with Grégory, he shared about the HYT watches “Our products are the result of our work at the crossroads of science and art, and the aesthetic and technical features are shaped based upon this.” Further, he mentioned each product has its own rich and authentic history. Additionally, Grégory along with his team spent a lot of time on education while encouraging out-of-towners to visits HYT for a unique experience that allows them to discover the entire ecosystem that has been created so far.
Future Plan of Action
Today, technological complexities and global knowledge in various fields are constantly developing experts. It is imperative for companies to be able to operate and work with these specialists together, symbiotically and as part of a global strategy. This multiculturalism is therefore essential to enable evolution in a world in which change is accelerating, requiring constant adaptation and questioning.
While articulating, Grégory reveals the future of the company by saying “We have a research and development program that will run for the next 4 years to support our ‘Fluid Time’ project and offer new perspectives in the rather classic and traditional world of watchmaking.” According to him, this will spearhead a movement for real change driven by new generations. On the other hand, the company is also strengthening its unique value proposition, which is fundamentally contemporary.
Advising the Budding Entrepreneurs
Grégory, as the CEO of a company, is encouraging the upcoming entrepreneurs by sharing his statements. “Secure funding – cash is king. Find the best people that share your values. Take inspiration from different fields and industries. Be driven by Darwin: it is those who have the ability to adapt to their environment that survive and develop; not the strongest. Prepare for a marathon, not a sprint,” he states.
Source: The 30 Most Innovative CEOs to Watch in 2018