Goodbye and thank you, President Ruey!

Claude Ruey: Very good. Even better knowing that the gamble we took on creating a private foundation in 2002 paid off, all thanks to our strength, skill and resilience. Even if covid-19 and the like may have hindered us somewhat. The gamble on our recovery also paid off. I am confident and pleased with the collaboration between staff and the Foundation Board.

We had to downsize the castle administration – previously it had been split between various administrative entities in Lausanne and Veytaux. That meant we could simplify the management of the castle, which became almost ‘Sleeping Beauty’-like. We modernised our operations through one management team and a clear organigram. And we got creative – thanks to a new visitor trail, our temporary history and art exhibitions, and an audioguide available in 9 languages (French, German, English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Korean) to name but a few examples.

– Having built an organisation and management team with three successive high-quality directors.

– The positive atmosphere within the Chillon team, who are all so kind and skilled.

– All our major work, such as the lighting by Romande Énergie and the landscaping of the ‘English Garden’ linked to the construction of Café Byron by Dreier&Frenzel architects. These were very inspiring projects.

The drastic increase in taxes on entertainment by Veytaux town council; it’s essentially a  on our success and was not really justified.

Regular meetings with the management team and the staff parties.

The Chapel – spirituality transcends time and age.

The grounds-keeper’s suspended   in the clocktower.

Percy Shelley – he was an excellent poet who visited Chillon Castle and whose wife wrote ‘Frankenstein’.

The first time I came to the castle with my maternal grandparents, who lived in Montreux. I found the Bonivard affair captivating as a child…

When I agreed to this interview, I almost forgot about the meeting. Thankfully, you were able to get hold of me on my mobile phone. Phew!

You need to be interested in heritage and history with good strategic and managerial skills. As a former State Councillor for the Canton of Vaud, and thanks to the Scouts, I was well trained. But I must say that I am constantly learning and have continued my professional development throughout my life.

You need to remember to look before you leap. This means it is vital you look at the bigger picture when it comes to analysing and making choices: what are the objectives, are there any obstacles and what are the best solutions? I learnt that from Pierre Aepli, the former police commander for the canton.

Robert Herren, our steward who was upgraded to director. He had a few challenges to overcome in the beginning, given the demands of his new role. Not forgetting the two other directors: Jean-Pierre Pastori and the incumbent Marta Sofia dos Santos.

I want to hold onto my passion for the future and for life, with other commitments. I also want to make more time for walks with my wife and my dogs.

My Chillon experience has been a wonderful adventure and a joint success that we can all be proud of, thanks to our good working atmosphere, skills and results.