JEFF Zürich CEO Michael Mayer入选欧洲百大会展机构领袖：“人人都在用innovative，但很少有人配得上它”

Our nascent list of the top 100 event agency leaders across Europe doubles as an industry compass, showing the future trajectory of events and conferences. The outstanding individuals on the list keep a keen eye on the pulse of the times. Michael Meyer, the CEO of JEFF Zürich AG, ranked #94 on the list, shared why events have mattered since time immemorial and how their office, embedded in a net-zero pilot district in Zurich, pushes them to be more sustainable. Michael also revealed why he would permanently ban the word innovative.

Q1: The Top 100 European event agency leaders list has provided a who’s who of the events industry for the first time. How do you see this recognition, and what does it mean for your agency?

It’s a proud moment, especially coming from a relatively small country like Switzerland. We see this recognition as a nod to years of hard work, our creative projects and our commitment to excellence in execution.

Q2: Live events seem to be the buzzword of 2026. With the industry going from strength to strength, how do you see the future of events?

Events have always mattered: they meet a deep human need for real, shared experience. That need will only grow stronger as the world becomes more digital.

Q3: How are economic and political turmoil, rising production costs and ambitious client expectations affecting your agency’s business model?

Challenging times have always been part of this industry, and they always will be. Our approach doesn’t change: we stay focused on our own path and keep evolving, no matter the pressure.

“Events have always mattered: they meet a deep human need for real, shared experience.”

Q4: Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping creative and operational processes. To what extent have you integrated it across your processes, and which jobs remain out of its reach?

Obviously, AI-generated content already bothers me. Like everyone else, we’re building AI into our workflows —but we put real effort into making sure our output stays genuinely unique.

Q5: Sustainability has become both a strategic responsibility and a measurable business criterion. How is your agency translating environmental commitments into concrete results and accountability?

Our office sits in a net-zero pilot district in Zurich. That pushes us to implement our sustainability strategy even more rigorously, working closely with the City of Zurich and other companies in the neighbourhood.

“Like everyone else, we’re building AI into our workflows —but we put real effort into making sure our output stays genuinely unique.”

Q6: How does your event agency attract and retain young talent?

By looking for people who share our ambition to create great work — and by putting real focus on our company culture.

Q7: If you could enter a time machine, what would you advise yourself when you first started in the events industry?

Probably the same thing I believed on day one — trust that instinct.

Q8: If you had to single out one event from your portfolio, which would it be and why?

My personal favourite is the IQOS Retaste Journey, for the brand’s launch in Switzerland — an incredible multisensory concept with brilliant storytelling.

“The uncomfortable truth we should talk about instead: how much of what we call innovation is just repackaging the same formats.”

Q9: Which industry buzzword would you permanently ban, and what uncomfortable truth should event agencies start discussing instead?

I’d ban ‘innovative’ — everyone uses it, few earn it. The uncomfortable truth we should talk about instead: how much of what we call innovation is just repackaging the same formats.

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