Your Lecturers & Coaches:
Prof. Dr. Roger Moser – Strategic Architect for Swiss-Indian Business Expansion
Prof. Dr. Roger Moser is one of Switzerland’s leading experts on business strategy and internationalization in the Indian context. As Director of the India Competence Centre at the University of St.Gallen and a long-time collaborator with India’s top institutions, he offers Swiss executives a rare combination of academic depth, entrepreneurial experience, and practical frameworks for success in India.
Roger was the first non-Indian to hold a permanent visiting professorship at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), and he continues to serve as an adjunct professor at IIM Udaipur. With nearly two decades of experience driving business development projects across India and Asia, he has advised multinational companies, built strategic partnerships, and co-founded ventures in areas such as geospatial intelligence (SatSure Analytics) and water purification (Jival).
What sets Roger apart is his pioneering work at the intersection of GenAI and strategic decision-making. He helps senior executives sharpen their strategic intelligence by integrating GPT-powered tools into their business planning, market assessment, and cross-cultural engagement. His coaching equips leaders to ask the most valuable strategic question—“What must be true for this to work?”—and to test their assumptions through data, dialogue, and design.
Within the India Playbook program, Roger coaches participants through hands-on exercises that enable them to map viable business models, navigate cultural complexity, and build the local trust networks essential for sustained success in India. His approach is both structured and adaptive, balancing analytical rigor with the nuanced human understanding needed in complex emerging markets.
Whether you're entering India for the first time or recalibrating your strategy in light of new opportunities post-TEPA, Prof. Dr. Moser offers a uniquely powerful mix of strategic insight, on-the-ground experience, and AI-enabled decision support—making him an indispensable ally for executives serious about winning in India.
Dr. h.c. Nik Gugger – Bridging Switzerland and India with Insight, Empathy, and Strategic Access
Dr. h.c. Nik Gugger is a Swiss National Councillor (MP) and the first parliamentarian of Indian origin in Switzerland. Born in Udupi, Karnataka and adopted by a Swiss couple, Nik grew up with deep personal ties to both India and Switzerland—giving him a rare bicultural lens that enables him to build bridges where others see boundaries. His roots in India, combined with his extensive public service in Switzerland, make him a uniquely positioned enabler of Swiss–Indian collaboration.
As President of the Swiss-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Group and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Nik plays a pivotal role in shaping Switzerland’s political and economic engagement with India. He has been actively involved in high-level dialogues around the TEPA agreement between EFTA and India (aka "Where is Nik") and regularly hosts Indian and Swiss delegations to strengthen bilateral relationships.
Beyond politics, Nik is a social entrepreneur and leadership coach. He has led numerous initiatives connecting Swiss and Indian businesses, including the distribution of Indian wellness products in Switzerland and the organization of bilateral innovation events such as the AI City – Innovation Park Zurich – Telangana showcase. His work has earned him an honorary doctorate from KIIT in Odisha for his contributions to social development and cross-cultural understanding.
Through his collaboration with Prof. Dr. Roger Moser of the University of St. Gallen, Nik co-developed the “India Playbook” program—a hands-on executive platform that helps Swiss decision-makers navigate India’s complex yet high-potential business environment. Drawing on lived experience, institutional credibility, and grassroots engagement, Nik equips leaders with frameworks to build trust, test assumptions, and make agile, context-aware decisions.
For Swiss executives aiming to enter or expand in India, Nik Gugger offers connections and deep competence—an authentic guide to shaping a locally grounded, future-oriented India strategy.
Prof. Dr. Roger Moser and Dr. h.c. Nik Gugger also issue a joint monthly newsletter, "GANESHA," on LinkedIn. In it, they present key insights from their work in the Swiss/European-Indian institutional context, helping to foster stronger collaborations between Swiss and Indian organisations.
