Time to meet Serge Piguet

To stay at the forefront of transformation, we’re excited to introduce our new Global Head of Operations & People, Serge Piguet. With a background leading creative teams and managing large-scale projects, Serge has also served as Managing Director of the Lausanne office for the past five years. Throughout this time, he has played a pivotal leadership role designing and implementing Studio Banana’s new organisational architecture in syntony with the firm’s strategic vision and current market needs.

What does your new role entail?

My role is about turning alignment into action. Studio Banana helps organisations navigate complexity to create meaningful change — and that mission starts from within. As Global Head of Operations & People, I’m here to ensure that our internal ways of working reflect the same clarity, creativity and courage that we bring to our clients. It’s not about adding layers of process or control. It’s about creating the conditions for our talented teams to thrive, collaborate and bring their best — every single time.

How does your role contribute to the overall goals of Studio Banana?

Our work sits at the intersection of design, strategy and transformation. And so does my role. I focus on making sure our processes and structures enable us to deliver holistic experiences — connecting people, places and purpose. But beyond systems, it’s about people. My priority is to protect the space for talent to grow, to act with ownership, and to be proud of what we accomplish together. I believe that trust is the real foundation of performance.

What are the main challenges?

Let’s be honest: keeping coherence in a complex, fast-moving environment is never easy. One major challenge is avoiding the trap of micromanagement. In any creative company, when decisions lose coherence, or when control replaces clarity, motivation fades. That’s something we have to face head-on.

Another challenge is to make sure that as we evolve, we don’t lose sight of our responsibility to the people who make this company what it is — the team. Because without them, nothing else works.

And your personal objective?

To lead with lucidity and loyalty. Lucidity, to see things as they are, not as we wish them to be. Loyalty, not to individuals or positions, but to the people who build our projects day in and day out — and to the clients who trust us with their own transformation journeys.

My objective is to be of service. Not to shine, but to support. And to never forget that good leadership is not about being right — it’s about doing what’s right for the organisation, and for those who carry it forward.

What is your favourite project at the studio and why?

It’s hard to choose just one, so I’ll mention two that stand out for very different—but equally meaningful—reasons.

First, Audemars Piguet. We’ve had the privilege of accompanying them over several years, through multiple projects. What makes this partnership unique is the constant push to raise the bar — not just in terms of spatial quality, but in how teams work and collaborate. What I deeply appreciate is the combination of high standards and human trust. We’re consistently challenged, but always with intelligence and kindness. My role has been to support alignment across the board — from the Board of Directors to project leads — ensuring that vision and execution remain connected, even across different project scopes and leadership styles.

Second, Raiffeisen in Rossens. It’s a smaller project in scale, but not in impact. The local leadership had a clear vision and a genuine will to innovate. We worked together in a dynamic and respectful way, and the result was a major leap forward in customer experience. Here too, my role was to keep the focus on the big picture — making sure space, strategy and service were all aligned.

In both projects, I witnessed what happens when trust, clarity and ambition come together. That’s where transformation really begins.