Along our year-round events we had the great honor to host the Moscow Reception 2022 at the Embassy of Switzerland about the Topic “Why Innovation Matters”.

Introductory words from Krystyna Marty Lang, the Ambassador of Switzerland in Moscow, about the need for innovation were followed by welcoming words from Cosima von Wackerbarth, part of the organising team of the St. Gallen Symposium and responsible for Leader of Tomorrow Northern Europe, Russia and Africa, about the cooperation between the St. Gallen Symposium and the Swiss Embassy.

Our moderator Andrey Aliasov, CEO & Founder at Changellenge, and also a former Leader of Tomorrow in 2016 at the St. Gallen Symposium, opened the panel discussion by talking about innovation in Russia and the need for a change.

In the spirit of the St. Gallen Symposium, the Moscow reception also placed great emphasis on intergenerational dialogue and a gender-balanced panel. We had the honour to welcome the following speakers in present and online:

• Natalya Zolotykh, Managing Director of the company “Transtechnology” and Vice President of “OPORA RUSSIA”

• Yana Gladysheva, Associate Professor at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, project manager at the Altai Optical Laser Center

• Andreas Gut, Head, International Programmes at Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency

The wide-ranging audience was very involved in the discussion both on site and online. We were honoured to welcome partners of the Embassy, past and future Leaders of Tomorrow of the St. Gallen Symposium, students from universities in Switzerland and Russia, members of the St. Gallen Symposium and the Embassy.

The key insights are the importance of changing education at a younger age to prepare them for the business world and the promotion of young founders and entrepreuneurs with the help of institutionalised dialogue between business and academia.

Many thanks to the Swiss Embassy for co-organising and hosting the event.