January 09, 2020

People often ask me why I chose Basel, Switzerland as the headquarters for Yerra when we started in 2013. It’s a question I love getting because it is so easy to answer! I am passionate about Switzerland’s third-largest city for many reasons, and I believe it is a perfect place to start a business, make friends and raise a family.

There are the obvious reasons – Basel is the hometown of Roger Federer, there is the beautiful Rhine running through the heart of the city where you can cool down on a scorching summer day, the entire community participates in Fasnacht (or carnival), we have an excellent football team in FC Basel, there is the Watch & Jewelry fair, art fair, many food fairs. The list goes on. But, for me, the love of Basel is more personal. It is a beautiful city that is caring, fun-loving, accepting and international. This is perfectly aligned with our Yerra culture, and the city feeds that culture.

Basel sits at the point where three countries – Switzerland, Germany and France – come together. There is a vibrant immigrant and ex-pat community that melds well with the native Swiss community. This multi-national, multi-cultural environment has nurtured Yerra as we have grown to become a multi-national, multi-cultural organization ourselves. Just like Basel, we are stronger because of our diversity. Yerra’s diversity is something I am extremely proud of – we are fully committed to incorporating the views and experiences of all kinds of different people. Our management team consists of a dynamic mix of women and men from different cultures and different backgrounds. Our teams around the world reflect that same diversity. I believe strongly that this not only makes us a great company to work for but also offers a benefit to our clients who themselves operate globally. We have people who understand what it means to work in different cultures and with different types of people, and it makes us more flexible and gives us a better perspective in order to deliver the best solutions for our clients.

If you have not visited Basel, I highly recommend you take the time to visit. Be sure to look Yerra up when you’re here…we are located just a few meters from the famous Rathaus on Marktplatz. We are always happy to show visitors around our beloved city and grab a pint at one of our many terrific patio bars!