Swiss American Chamber of Commerce - Avantgarde Award Gala 2026

Event Information

Saturday, Nov 7, 2026 at 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM PST

The Jonathan Club Los Angeles, 545 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California, 90071, United States.

Once a year, the Swiss-American (business) community and its friends and supporters, from San Diego to Santa Barbara, from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, are coming together with their partners, clients, staff and executives to recognize and celebrate the most impact - and powerful - Swiss(-American) company or organization in the United States.

Together, we are spending an amazing evening with like-minded, energized and driving leaders & entrepreneurs, with forward-thinkers, enthusiasts and innovators. With opinion leaders and entertainers. To maintain friendships, create new relationships and celebrate one of the most powerful and longest standing friendships in the world: Between the United States of America and Switzerland!

Doing business with Switzerland's enterprises and its executives means quality, reliability and innovation. This is our signature event to bring this all together in a wonderfull gala environment, with inspiring key note speeches, exellent food, entertaining music, paired with red carpet & tons of memories on photographs or in your mind.

Agenda

5pm - VIP Reception (Sponsors & Invitation only)

6pm - The Vontobel Cocktail Reception

7.30pm - Award Gala Dinner & Ceremony

9.30pm - Dance the Night Away & Midnight Bar

11pm - Farewell

Dress Code

Black-Tie Optional

Join us for an unforgettable gala night with wonderful and fun people, photo ops left & right with step and repeat for your personal memories, excellent cuisine & service; food & drinks as much as you like, valet parking & red carpet welcome, and the unrivaled atmosphere of the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.

See you on November 7th!

Event Location

The Jonathan Club Los Angeles

About Organizer

Swiss American Chamber of Commerce Southern California Organizer name

www.saccla.org

Contact the Organizer View other events

Frequently Asked Questions

Speakers

Hanneke Faber joined Logitech as CEO on December 1, 2023.

Hanneke has more than 30 years of experience in global business leadership across a variety of consumer, B2B and e-commerce businesses. In that time, she drove growth and significant transformation across multi-billion dollar businesses at three of the world’s leading product companies: Unilever, Ahold Delhaize and Procter & Gamble. Throughout her career, she has focused on innovation across diverse portfolios, fostering a deep connection with end-users in both mature and emerging markets, and she is a world-class sustainability leader.

Hanneke joined Logitech from Unilever where she led their $14 billion Nutrition business as group president. Her responsibility spanned more than 150 countries, and included global brands like Knorr and Hellmann’s, research & development, the B2B Unilever Food Solutions business and a supply chain of about 60 factories and contract manufacturers around the world. Hanneke joined Unilever in January 2018 as President Unilever Europe.

Prior to joining Unilever, Hanneke was the chief commercial officer of global retailer Ahold Delhaize, where she drove omnichannel retail operations and built the company’s e-commerce business into a global top 50 e-commerce player. Prior to Ahold Delhaize, she held various international leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, including vice president and general manager of global Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Herbal Essences; and vice president and general manager of Beauty Care, where she launched the Max Factor brand in China.

Hanneke is a member of the board of directors and audit committee of Tapestry Inc, the parent company of luxury

Rahul Sahgal is CEO of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce (Swiss AmCham), the leading platform for business and economic relations between Switzerland and the United States, where he strengthens bilateral ties and promotes Switzerland as a premier destination for U.S. and international investment.

Before joining Swiss AmCham in 2024, Dr. Sahgal served as Deputy Head of the Tax Division at the Swiss Federal Department of Finance in Bern (2021–April 2024). Earlier, he held several diplomatic positions, including Head of Financial and Fiscal Affairs at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, D.C. (2017–2021) and Attaché at the Swiss Mission to the European Union in Brussels (2013).

Prior to his diplomatic career, Dr. Sahgal held leadership roles in the private sector, including Deloitte Consulting in Zurich, Rieter Management in Winterthur and New Delhi, and Managing Director of the Swiss multinational Autoneum in India. From 2009 to 2013, he was Board Member and President of the Northern Region of the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Sahgal holds Master’s degrees in business administration and law, as well as a PhD, all from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland. He grew up in Switzerland and is fluent in German, English, and French, with conversational proficiency in Hindi, Spanish, and Italian.