Nils Zimmermann, Executive MBA
EMBA UZH Alumnus Nils Zimmermann on Accelerating SMEs
For EMBA UZH alumnus Nils Zimmermann, sport has always been more than a hobby. Early in high school, he picked mathematics and sports as his advanced-level subjects, a combination that reflects the blend of analysis and performance that still drives him today. Sailing, windsurfing, cycling, tennis and skiing are where he first saw how top performers think. “High performers always question themselves: How can I get better?” he says. “More than 80% of people are fine with how things are. But the best of the best keep asking that question.”
When he later read a McKinsey article on “the CEO as athlete” – highlighting how leaders can borrow from sports in areas like recovery, resilience and data usage – it felt familiar rather than new. “That’s exactly what I grew up with in sport,” he says. “You train, you reflect, you learn, and then you go again.”
That mindset initially took him into more than ten years of finance roles in the pharma and life sciences sector. Over time, he wanted to look beyond the accountant’s line into strategy, markets and leadership. From 2012 to 2014 he completed the Executive MBA at the University of Zurich, a general management EMBA with international exposure to “open possibilities,” as he puts it.
The EMBA combined corporate finance, strategic management and other core business disciplines with international modules at Fudan University in Shanghai and at the renowned Yale School of Management. Case work and company visits broadened his view of how different industries and cultures tackle similar challenges and helped him connect theory and practice.
Just as important was the group around him. Around 90% of his class still live in Switzerland, and they continue to meet for events and dinners. Nils prefers to talk about a community rather than a network: a circle of people you can call for advice, not just contacts on LinkedIn.
After several more years in senior roles, Nils decided it was time to back himself. “I always wanted to start my own business,” he explains. That decision also reflects how he sees the future of work. He is convinced that careers are shifting away from the classic “one job, one employer” model. “In the near future, many of us will be what I call clusterpreneurs,” he says – his term for what others might call a portfolio career, combining several roles instead of relying on a single position. That might mean part-time employment, project work, investing as a business angel and running your own venture at the same time. Like a diversified investment portfolio, this mix makes work more interesting and cushions the impact of restructuring or layoffs.
His company, ZIMBA, is a strategy and consulting “business accelerator” for small and mid-sized enterprises and startups. The name comes from an Austrian mountain he once hiked up and shares its first letters with his surname, a quiet reminder that performance, perseverance and personality matter in business too.
Why focus on SMEs? Nils sees them under real pressure in today’s VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Many are led by brilliant technical experts without a strong economic background. “They are experts in technical stuff, but not wearing the economical goggles,” he says.
Through ZIMBA, he helps them put those goggles on: rethinking business models, steering change and transformation, and updating go-to-market strategies in a landscape shaped by ESG expectations and digital marketing. Ultimately, it comes back to mindset. As he tells prospective EMBA candidates who hesitate over time and cost: “Do it anyway.” For him, it’s an investment that keeps paying dividends – in your career, your confidence and your circle of peers. “Lifelong learning” may sound like a slogan, but for Nils it’s an everyday habit – from the sports field to the classroom to the boardroom.
(Find here more information on the Executive MBA.)