Sophie Furley

Hosts the SHE IS SPEAKING Podcast by Carl F. Bucherer

Carl F. Bucherer gives women a voice and pays tribute to strong, brilliant, and inspiring women in its new podcast, She Is Speaking. The watchmaking company invites us to these regular appointments and is proud to welcome exceptional women into its large family. The podcast is a moment of sharing where everyone takes the time to express themselves. The conversations are warm, stimulating, sincere, and ... inspiring. To help lead them, Carl F. Bucherer has invited a woman with a passion for watches and encounters, and for life in general. A woman with a great deal of energy and communicative curiosity: Sophie Furley. This journalist specializing in watchmaking and editorial director of WorldTempus, a digital multimedia platform dedicated to watchmaking, also writes about jewelry and sustainable development – to give just some examples, because Sophie likes to branch out. Her interests take her as far as South Africa, working with an organization for which she writes about preserving wildlife as a volunteer. Used to asking questions, Sophie has agreed to reverse the roles and become the interviewee, telling us about the podcast and its prestigious guests. Sophie Furley is speaking. Let us listen to her.

TEXT SOPHIE COLIN

SOPHIE FURLEY, HOW DID THE SHE IS SPEAKING PODCAST COME ABOUT?

I really wanted to do a podcast about the diversity of jobs. I have two daughters, aged 22 and 19, who are in school and exploring different career options. There weren’t as many options to consider when I was their age. Or, at least, I didn’t know some of them. Over the years, I have met people with more unusual jobs, such as designing fireworks, testing perfumes, and even cleaning up crime scenes – that’s exciting! So, the idea of doing a podcast about different jobs, especially those we don’t know, appealed to me, but I didn’t have the time to make it happen. That’s when Carl F. Bucherer contacted me about the She Is Speaking podcast. It was like a gift from heaven. I immediately wanted to do it because I found the medium very interesting, and because it was about different women with incredibly interesting and different jobs. And that’s fascinating! It was fate.

WHAT IS THE MODEL FOR THE PODCAST ITSELF? AND HOW ARE THE WOMEN INTERVIEWED CHOSEN?

Carl F. Bucherer selects the women to be interviewed. I’m also providing ideas. The episodes run about once a month and last, on average, 20 minutes. Sometimes, we go longer because they are such interesting women. We want to keep talking to them. This means that our timing is flexible, varying between 20, 30, and 40 minutes. We don’t want to cut short the conversation, it should come to a natural end. The interview is conducted face-to-face, and is recorded in a pod car, a mobile recording studio of Audiokanzlei, which takes my guests and me all over Switzerland. We talk to each other before the podcast so we can get to know each other better. This allows me to put them at ease because there’s always a little bit of stage fright during a recording. You have to forget about the equipment all around, and just have a nice conversation.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THE CONVERSATIONS? DO YOU ASK THEM ALL THE SAME QUESTIONS? ARE ALL WOMEN ASKED THE RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS?

Many of the questions are similar, but each time I prepare the questions, I do research on the person. During the phone call before our meeting, I try to find out what they want to share so that I can emphasize those points. As for the rapid-fire questions, I try to understand the person. I have a set of about 30 questions, and I ask each person the ones that seem the most appropriate. The interviewees don’t know about this before the podcast. The concept is modeled after the Proust Questionnaire.

REGARDING THE CONTENT OF THE PODCAST, CAN YOU BRIEFLY INTRODUCE US TO THE WOMEN INTERVIEWED, AND TELL US WHAT YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR CONVERSATIONS?

Episode 1/Carole Hubscher, CEO and

President of Caran d’Ache: That was the first podcast. I actually discovered a profession that has a lot of similarities with Carl F. Bucherer and the world of watches, especially when it comes to creating beautiful products. There is one thing that stands out: the creativity of all these women. They are all extremely creative in their jobs, and in different ways. I learned that Caran d’Ache had already cataloged 400 colors, but was still exploring more. I was impressed by Carole Hubscher’s creativity and the family model of this brand, of which she represents the fourth generation. Every child in Switzerland receives Caran d’Ache pencils when they start school.

Episode 2/Bex Carter, Director of

Operations for the Manta Trust: I had already interviewed her three years before. I was thrilled to see her again. It was interesting to hear how the Manta Trust teams worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was tough for them. Bex Carter also explained that, in the absence of tourists, the manta rays were a little freer, like nature reclaiming its rights. I had the opportunity, a few years ago, to swim with her team among the manta rays. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. You really got the impression that these animals were talking to you and playing hide-and-seek with you. They looked us straight in the eye. I talked about this experience with Bex, because she lives it every day. It’s funny because she originally wanted to be a fashion designer. She worked in fashion, but her designs always featured fish. We had a wonderful time.

Episode 3/Lisa Streich, a Swedish composer who wrote the musical piece Periphery, dedicated to the Manero Minute Repeater

Symphony watch by Carl F. Bucherer: She is completely invested in the creative process. Lisa told me that when she composes, she visualizes the piece of music as a sculpture. Something that has a shape. We talked about our respective creative processes – she, in writing music, and me, in writing articles. Lisa said to me she could never write any kind of text, just as writing a piece of music is impossible for me. It is this difference in creativity that I find fascinating. There is also something else that stands out about Lisa, as well as the other women in the podcast: their professionalism and all their hard work. To write the musical piece dedicated to the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony watch by Carl F. Bucherer, Lisa studied watch movements and detailed, exploded views of movements to understand and be inspired by the mechanism. I thought it beautiful how she went all the way. This quest for perfection is evident in all these women. That’s why they are successful. And that resonates with me.

Episode 4/Noëlle Maritz and Lia Wälti, professional soccer players for the Swiss

national team: Noëlle and Lia are from the German-speaking part of Switzerland. English, the official language of the podcast, is not their native language. I take my hat off to all these women because it is difficult enough to express yourself, but even more so when it is not in your mother tongue. Noëlle and Lia had carefully prepared all the answers to the questions. They were such professionals! I was truly impressed. When it comes to soccer, they are really passionate about it. They had to leave their home and family when they were 14 to live in a boarding school with other sportswomen. It takes a lot of courage to do that. They were subjected to the discipline of sport, to a strict and regimented life. They love soccer, but it takes a lot of motivation.

Episode 5/Ruth Buscombe, Head of Racing Strategy of the F1 Alfa Romeo Racing

ORLEN team: I am crazy about cars myself because I have four brothers who love cars. Ruth is in charge of the entire racing strategy. For example, she decides when to change the tires due to the weather or rain. She explained to me that it was just math, with everything being calculated. She is also the only woman in her field. There are very few women in Formula 1. She knew she wanted to do this job from childhood. She played with cars the way others play with dolls. And so she now works in this field surrounded by men. She went to a top school in England to become an engineer before specializing in F1. She also works for The Girls on Track organization, created by the FIA and Motorsport UK to encourage girls and women to work in the automotive industry. She is a wonderful woman who inspires others and helps young people.

Episode 6/Wendy Holdener, Alpine skiing world champion and Swiss Olympic medalist:

Again, I was impressed by her passion and hard work. Wendy attributes her love of speed to the time she spent as a child chasing after her two older brothers on the ski slopes, trying to catch them. That training ultimately made her the fastest in the family! Whenever I interview athletes and celebrities, I am struck by how hard they work, regardless of what they do. As the famous, and particularly inspiring, saying goes: success is 1% genius and 99% hard work. I definitely felt that with Wendy. She trains both on the slopes and in the gym, which she calls dry-run training. All year long, she pushes her body to improve her performance so she can hit the slopes at an incredible speed. For Wendy, success means being the absolute best. You only have to talk to her to realize how much this young woman is invested in it.

ALL THESE WOMEN SHARE THE SAME PASSION, CREATIVITY, HARD WORK, AND PROFESSIONALISM. WHAT IS MORE, THEY ALL HAVE AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH TIME, WHICH IS ALSO VERY MUCH LINKED TO CARL F. BUCHERER. SPORT IS ALL ABOUT TIMING. CARAN D’ACHE HAS A FAMILY TRADITION THAT CONTINUES THROUGH THE GENERATIONS. THESE WOMEN HAVE A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH TIME.

Yes. And there is the motto held dear by Carl F. Bucherer: “A single second can change history.” Most of these women experienced a moment when everything changed in their career, like a trigger. For one, for example, it was the death of her father that caused her to take over the running of the family business. Every time I asked them this question, their answers just poured out.

THEY ALSO SHARE THE CONCEPT OF CHALLENGE. THEY LIKE TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE, AND THEY ARE FIGHTERS.

I was surprised by one thing. At first, I thought I would ask them how they felt about being women among men. But they don’t give it any thought. They are where they are because they want to be there. They wanted to be what they are today, and nothing could stop them. You are the best, you have earned that position, and it has nothing to do with your gender. They are not afraid, they go for it, they face one challenge after another, and keep looking forward, without ever looking back.

THEY SHARE ALL THESE VALUES WITH CARL F. BUCHERER.

All of them have succeeded in their chosen profession. They have a story, and a journey, to tell. They inspire today’s women, as well as those who are younger. All of them have a connection with the brand. That’s why they were chosen for the podcast. They share the same values and the same vision of the world. Most of them belong to companies or organizations associated with Carl F. Bucherer. Caran d’Ache has a lot in common with Carl F. Bucherer: the handing down of a traditional family business, the Swiss roots, excellent know-how, as well as the commitment to an innovative and sustainable future. Like Carole Hubscher, Jörg G. Bucherer inherited the management of the company. He represents the third generation of the family; she, the fourth. Bex Carter has been working with the Manta Trust, which Carl F. Bucherer has supported since 2013. Noëlle Maritz and Lia Wälti are part of the Carl F. Bucherer family. And Wendy Holdener is an official ambassador of Carl F. Bucherer.

DO SOME, LIKE RUTH BUSCOMBE, HELP YOUNGER PEOPLE IN THEIR PROFESSION?

Ruth is very much involved in The Girls on Track. All of the women featured in the podcast have reached a point in their careers where they are very busy and don’t have enough time to commit to helping young people. But all of them want to do it at one time or another. There is one question I like to ask them: What advice would you give to a young woman who has been following your career? They always have lots to say, coming up with answers without having to think about them.

WHAT IS THE RAPID-FIRE QUESTION YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO ASK YOU, AND CAN YOU ANSWER IT?

The rapid-fire question I ask female guests that I find compelling is: “If you could travel in time, where would you go?” They all say “to the past”, but never to the future. No one wants to go there and take a look. That’s amazing! Why does everyone want to go back to the past, a place we already know a lot about?

AND YOU, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

Well, I’ll be bold – I’ll go to the future.