“It makes a huge difference whether the owners are actively involved in a company or just an employee is the managing director.”



Yves Diacon, our Head of Real Estate Development and Transactions Centre-West and Centre-East, has been working for HRS for the past nine years. In an interview, he tells us what the best thing about his job is and what role HRS CEO Martin Kull plays in his working life.

How did you first start working in the real-estate industry?

I’m originally from the commercial sector. Thanks to my father, I was involved in real estate early on in my career, albeit not in construction. That’s probably why I am now involved in development and planning at HRS rather than implementation. Before coming to HRS, I studied real-estate management at St. Gallen University of Applied Sciences and later construction economics in Lucerne in parallel to my work.

When did you start at HRS?

Just over nine years ago. At the time, Martin Kull was the CEO and joint head of the Development department. I was hired to support him with this. This collaboration with him was very close and I learnt a great deal. In the end, I think it taught me more than any continuing training could have.

What is the best thing about your job?

The best thing about my job is that it is extremely varied. As the overall project manager, I am responsible for ensuring that a project works from a legal, environmental and economic perspective. Of course it must always satisfy the developer’s expectations and eventually be accepted on the market.
The nicest thing about this is that I’m in contact with so many different people for each project. There are the people in the immediate vicinity, politicians, the media, all the planners, etc.

That sounds like a job for a complete all-rounder with management skills.

Definitely. You have to be a good listener and be able to network well. You also need certain managerial skills. But the most important thing is that you consider projects holistically, bring together everyone involved and interest them in projects, all with the aim of ensuring the project meets everyone’s expectations.