As Magalie Heraud takes over from Johannes Pokorny as GreenBuzz Managing Director, we thought it an ideal moment to reflect on achievements and look ahead to what’s coming in 2026 – including close collaboration for Climate Week Zurich.
Johannes: Magalie, welcome to GreenBuzz! What were you doing previously and how does it relate to your new role?
Magalie: Thank you, Johannes! I’m delighted to have joined GreenBuzz.
My career has been shaped by a deep belief in the power of ecosystems, partnerships, and cross-sector fertilisation. My curiosity led me into a non-linear portfolio journey built on purpose, people, and possibility.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of growth, technology, and sustainability: from leading transformation in tech to advising organisations through Growth & Co, helping founders and leaders scale with clarity, responsibility, and ethical growth.
As a Trained B Leader and CISL (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership) alumna, I’ve deepened my commitment to supporting organisations on their sustainability journey with rigour, credibility, and strategic insight. In parallel, as a Board Member at ISA, Innovationsverband Schwiezer Arbeitsmarkt, I champion labour market innovation and employability, and through Women in Tech & AI, I support women in staying visible, relevant, and confident in the evolving world of work.
Across all these roles – advisory work, fractional leadership, community engagement, or board mandates – my aim is the same: strengthening ecosystems, advancing sustainable innovation, and helping more people and organisations thrive.
Stepping into GreenBuzz brings all these threads together. It’s a unique opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas, people, and communities – and amplify impact far beyond what any single organisation or title can do.
Magalie’s first on-stage duty for GreenBuzz at November’s Sustainable Business Summit.
Magalie: You’re moving full-time to Climate Week Zurich; what exactly do you have planned for next May?
Johannes: For next May, we are preparing a week of 200 events, with more than 8’000 participants and 150 national & international partners. We will host partner-led events across Zurich, structured into thematic streams on climate, energy, nature & biodiversity, circular economy, finance, governance and social responsibility. Arts, culture, entertainment, and educational programmes for civil society are woven into the programme to make sustainability engaging, inclusive, and focused on solutions. Every event is designed with quality standards and tracked with impact metrics to ensure tangible outcomes.
Johannes: And, in turn, what do you have planned for GreenBuzz in 2026?
Magalie: The sustainability strategic imperative has encountered real headwinds, making it essential that we galvanise, recommit, and anchor our strategies in clear pledges that advance sustainability outcomes and deliver measurable ESG impact.
We often speak about sustainability through the lens of structures, strategy, regulation, technology, or systems but real progress happens when people show up, engage, challenge, and collaborate.
Systems matter, but it’s people who ultimately build the future. Resilient individuals willing to lean into complexity, work across sectors, and turn intention into action. And that is exactly where GreenBuzz comes in.
In 2026, our focus is on strengthening GreenBuzz’s mission to inspire, empower, and connect changemakers so they can drive impact within their organisations and communities. Our work will be anchored in three strategic content pillars: AI + Sustainability, emphasising ethical governance and the crucial role of sustainability leaders in shaping responsible, transparent, future-fit AI systems; Sustainability as an Innovation Driver, highlighting circularity, climate tech, regenerative models, and new business models that unlock competitiveness and long-term value; and Sustainability as a Strategic Imperative, taking sustainability beyond its traditional bubble and embedding resilience, risk, and long-term value at the core of business strategy, C-level leadership, and board engagement.
A major milestone in 2026 will be positioning GreenBuzz as the pulse of sustainability professionals and change makers in Switzerland, capturing the lived realities, challenges, and impact of practitioners and changemakers across sectors.Our vision is clear: GreenBuzz will be the trusted home base for sustainability professionals; a place of learning, identity, & community and a platform that equips leaders to drive resilience, innovation, and meaningful sustainability outcomes inside their organisations.
Q: What excited you most about GreenBuzz when you first came into the role?
Johannes: It was the energy of the community. GreenBuzz brings together very talented, well-educated professionals who care, who are curious, and who want to move from talk to action. It was always about collaboration and not about competition; it is about constantly learning from each other, having a holistic view on transformational topics and being better equipped with more skills to keep pushing forward for the topic sustainability and while keeping profitable growth within organisations in balance for the long run. To make this happen, it is the individual connection of like- and open-minded peers.
Johannes at one of his first GreenBuzz events back in 2023
Magalie: For me, it was all about the people, and the sense of purpose. GreenBuzz is built on a community of practitioners who aren’t just discussing sustainability; they’re driving it forward inside their organisations every single day. I felt an immediate connection to that energy, authenticity, and deep intention to create meaningful change. GreenBuzz has long been a leading force in advancing sustainability conversations in Switzerland, bringing together business leaders, innovators, and changemakers to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy.
What excited me most was the opportunity to build on this foundation in a way that feels both strategic and deeply human and, of course, doing what I love most: connecting people and businesses to spark innovation and drive real-world impact.
Q: What can people expect from GreenBuzz & Climate Week Zurich going forward?
Johannes & Magalie:
As Climate Week Zurich was born out of GreenBuzz and has similar goals, CWZ and GreenBuzz will always collaborate in various ways. This will be visible during Climate Week itself with many collaborations, benefiting members and partners of both organisations. Stay tuned!
