When it comes to fiction, one of my favorite character archetypes is the “fixer.” Why? Because while others pontificate, theorize or panic, the fixers, like Pulp Fiction’s Winston Wolfe played by Harvey Keitel, Scandal’s Olivia Pope played by Kerry Washington, Ray Donovan, in the drama with the same name, played by Liev Schreiber, or Mike McLusky played by Jeremy Renner in the fantastic Mayor of Kingstown, coolly, deliberately and with Nietzschean Superman-like inexorability, go about getting shit done. Which means solving the most complex problems always with a positive outcome for their clients. Like swans that appear to glide effortlessly across the surface of a lake, but with their feet churning furiously underwater, you never see the frenetic action undertaken by said fixers as they maintain the appearance of glacier-like coolness. But trust me, the effort they make is Herculean. I’ve been waiting for over a decade to unveil who I believe is the watch industry’s greatest “fixer.” This is an individual who combines a Special Forces operator’s improvisational genius with her Sun Tzu-like tactical brilliance, yet she is also one of the primary protectors of the Swiss watch industry, serving tirelessly to uphold its values and champion its young creative minds.

Her name is Marine Lemonnier-Brennan, our industry’s public relations doyenne, and if you don’t know who she is, you should. Because her digits are first on the speed dial list for many of the most important figures in watchmaking. When it comes to launching a new brand as she did with big names like Jean-Claude Biver, or helping brands pivot and be taken more seriously for their horological merit as she did with Jacob & Co., or championing underdogs as she did with Hervé Schlüchter, no one is better than Lemonnier. Today, she runs the most important and quietly powerful independent PR firm in the Swiss watchmaking industry. Named 289 Consulting, she and her partners are known to have an almost Cardinal Richelieu-like ability to make kings out of watch brands. Yet in a world where individuals fall on either side of the ethical border, she is clearly and definitively one of the good guys. I am delighted to feature her as the second individual in my series on “The Silent Forces of the Swiss Watch Industry.”

How did you start in the watch industry?

Honestly, I had a great career in Paris in my previous life. It was in the TV and entertainment business. I was the Corporate Communications Manager for Canal Plus. I did the first half of my professional life there. We had become the owner of Universal Studios, so I was going to L.A. every month. It was incredible. I remember participating in a small dinner with seven people, including Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Then when I was about to turn 40, I decided it was time for a change. My father is an entrepreneur who invested in companies in Switzerland, and I always loved it here. So I decided I would move to Switzerland and start all over again.

I thought about the different industries that I could work in and felt naturally drawn to watches, even though I knew nothing about horology at the time. I was always in love with creativity. I loved artisans, and so I felt that watchmaking would introduce me to this world. After many years in film and television, I wanted to go back to something more tangible, more substantial, something craft-based but still about emotion. It was incredible to me that something so small worn on the wrist could create the same emotion as a great work of cinema. I told myself, “I must explore this world.”

Why did you not want to continue in TV and film?

It is not good to grow old in the film and television industry. It is an industry that sometimes prioritizes novelty over experience. I could see this. I had a great mentor in Paris. She was the one who hired me, and every few years she would promote me. By the time I was almost 40, chaining different positions — as Corporate Communications Manager for the group, Head of PR for our 400 pay TV under the umbrella “Canal Satellite,” and the Communications Director of PSG Omnisports. I learned so much from sports.

What did you learn from sports?

I started at the sports department at Canal Plus. I oversaw the communications for four Olympics and six to seven Formula 1 seasons. So I really feel my roots are in sports. I love sports, because there is no lying in sports. You excel by your own merit. You succeed or you fail by your grit and determination and courage. You learn to never quit. You see everything we admire most in human beings in sports.

When we first met, you were at Vacheron Constantin. How did you start there?

I sent my CV to Richemont Group and under two weeks later, I received a few replies. I had a few interviews with the help of a good friend. One of which was at Vacheron Constantin, and I decided to go there to work with Charlie Torres, who had become the CEO six months before. The role was head of international PR and I stayed for six years. It was a very beautiful brand but one where the pace was very different from what I was used to, as I like to move quickly. One of the funny moments was when Charlie Torres called me up and said to me, “Marine, you answer emails too fast.” [laughs] But then my whole universe opened up when one day I received a phone call from Jean-Claude Biver.

How did you meet the legendary Jean-Claude Biver?

We were introduced by a mutual friend. Mr. Biver at this point had made a success with Hublot, and it had been sold to LVMH Group. Now, he wanted to bring the brand to the next level, and he had this concept of linking Hublot with worlds outside of watchmaking. One of these was sports. He felt there was so much emotion in sports. Our friend told him, “There is a PR at Vacheron Constantin, but she actually used to work at Canal Plus where she made her whole career doing communications for sports.” So he called me up. And I would discover that when Mr. Biver wants something done, he wants it right away, which is exactly my style. He asked me to meet the next day at 8 a.m. After 30 minutes, he said to me exactly what I wanted to hear. He asked, “Do you want to join a growing company where as an individual YOU can make a huge difference?” I felt inspired. I told him that I did. So then he replied, “Can you start next week?”

With Mr. Biver and the Hublot team, immediately I got the feeling that I was reconnected to my real life, to the pace and the energy that I love, and that I used to get from Canal Plus but now in a whole new industry. When I joined Canal Plus, we were 1,000 people, and by the time I left, we were 11,000 people. So we were growing very, very fast. It was so exciting. For Hublot, it was exactly the same experience. It was electrifying. I joined in 2010 and we were growing super, super fast, and it was really exiting to come to work every morning. The first project I worked on was the polo competition at Gstaad. One week after I joined, I had to manage 25 journalists. To ensure that everyone had a great time, that everything was executed correctly; it was a great experience.

What did you learn from Jean-Claude Biver?

The thing about Hublot that people don’t know and to me speaks to the genius of Jean-Claude Biver is that the company is “well born,” meaning every person brought in by him doesn’t feel they have a job. They feel they have a mission. Each of us has something to do — a very clear objective to make the company a success. Hublot has zero politics. Politics is a cancer in other companies, but at Hublot, we had none at all. There was no one around whom you didn’t know what they did. Everyone felt purposeful, and they were empowered to make decisions. No matter how big we got, it felt like a startup spirit. Mr. Biver always preferred to have “less people but better people” and entrusted them to make decisions. He managed to keep this startup spirit over the years, which was truly remarkable. There was never a day where we felt complacent. Mr. Biver was also brilliant at inspiring people, never to bring them down but to push them in a positive way. He always shared his long-term vision, so you understood what your role was in it. He might also say this was good or bad, but he wouldn’t blame you for trying something.

How did he motivate his team?

What was important was the way he set achievable goals. Even if he was very ambitious, he would always set down-to-earth goals, so that we could accomplish them and share the positivity of this. And we always felt we were making positive momentum, because it was step by step. Look at it this way. If I ask you to climb to the top of a mountain, you will feel intimidated; you might tell me it’s impossible. But if I tell you we are going to climb 100 meters, you will say yes, of course, that’s possible. And from there, we climb another 200 meters and so on until we are at the top. Because with each step, you are also gaining confidence.

Did you take this with you to 289 Consulting?

Yes, I try in a small way to keep this spirit at 289 Consulting. One of the most important things I learned from both sports and also from Mr. Biver is the power of positivity. To me this means setting achievable goals and accomplishing something every day. Even if it’s small, it feels good. I want to always be moving, to be receptive to new ideas and new people, to feel the freedom to learn. This is always important. One very crucial thing I learned from Mr. Biver is as follows: Things will go wrong. There will be mistakes or failures. But if you learn from them, you can transform what you thought was a negative outcome into something positive. When something doesn’t go the way you want, it can also lead you someplace better, if you have the right mental attitude.

So always keep moving and always stay positive?

Yes, Wei, I think you know this well.

We might have been in the industry for a while. But we are always receptive to what is in the future….

One thing that I think is important is as follows: Everyone is looking after their own company or position or whatever. But as a whole, we must always try to uplift the industry. I think we both do this in our way.

What is one of your favorite experiences at Hublot?

One of my greatest memories at Hublot was hosting clients and journalists at the 2022 World Cup in Rio. Honestly, this was incredible. We took over an entire hotel, and we could see the emotion generated by one of the greatest sporting events on the planet and how it became associated with our brand and our watches. We were there for an entire month, and we all pitched in to create something truly extraordinary.

You were also briefly at Zenith. What was your experience like there?

Mr. Biver asked me to move from TAG Heuer to Zenith to join Julien Tornare, who was the newly-appointed CEO. I knew Julien back from Vacheron Constantin, and I loved him so much because he really had an entrepreneurial mindset. One of my favorite memories with Julien was that he joined the company and he told me, “It’s the anniversary of the El Primero. We have no money, but we have to do something in Geneva to celebrate this.” I came back to him and said, “In November [are] the auctions. There is a tent at La Réserve with Aurel Bacs [the renowned auctioneer of Phillips Watches], so maybe we can do a party there.” Julien said maybe we could do something in terms of products. So I spoke to Aurel and asked if he would like to design a watch, and [if] we could create a limited edition that would be introduced just before the auction. He and Alexandre Ghotbi [Phillips’ then head of sale and current deputy chairman] came to Le Locle. They came to design one watch. After three hours, they had designed 50 dials. All of them were so great! We chose three dials and made the limited editions, and they sold out in three hours and helped to create this excitement and momentum around Zenith again. That was great!

But why did you leave?

Mr. Biver sent me there. I loved Julien but the office in Le Locle was two hours away from my home in Nyon. I got really tired driving back and forth, and so I decided it was time to take a break. Mr. Biver had already retired and I wasn’t sure I wanted to work for another boss. I told Mr. Biver, “I will take six months off and maybe then I’ll do something completely different. I have many ideas.” Finally, I had some time to think. I told myself, “My parents are entrepreneurs. I am entrepreneurial in spirit. Let’s try that.” But then I thought, “What I know is PR, so let’s stay with this also.”

You set up 289 as a company right away, correct?

Interestingly, in Switzerland, you can set yourself up to be self-employed or you can create a company. Even though I didn’t really know what the future would be, I decided to set up a company. Less than one year later, Aude Campanelli contacted me. We had worked at Vacheron Constantin together. We shared the same office for six years. Our tables were next to each other. She said, “You are alone in your PR job and so am I. Shall we be together again?” And I said, “OK!” Then Estelle joined as well, as she was also at Vacheron. Then Cloé, Eva, Marie, Mousse and Manon. What was interesting about Marie was that I found out she had left her previous job. And without knowing what we would do together, I asked her to join 289. Because one thing I learned is that in most agencies, it’s only when they add clients that they look for more staff. Which means they are always behind. I wanted to do the opposite. If someone is really good like Aude, Estelle, Cloé, Marie, Eva or Mousse, then I prefer to call them, hire them, and we will find clients together. Because I believe that talent attracts business.

Why has 289 become such a success?

We don’t simply do business. I think everyone at 289 is united by the fact that we care about our clients and about this industry. We love watchmaking. We love great stories and want to give them life. What we love is to put people in the light. Nothing makes us happier than when we can bring some real positive value to our clients. But at the same time, we are content to be behind the brand. Always a bit in the shadows.

How do you decide to work with a brand?

We need to understand them, and we need to understand what we can do. It has to be a mutual choice to work together. Because we want to really believe in our clients. Because this is ethical. I strongly feel that you can have commercial success in life, but if you can do this while creating something positive, or even if you want to use the word “ethical,” then this is something truly rewarding.

You always support new voices, why?

I love it when new people come into our industry. I like people. When they are smart, you are learning from them, which is the best. I am curious. I love to meet new people. I pick certain people and I follow them. I don’t care about the prestige of a business card. They can be up or down, small or big, but when I love someone, I always believe in them.

I believe you have personally changed the perception of a PR person in our industry. Would you agree?

It’s nice of you to say this, but it’s a bit too much. I’ll say that it’s funny, but I first started the PR job in the watch industry when you always put the girl [a female PR executive], because you didn’t know what else to do with her. I hope what I and my partners at 289 have demonstrated is that PR can be a really strong tool to communicate the real value of a brand in the right way and in a passionate way. PR is not drinking champagne. PR is hard work and method. Over and over again, I’ve tried to bring this to our industry since the beginning. How to build a media plan? How to develop a real long-term strategy and to have the right balance between the media from the watch industry which brings credibility, and the media from generalist titles which bring reach? How to connect with not only veterans, but also new voices? It’s always about finding the right balance.

What is the significance of good PR?

People look at the job and think it is glamourous, and of course it can be. But we are the first to arrive and the last to leave. We ensure that the message has reached each and every person. Canal Plus taught me a lot. Because it was all about entertainment. So the PR was as powerful and had as much voice in decisions as anyone in the group. When you look at how much the love for watches has grown amongst the general public, we must also acknowledge that telling the stories well has been integral to expanding the reach for watchmaking and also important to reaching the generation of the future. I hope 289 and I have brought a real value into terms of what PR should be.