The Group Management Team, which brings together all the business units and services and is organized in the form of a globally networked team, is now fully focused on customers and their needs. The team’s central task is to tailor our offerings to our global customers and further develop the value chain in line with market needs. We will thus be cooperating and interacting more intensively across the different divisions in future, combining competencies and know-how and thus creating added value for MCH Group and our customers.

Through its marketing platforms and solutions, MCH Group wishes to contribute to strengthening the corresponding industry networks and communities as well as the group’s national and international customers. The diverse nature of its customers and their needs is a key driver for innovative business models and solutions. These are frequently implemented as global benchmarks by MCH Group thanks to its visionary ideas, expertise, innovative capacity and understanding of quality and sustainability.

The customer groups comprise organizers, exhibitors, trade fair and event attendees, Live Marketing Solutions clients, partners, the venues and the public, and also numerous subgroups and combinations of the above.

MCH Group is committed to its location of Switzerland and especially to its infrastructure locations of Basel and Zurich as priority venues for staging its own and guest exhibitions. It thus safeguards the location interests of Basel and Zurich and secures the significant economic effects (see Introduction) that result from the group's activities at its exhibition and congress sites. MCH Group is additionally committed to institutions (business, tourism, culture) that promote the economy and business locations, providing them with active and transparent support through its membership and/or partnership in specific projects.

At MCH Group, we count on the creativity, competence, diversity and passion of our employees. MCH Group promotes a corporate culture that rewards courage, initiative and commitment. We regard ourselves as a team in both success and failure. Our diversity is a strength which is boosted by mutual respect. We aim to create an environment in which individual potential can be developed for the greater good of the company’s success (see Values, Governance). 

At the end of the 2022 reporting year, MCH Group had a total of 794 employees on permanent contracts occupying 761.8 full-time equivalents. The group’s workforce thus increased in the 2022 reporting year by 132 permanent employees (19.9%) or 134.5 full-time equivalents (21.4 %). – As of 31.12.2022, there were an additional 526 temporary employees with 202.5 full-time equivalents.

Some 45% of employees are women. Although women are still underrepresented on the top three management bodies, the need for action has been recognized and a continuous increase in the proportion of women can and will be achieved here. The approach we have adopted confirms this. Our employees represent more than ten nationalities worldwide.

At the end of 2022, we instigated a far-reaching transformation process to ensure that we can master the challenges of the future. In parallel to our economic recovery, we will be undergoing a cultural transformation, centered around new corporate values that are to be drawn up. These are intended as fundamental principles to govern our attitudes, our day-to-day interaction, our collaboration across team and national boundaries, and our behavior toward ourselves and others.

The corporate values shape our corporate culture. This contributes to the success of MCH Group. Our aim is to grow closer together as a company group. We can only win or lose together:

Our Game Changers (up to 2022: Change Agents) are employees from all the MCH companies and hierarchy levels. they represent the interests of our teams and employees, contribute ideas and, together with the Group Management Team, further develop our corporate culture. They play an active part in shaping our Culture Journey and are key pillars in our process of cultural change.

The 2022/2023 Management Development Program was launched in 2022. This further training is aimed at providing our 100 or so managerial staff with a practical basis for leadership that matches the strategic alignment and reorientation of MCH Group. A key part of the training is the revision and implementation of our corporate values.

The program has been developed by our Global Group HR together with external experts (Avenir Group) and adopted by the Executive Board. The further management training is aimed primarily at reflecting on and further developing one’s own leadership behavior and rapidly deploying the newly acquired knowledge. The contents include coaching and conflict resolution techniques, leadership in change processes and the development of an open feedback culture. The program is intended for all MCH Group managers worldwide and is held in English and German with five four-day training sessions in Switzerland each year.

One of the decisive qualities of Art Basel is the varied nature of the galleries represented at the fair in terms of both geographical location and the wide range of exhibiting artists and works of art on show. This calls for certain professional standards to define the core values of the art market, regardless of where the gallery owners are based. Art Basel believes that trust constitutes the decisive element for the sales that are crucial to the success of exhibitors, not only at our shows but on an ongoing basis. The integrity of the gallerists participating in Art Basel is thus a primary criterion for their inclusion. By introducing further criteria and measures, we aim to prevent cases or actions that could impair the general trust essential for a healthy art market.

Art Basel has expanded upon its Exhibitor Regulations and defined a series of principles that set out Art Basel’s expectations of its exhibitors in terms of their responsibility towards artists, suppliers of works of art, buyers and their industry. 

With these additions to the Exhibitor Regulations, Art Basel aims to reinforce the fundamental strength of the international art market which is built on trust and serves as a source of patronage for artists. These Art Market Principles and Best Practices were applied for the first time when assessing applications for participation in Art Basel Miami Beach 2018. More on this

The highly successful debut of Paris+ par Art Basel, the new contemporary and modern art show in the French capital, took place in 2022. Following a public competition organized by Réunion des Musées Nationaux - Grand Palais in December 2021, Art Basel was awarded the contract to stage the new world-class show in the iconic Grand Palais in Paris (as of 2024, following renovation). The inaugural edition was held at the Grand Palais Ephémère.

Art Basel and UBS present the Art Market Report, an annual global art market analysis. The Art Market Report provides a review of the international art market and highlights the most important trends and developments. As an independent and objective study, it analyzes sales and other activities of different segments of the market, including galleries, auction houses, art fairs and collectors.
To the report

Venues offers a comprehensive package of sustainable solutions for guest trade fairs, own fairs and congresses. These include transport, hall infrastructure, green electricity, catering and cooperation with local partners. More on this

Swisstainable Level II 
The Venues team has been committed to creating offers centered around the topic of sustainability and communicating these since 2016. As part of Swiss Tourism's Swisstainable sustainability program, it was awarded classification Level II "engaged" in 2022. The Swisstainable sustainability program unites businesses and organizations across the entire Swiss tourism sector. In this way, we are committing to the continuous sustainable development of our group as well as pursuing sustainability measures and making a concrete contribution to sustainable tourism in Switzerland.

The OK:GO application provides accessibility information on events and services at a glance, facilitating planning. Accessibility plays a key role in the framework of our sustainability commitment.

As a co-founder of Arcual, we are supporting the first blockchain ecosystem built for the art community by the art community (which ensures consideration is given to the artists when works of art are traded). This specially developed platform (start-up) supports royalty exchanges, efficient payments, and digital proofs of authenticity across the art ecosystem.