Taking control of the electrical engineering company Feller AG at age 21, Elisabeth Feller steered the enterprise following the 1931 death of her father, founder Adolf Feller. Her tenure transformed the Horgen-based firm through modern corporate social responsibility programs and a distinct philosophy centered on delegated responsibility rather than narrow specialized knowledge.
Leadership and Corporate Philosophy
Upon leaving her geography studies at the University of Zurich and the School of Economics in 1931, Feller assumed management of Feller AG. She maintained that technical expertise was secondary to fostering a productive company climate and building trust among collaborators. Under her direction, the firm implemented early employee benefits, including a pension fund, a canteen, and local housing construction programs. To improve workplace integration, she established language training, offering German courses to Italian staff and Italian courses to Swiss employees.
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Feller integrated her business experience with a commitment to social reform. From 1950 to 1973, she led the commission for equal pay for work of equal value within the Federation of Swiss Women's Associations (Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine). Her work extended to the Union patronale suisse, where she actively lobbied for the implementation of equal pay standards. In 1959, she reached a global milestone as the first non-Anglophone president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women.
Philanthropy and Social Integration
Her social engagement included funding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, the Pestalozzi Village in Trogen, and a school for Palestinian girls in Ramallah. Collaborating with pediatrician Marie Meierhofer, she founded the Berghalden nursery to provide modern childcare services. Feller also addressed humanitarian crises directly; in 1970, she settled 37 refugees from Tibet in Horgen, providing them with employment at Feller AG. Though the Dalai Lama visited the company in 1974 to acknowledge these efforts, Feller had died the previous year.
Fast facts
- Born: 1910, Horgen, Switzerland
- Died: 1973, Horgen, Switzerland
- Education: University of Zurich
- Role: Entrepreneur, Feller AG
- Professional Affiliation: Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine
- Global Leadership: President, International Federation of Business and Professional Women (1959)
Questions readers ask
What was Elisabeth Feller's approach to management?
She prioritized human relations and the delegation of responsibility over specialized technical knowledge, believing that trust and proper monitoring of collaborators were the keys to business success.
What humanitarian work did Feller undertake?
She supported various social causes, including international medical institutions, childcare centers like the Berghalden nursery, and the integration of Tibetan refugees into her company in 1970.
Achievements
- Affiliated with Bund Schweizerischer Frauenvereine
- Educated at University of Zurich
