Date: 19.11.2025 (2025-11-19)
Hanspeter Abegg (19.11.2025) Context: • https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanspeter-abegg-86938995/ • CFO / VP Corporate Services at Gubelin Group • The House of Gübelin is a Swiss, family-owned firm known for its exquisite high-end jewellery, gemstone expertise, and as purveyors of some of today’s most sought-after luxury watch brands. • 170 ppl on Linkedin - total of 200+ • My message: • Ich bin auf Ihr Profil gestossen, da ich nach erfahrenen CFOs in der Schweiz suche und Sie vor kurzem eine offene Accounting Stelle hatten. • • Wir entwickeln proprietäre KI-Modelle für Controlling & Accounting, die auch für komplexe Fälle trainiert sind - etwa mehrere Purchase Orders auf einer Rechnung, Price-Variance-Tolerances bei Lieferanten etc. • Reply: •
Notes: • General: • 10 year at PWC; before at UBS as a developer -> tech savvy • VP Corp Services: legal, finance, digitalisation of all processes • Their industry has low rate of digitalisation -> he wants to create to base for more automation • They will migrate to new ERP - they got new CRMs and other tools • They move away from SAP to AP+ (Geko as finance solution) • They are 250 people -> SAP is not pragmatic enough / too complex -> AP+ - kickoff in 2 weeks -> migration via 2 to 3 years • They sell Schmuck (Uhren etc.); they have labs with Edelsteinen • Chatbot: they want to implement a chatbot that can answer questions across things • Spesenreglement - but also other questions • They have MSFT Teams -> they try to create it there • Automation: • They use different AI tools • They have their own AI 7 years ago -> they developed an AI with ETH that learns how a human urteils re. quality of Edelstein • They have their own blockchain -> transparency -> they can verfolgen a Stein across the whole Supply Chain -> nano tracer for the stone • AI: • Marketing -> creation of images of Schmuckstücke etc. • Translation of texts • AI in finance: • Erkennen von Rechnungen und Vorkontierungen • Challenge: the system is too schwerfällig • blp is too expensive and too arrogant • AP+ has a rule based workflow; they also work with Parashift • Check out AP+ (SQL database) • Chatbot that works on the user manual -> expand it to execute tasks • Before going into AI they have to set up AP+ • He built an Excel macro that saves him 30min every day that gets data from SAP system • 3 way match he does with it • On the old system it has to be a quick win • Automation Anywhere (RPA) since 3 years -> they have a few bots • One bot sends a Kostenstellenberichte every month • They are not using PowerBI -> 40k / year -> too expensive • The bot takes the Excel, copies the data into it and sends the final Excel to the CFO • LIMS: labs are managed via it -> bot takes invoice via • Biggest objections / challenges in his daily life? • • Most valuable flows for him? • • Context: team setup? internal and external? • • Which tasks are the biggest pain? With magic wand -> what would he solve? • Intercompany Verrechnung • Waren, Fixkosten (Meeting, Marketing), • SAP have solutions -> APIs is a problem • SAP ICC6 • HongKong & USA pay a lot per Scheck -> often the payments are bundled -> reconciliation • Excel with all open invoices • Controlling / FP&A • Done in Excel • He did not try a lot there yet • What can AI get from DBH? • Deep Research for Förderungen -> monthly management report sent to C-Level • Treiber-basierte Planung -> headcount • They measure customer frequency • Macro-economic influence -> models to see that (e.g. finance does not work well atm -> less bankers buy their products) • Mitarbeiter & Miete are highest Fixkosten • Current process: • They plan on Markenebene -> they plan measures based on past numbers • No Deep Research yet • Controlling: • Monatlicher Kostenstellenbericht: SOLL vs. IST • Kostenstellenverantwortlicher macht Abweichungsanalyse -> Aufwand ist überschaubar • If revenue goes down they can not do a lot • He is quite tech savvy -> pitch him on FP&A • He is super interested but new system has to be introduced first • He is interested in bots • Which tasks would he focus on? • • Do they already have automations? Which ones? How well do they work? • • Which companies would he target? • • General feedback to pitch? •