Nicolas George Hayek (19 February 1928, Beirut – 28 June 2010, Biel) was a Swiss-Lebanese entrepreneur, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Swatch Group, with principal Headquarters in Biel. Hayek was born to a Lebanese mother and Lebanese American father, both from well-regarded Greek-Orthodox Christian Lebanese families with deep roots in Lebanon's Northern Governorate of El-Koura. His father was a dentist.
Hayek originally headed a business consulting firm, who was called on by a group of Swiss bankers to oversee a liquidation of Swiss watch manufacturing firms ASUAG and SSIH, who were encountering stiff competition from Japanese watch manufacturers. Hayek believed that the Swiss watch manufacturing industry could remain competitive with a restructuring and a focus on different business areas. After having engineered and implemented the reorganization of the ASUAG and SSIH watch companies for more than four years, finally bringing about their merger, Hayek, with a group of Swiss investors, took over a majority shareholding in the new group in 1985. He became Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer in 1986.
Hayek played a decisive role in the recovery of the Swatch Group with its watch brands Swatch, Blancpain, Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Pierre Balmain, Calvin Klein, Flik Flak, Breguet and Lanco. The strategies he developed in the early 1980s led to the success of the entire Swiss watch industry and regained its leading position worldwide since 1984.
Hayek was awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa of Law and Economics of the Faculty of Beni Culturali of the University of Bologna (Italy) in June 1998, after being awarded doctor honoris causa of Law and Economics of the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland) in 1996.
Nicolas G. Hayek was also the founder, Chairman of the Board and C.E.O. of Hayek Engineering Inc. with headquarters in Zurich.
Hayek is also credited with having a fundamental role in the creation of the Smart Car, a small European car created for inner city use by Mercedes Benz. Original names for the car revolved around the Swatch name — and even today aspects of the car such as its interchangeable body panels are clearly linked with the Swatch philosophy of individuality.
In 2003, his son, Nick Hayek, Jr. became the CEO of the Swatch Group. Hayek remained however chairman of the board of the Swatch Group to his death.
In 2007, Hayek was rated the world's 273rd richest person with an estimated wealth of US$3.2 billion.
Hayek died unexpectedly on 28 June 2010 of cardiac arrest during work at the Swatch Group headquarters in Biel. The death of Mr Hayek, 82, robs Switzerland of one of its most inventive business leaders. “We owe Mr Hayek a lot,” said Doris Leuthard, the Swiss president.
Anyone who has sat stymied with their cursor blinking in a "username" field knows that coming up with a name is harder than you'd think.
How do you find that perfect Twitter handle or that ideal epithet for your blog, website or startup -- one that's snappy and memorable, and that you won't hate by next year?
We talked to bloggers, social media gurus, linguists and naming experts (yes, they exist!) to get the scoop on finding a name that will work on the web.
How Do I Start?
Naming consultant Christopher Johnson, author of the The Name Inspector blog, says you should begin by brainstorming a list of keywords that relate to your blog, website or company. Then hit the reference materials; scan lists of synonyms and etymologies for more options. Friends are useful, too -- find the best Scrabble player in your circle and get her involved.
Try to think of all different types of names. You can compound words (Facebook, YouTube), blend together words (Microsoft, Netscape), add affixes (Friendster, coComment), make up words (Squidoo, Odeo) or use phrases (StumbleUpon, GoToMeeting).
Once you've got a healthy list, start culling. Ask yourself:
Does It Mean Something?
Names can be classified on a continuum based on how they communicate to consumers, says Nina Beckhardt, president of The Naming Group, an agency whose employees have crafted names for Walmart, Target and Puma. "There's a spectrum from descriptive names which speak directly to a product benefit or attribute, to empty vessel names, where it doesn't mean anything about the product that we're talking about."
Descriptive names, such as Stuff White People Like or Blogging Basics 101, immediately convey information about what you do. They are simple, intuitive and help consumers easily identify the mandate of a blog or company.
The downside? They can sound generic and boring, and the accompanying domain name is usually taken. They are also limiting in a fast-moving industry like tech, where what you do now might not be what you'll be doing in a few years. "A name can be a prison," says Michael Martine, the blogging and SEO expert behind Remarkablogger. "Take AT&T. There, the last T stands for telegraph."
Or Does It Mean Nothing?
Beckhardt says that empty vessel names can be completely made-up words (Kodak or Squidoo), words in another language (Hulu, which roughly translates both to "holder of precious things" and "interactive recording" in Mandarin), or those whose meaning is so obscure that people interpret it as an invented word (Google is sparked from "googol," the name for the number consisting of a one followed by a hundred zeros).
Empty vessel names can be fun to say, can separate you from the crowd, and can be subtler than descriptive ones. "Empty vessel names generate buzz in how different they are from the norm," says Beckhardt. "They can also create phonetic impact."
But you may need to put in more money to get the word out initially, says Martine. "Generally, the more of a disconnect there is between the name of a blog and what the blog's about, the greater the chance it will not succeed." And a word to the wise: Check to see if the word means something in another language -- you don't want unintended meanings to make a mockery of your carefully crafted name.
If neither descriptive nor empty vessel names appeal, try a suggestive name, which lies somewhere in between. Names like Apple or Yahoo all indirectly allude to the values for which the brand would like to be known.
Will It Work Online?
Nothing kills a name faster than finding out someone else already has it -- and in the online hunt for domain names, it sometimes seems like every possible option is taken.
One solution, says Johnson, is to opt for misspelled, made-up or compound words, as in Flickr, Digg or Topix. He says that intentional Web 2.0 misspellings are "attempts to capture meaning and associations of a real English word without having to spend tens or hundreds of thousands on the domain name."
Johnson also says that search engine issues have affected the style of names. People consciously try to create names with unique keywords so theirs will be the only result in targeted Google searches.
Others incorporate popular keywords into the name in an attempt to improve their position in search results, though Martine believes this is a losing strategy from a branding point of view. "It's lifeless," he says. "A keyword is not a brand, where there's emotional connection with the words." Plus, since spammers rely heavily on popular keywords, names generated solely with SEO in mind can seem spammy.
Is It Sticky?
Amidst all the search engine and domain name drama, consider that names are memorable when they sound good. "When you're creating a name, remember you're putting together syllables -- a good design is going to be about pleasing contrasts between consonants and vowels, and consonants themselves," says Johnson.
But don't get intimidated by the linguistics-speak. Humans are naturally pretty good at inferring whether a name is melodious or not. Just don't forsake that natural ability because you're so focused on domain names, SEO and empty vessels.
You can also use poetic devices to ensure the names stick. Names based on rhymes (TopShop, T-Mobile HotSpot), repetition (Bebo, Lala), and alliteration (Firefox, BlackBerry) tend to be memorable.
For the advanced namers out there, try what Beckhardt calls the "Part of Speech Test." Beckhardt argues that names that can be used in multiple parts of speech are stronger because people will use them in speech more often. LinkedIn, for instance, can be used as a noun ("We connected on LinkedIn"), as an adjective ("Did you look at her LinkedIn profile?"), and as a verb ("I am going to LinkIn with him"). When a name passes the Part of Speech test, Beckhardt says, it becomes pervasive.
Is It Simple?
"The name should be easy to pronounce, easy to understand when you hear it, easy to spell when you hear it, and easy to know the pronunciation when you see it written," says Johnson. However, you can mitigate confusion by buying domain names with likely misspellings and redirecting users to your site.
Punctuation is trickier. Although adding hyphens to domain names or underscores to Twitter handles may allow you to get the name you wanted, people are likely to accidentally leave them out, especially when typing on mobile devices. You're better off avoiding punctuation if you can.
Finally, shorter is usually better (especially for Twitter handles if you want to be retweeted). If it must be long, the name should be simple and memorable; Postcards From Yo Momma, for example.
Forget the Rules
If a name is really meaningful to you, it might work even if it doesn't quite meet all the other criteria.
"Name strength is evaluated on an individual basis," says Beckhardt. So don't be intimidated by the rules -- just grab your thesaurus and get going.
See it soon on YouTube
Advertised Brand: Pointure
Advert Title: Design & Style
Advertising Agency: Da Vinci, Beirut, Lebanon
Art Director: Carla Di Natale
Illustrator: Alberto Vitale
Computer Graphics: Nocturne Animation, Beirut, Lebanon
Sound Design: Nadim Abou Chacra Audio Production, Beirut, Lebanon
Storyboard Artist: Massimo Pazzini
Published: June 2010
Dozens of companies use acronyms or initials in their names, but how well do you know what the abbreviated letters mean? Let's take a look at the etymologies behind a few abbreviated company names.
1. CVS
Sorry, drugstore fans, there aren't three fat cat pharmacists with these initials running around out there. When the pharmacy chain was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963, it was known as "Consumer Value Stores." Over time the name became abbreviated to simply CVS.
2. K-Mart
Longtime five-and-dime mogul Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first larger store in Garden City, Michigan, in 1962. The store was named K-Mart after him. (Kresge had earned the right to have a store named for him; he opened up his new venture at the tender age of 94.)
3. IKEA
The Swedish furniture giant and noted charity takes its name from founder Ingvar Kamprad's initials conjoined with a the first initial of the farm where Kamprad grew up, Elmtaryd, and the parish he calls home, Agunnaryd.
4. DHL
In the late 1960s, Larry Hillblom was a broke student at the University of California, Berkeley's law school, so to pick up a bit of extra cash, he would make courier runs from San Francisco.
After he finished law school, he decided the courier business was the real racket for him, so he recruited his pals Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn to help him with the runs. Although they started out making their delivery trips in a single Plymouth Duster, the company quickly took off, and they named it after their respective last initials.
5. AT&T
No surprises here. The telecom giant sprang to life in 1885 as American Telephone and Telegraph, although it's now legally known as just AT&T.
6. JBL
The speaker company is named after its founder, James Bullough Lansing. But if Lansing had kept his original name, the company might have been called Martini Speakers.
Lansing was born James Martini in 1902, but when he was 25, he changed his name to James Lansing at the suggestion of the woman who would become his wife. (The martini was already a popular cocktail at the time, and several of Lansing's brothers had also changed their name by shortening it to Martin.)
7. 3M
The conglomerate behind Post-It Notes gets its name from its roots as a company that mined stone to make grinding wheels. Since it was located in Two Harbors, Minnesota, the company was known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, which was later shortened to 3M.
8. BVD
The stalwart men's underwear maker was originally founded by a group of New Yorkers named Bradley, Voorhees, and Day to make women's bustles.
Eventually the trio branched out into knitted union suits for men, and their wares became so popular that "BVDs" has become a generic term for any underwear.
9. H&M
The beloved clothing store began in Sweden in 1947. Founder Erling Persson was only selling women's duds, so he called the store Hennes -- Swedish for "hers."
Twenty-one years later, he bought up a hunting supplier called Mauritz Widforss. After the acquisition, Persson branched out into men's clothing and began calling the store Hennes and Mauritz, which eventually became shortened to H&M.
10. A&W Root Beer
Roy Allen opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, California, in the summer of 1919, and quickly began expanding to the surrounding areas. Within a year he had partnered with Frank Wright, and the pair christened their flagship product "A&W Root Beer."
11. GEICO
The adorable gecko's employer is more formally known as the Government Employees Insurance Company. Although GEICO has always been a private, standalone company, its name reflects its original purpose: Leo Goodwin founded the company in 1936 to sell insurance directly to employees of the federal government.
12. YKK
The initials you see on darn near every zipper you own stand for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikigaisha, which translates into "Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation." The company is named after Tadao Yoshida, who started the zipper concern in Tokyo in 1934.
13. P.F. Chang's
If you go looking for Mr. P.F. Chang, you'll be in for a long search. The Asian dining chain's name is actually a composite of the founding restaurateur Paul Fleming's initials and a simplification of founding chef Philip Chiang's last name.
14. BJ's Wholesale Club
The bulk retailer is named after Beverly Jean Weich, whose father, Mervyn, helped found the chain as a spinoff from discount retailer Zayre in 1983.
15. ING Group
The banking giant's name is an abbreviation of Internationale Nederlanden Groep, or "International Netherlands Group," a nod to the company's dutch origins and headquarters.
The company's heavy use of the color orange in its buildings and promotion is also a shoutout to the Netherlands; orange is the color of the Dutch royal family dating all the way back to William of Orange.
16. H&R Block
Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founding the tax preparation firm in Kansas City in 1955. Their only problem was their last name. The brothers worried that people would mispronounce their surname as "blotch," hardly a term you want associated with your tax return.
They decided to sidestep this problem by spelling the company's name "Block" instead, so that nobody would miss the solid hard "k" sound.
