It’s always a smart move to carve out a niche for yourself; something Ball Watch Co. executive director Kevin Kouch can testify to.
Kevin found his way into the watch industry thanks to his impressive fluency in three languages (French, English and Cantonese).
He had been working in finance on Wall Street but his trilingual skillset made him an appealing candidate for a job in Switzerland with Ball Watch Co., despite having no prior experience in the industry.
That was 2003, and Kevin has stuck with Ball ever since.
Over the years, he says there have been many highlights working for the American watch band, which was founded in Ohio in 1847 by Webster Clay Ball.
His most recent include working closely with his engineering team to create new products.
These include the Marine GMT, Pilot GMT, Marvelight Caring Edition, Aero GMT and EH Original; all in all, he says, it has been a great year for innovation at Ball.
As the person in charge of the supply chain, Kevin is no stranger to the to supply crisis brought on by the pandemic.
“We’ve faced so many problems with the supply chains of components due to covid, as well as the lack of movement supply from our main supplier,” he says.
“To overcome it, we have worked twice as hard to find the right suppliers who are willing to help and cooperate with our needs.”
Looking to the future, Kevin wants to see a return to American watchmaking and industry.
“In today’s society, the American watch industry is close to completely non-existent,” he notes.
Kevin’s personal ambitions outside his career include the self-ascribed challenge to “eat at least once at each of the top 50 restaurants in the world”.
