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futura21, a company within the Grant Alexander group, is launching augmented networking with “Roger”, an AI-powered matchmaking service. Developed in partnership with Pensive Labs (a Swiss AI lab), it connects professionals supported through career management programmes with the right people at the right time, based on each person’s projects, needs and resources.
A network that works without an app
Where traditional networking multiplies cluttered news feeds and unnecessary notifications, this augmented networking AI, called “Roger”, operates privately, one-to-one, directly and simply via WhatsApp. There is no other app to install and no new account to manage. The user first exchanges messages with Roger, the conversational assistant, who gets to know them and identifies their skills and what they can contribute to the network.
Quality of introductions over volume
The journey is based on a four-step cycle. First, the user shares their needs in a conversational exchange with Roger. The AI then regularly maps the entire futura21 network to identify relevant synergies. Before any introduction is proposed, the assistant checks back with the user to make sure the need is still current. Finally, each match is validated by the futura21 team before being offered individually. Human oversight therefore remains at the heart of the model: AI broadens the field of possibilities without replacing expertise or social intelligence.
Sovereignty and control: a pact of trust
For futura21, confidentiality is a sine qua non for innovation in HR professions. Joining the network is entirely optional and involves no time commitment. Exchanges are encrypted end to end, and data is hosted in Switzerland. Here, WhatsApp is simply a channel for conversing with Roger. Users remain in control of what they share: the more precise and authentic the information, the more relevant the introduction.
A gradual rollout
The launch is being carried out in waves to ensure the quality of the synergies. The first wave was reserved for the cohort of executives and senior managers who began their futura21 support in 2026. The service was then gradually opened to members of futura21’s “Club Entrepreneur·es” before being rolled out to the entire community. Registration takes two minutes via WhatsApp and requires no CV. The community now brings together more than 200 professionals, and around 50 “matches” have already been proposed. In the longer term, futura21 is targeting several thousand people on the platform.
“At futura21, we are convinced that networks are one of the most powerful levers for success in a career transition. This platform strengthens all the work we are already doing to animate and sustain our community of executives and senior managers — made up of people we support, alumni now in employment, entrepreneurs, and also those who, although they have completed their programme, are still pursuing their professional journey. Artificial intelligence helps us create more relevant connections and reveal links that would otherwise have remained invisible. This is only the first step: we intend to keep developing this service and enriching this community, so as to offer ever more value to our members and multiply opportunities for meetings and collaboration,” says Romain Buob, CEO of Grant Alexander Switzerland and futura21.
“Our mission is to create luck by fostering encounters, opportunities and connections that can give rise to new projects. This collaboration perfectly embodies that ambition. We are particularly pleased to launch this initiative — a Swiss first — alongside futura21, which shares our vision of innovation and the development of professional relationships,” adds Nathan Cohen, co-founder of Pensive Labs.
About futura21 Founded in 2012, futura21 is a Swiss company specialising in supporting executives, senior managers and experts throughout their professional journeys. A preferred partner of the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg for career transition programmes, it offers tailored outplacement, career coaching, and leadership and skills development services. Present in Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, futura21 relies on a dynamic community of several thousand alumni — people in transition, working professionals and entrepreneurs — whom it actively engages to promote networking, experience-sharing and the creation of opportunities. Part of the Grant Alexander group since 2024, the company continuously enriches its services through innovative approaches and artificial intelligence, while remaining guided by a strong conviction: the quality of human relationships remains the driving force behind sustainable professional trajectories. http://www.futura21.ch
About Grant Alexander For more than 35 years, Grant Alexander has been the performance partner of organisations and their leaders, supporting them holistically across all their needs in skills management and development, with a consistently tailored response. A multi-specialist HR consulting and services group with four business lines (Executive Search, Executive Interim, Leadership Advisory, Value Creation), it operates across all sectors and functions (leaders, experts, rare profiles) worldwide. It has offices in France (Paris, Aix-Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse) and Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Zurich), and is also the exclusive partner in France and Switzerland for InterSearch, the leading global network for executive recruitment. As part of its CSR approach, Grant Alexander is a certified “Entreprise engagée” (Ecovadis). https://www.grantalexander.com/
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