The Human Performance Club at HSG brings together startups, researchers, and students

“Students at the HSG are ambitious. At the same time, I noticed that many of them neglect the fundamentals of performance, such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise,” says Jan Kessler. The 25-year-old bachelor’s student therefore founded the Human Performance Club in September 2025—one of about 150 student clubs at the HSG.

Initially, the club aimed to help HSG students understand healthy performance through workshops, keynote talks, and training sessions. This led to the creation of Health Week in the fall of 2025, in collaboration with HSG Unisport. More than 500 students participated, attending yoga classes, venturing into the ice bath, or listening to talks on training, nutrition, and recovery.

Connecting Olympians and Startup Founders

Since then, the club’s mission has expanded. “We want to connect people from the fields of health and performance—from students and startups to investors and experts,” says Kessler. A particular focus is on connecting ETH and HSG students. “They bring different skill sets to the table that complement each other particularly well when it comes to founding startups.”

The club is supported by an advisory board comprising figures from the fields of medicine and entrepreneurship. Among them are St. Gallen-based physician Patrick Noack, who has already worked with three Swiss Olympic delegations, and HSG graduate Tobias Reichmuth, founder of several companies and an investor in the longevity sector.

HSG Longevity Forum Brings Startups and Experts Together

To kick off the fall semester of 2026, the Human Performance Club is focusing on the topic of longevity. On September 23, it will host the HSG Longevity Forum at SQUARE. The event will kick off with pitches from five health startups, including ZoneIn, a mental health startup founded by HSG alumna Carmel Imhof. The jury will include Marc Bernegger, co-founder of the longevity investor Maximon.

The program will be complemented by panel discussions on longevity as an economic market, women’s health, and the societal implications of demographic change. A fireside chat with Tobias Reichmuth and discussions with the audience will round out the event. The club is also planning additional on-campus events for the 2026–27 academic year. Past guests have included Beat Hefti, a bobsledder from Eastern Switzerland and multiple Olympic medalist, who spoke with Patrick Noack about long-term training planning in elite sports.

“Switzerland has major advantages in the field of longevity,” says Kessler. “It is one of the world’s most innovative countries, has a high life expectancy, and boasts a strong, research-intensive industry.” He believes these conditions should be leveraged to make better health accessible to as many people as possible. This social mission is what motivates him.