Mill Talk: Disrupting Time

presented by Aaron Stark

In the fall of 1876, two Swiss spies came to America and conducted some of the most covert and consequential industrial espionage in history, changing the course of the global watch industry forever. Disrupting Time is a true historical narrative of business strategy, espionage, and consequences. It details the story of Jacques David and Theo Gribi who, in 1876, were commissioned by the Society of Jura Industries, a Swiss trade association, to acquire the secrets of America’s technology sector – the American watch industry. They captured their intelligence in a 130-page report that would remain mostly secret until 1992.

Disrupting Time details the never-before-told story of David and Gribi’s secrets and mission, showing how they used disguises, agent recruitments, and other classic espionage methods to steal the secrets of America’s technology sector of the era.

Speaker Bio:

Aaron Stark is the author of the book "Disrupting Time: Industrial combat, espionage, and the downfall of a great American company." He currently serves as a director of business intelligence for a Fortune 500 company. Before entering business, he was an assistant professor of economics at West Point, with a specialization in finance. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School with a focus on finance and business strategy, and a BS in Economics from West Point. He is a veteran of the US Army with two combat tours in Afghanistan, serving as an Apache helicopter pilot.Disrupting Time details the never-before-told story of David and Gribi’s secrets and mission, showing how they used disguises, agent recruitments, and other classic espionage methods to steal the secrets of America’s technology sector of the era. In praise for Disrupting Time, Hodinkee's former Editor-in-Chief Jack Forster wrote "Aaron Stark pulls back the curtain on perhaps the single most important case of industrial spying in the history of watchmaking – and one whose full details, incredibly, weren’t fully known until just last year.” Additionally, the anonymous CIA officer behind the wildly popular Watches of Espionage wrote: "Disrupting Time is a fantastic story of real-life watches of espionage.

It is a thrilling read, full of details that will change everything you thought you knew about the origin of Swiss watches - definitely not the narrative the watch industry has told you. If you are into watches, intelligence, history, or business, this book is a must read!” Join us for author Aaron Stark's lecture where he will talk about his journey of discovery, research, and how these events changed the course of history.

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