Six years ago – in 2015 – the Swiss Chemical Society asked us to take over the editorship of Helvetica Chimica Acta. It had been largely forgotten that Helvetica is – and has always been – the journal of the Swiss Chemical Society, originally founded in 1917 as a condition for the SCS to join the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The relationship between the Swiss Chemical Society and Helvetica was not the only thing that time had forgotten. In 2015, it was not possible to submit a manuscript to Helvetica online – postal mail submissions were still common and other processes and policies were out of date. In our opinion as the new editors, these outdated practices deterred the sophisticated scientific manuscripts that once proliferated in Helvetica.

In reshaping the journal, we focused on the strengths – the incredible network of scientists working in Switzerland and Helvetica's reputation for detailed, high quality science. By returning to these roots, we are proud to have been able to attract hundreds of leading authors to have expanded our scope into all areas of molecular science. At the technical level, all aspects of the journal, from the template to the editorial and editing processes, have been modernized and revitalized. We are proud now to be able to provide prompt, personal service with times from submission to first decision of about 21 days.

Helvetica has been reshaped to fit the need to our research community. In particular, the need of more transparency and ease of reading have triggered the inclusion of the section of Author contribution and the addition of the title in references. More recently, manuscripts transfer within the Wiley family have been facilitated. Helvetica is always your home for high quality manuscripts that may have suffered from deficiencies in reviewer appreciation. While Helvetica was always compliant with the open-access mandate for work funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, it now offers Open Access to all Swiss and German authors as part of a broader agreement with Wiley. These changes have been accompanied by a return of the authors from not only Switzerland but internationally, and we look forward to continued growth in both the number and quality of the manuscripts.

The changes at Helvetica provide a platform for its mandate from the Swiss Chemical Society to take full part in our community. Helvetica is a major sponsor of the SCS Lectureship Tours, which brings world-leading scientists to Switzerland for week-long, multi-stop tours. We have also been able to provide generous support to numerous conferences and workshops. More recently, Helvetica has taken a leading role in promoting excellence among the younger generation (Helvetica Prize of the SCS, Best Oral Presentation Awards, Best Poster Presentation Awards, Best Flash Talk Awards, Support for JSP Program and Support for EYCheM), by highlighting the career of some of our esteemed colleagues (dedicated issues for the late François Diederich, Philippe Renaud, Michael Graetzel, Antonio Togni and E. Peter Kündig), and by inviting prominent international scientists to Switzerland (Harry L. Anderson and Luisa De Cola).

Publishing is facing many challenges and opportunities that require constant innovation and new ideas. After six years as Editors-in-Chief, we decided to keep things fresh by inviting further changes, starting with new Editors. And importantly, we want to give the broader community of talented scientists in Switzerland a voice in shaping the future of Helvetica. We are delighted to announce that Profs. Eva Hevia (University of Bern) and Jérôme Waser (EPFL) have accepted to take over the role of Editors-in-Chief and to help the continuing renovation process.

As we pass the baton, we want to take this opportunity to thank all of the authors, the Guest Editors, Wiley, and especially Dr. Richard J. Smith, our managing editor, who have enabled the reinvigoration and new directions at Helvetica.

We are convinced that Eva and Jérôme will bring Helvetica to the next Level, and we look forward to continuing to publish our own work in what is sure to be an always improving and adapting Journal.