Private Banking Executive Moves | Q1 2024

Switzerland

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

• The former CS executive Steve Fragnière is in charge of their Swiss (onshore) Private Banking division. He is taking over from Patrick Botteron, who in turn will be running the newly created Center of Competences for Private Banking.

Bitcoin Suisse

• Dirk Klee has decided not to pursue its long-standing ambition of obtaining a Swiss banking license. In the same move, he handed over as CEO of the Zug-based fintech to Andrej Majcen in February. He’s the former Head of Client Business and was most recently Head of Global Expansion & Strategic Clients and Co-founder of the company.

EFG International

• EFG appointed Prasanna Gopalakrishnan as a new member of the Board of Directors. She was proposed for election to the Board of Directors at their AGM on March 22. She succeeds Bernd-Albrecht von Maltzan, who didn’t stand for re-election after eleven years as a Member of the Board of Directors.

FINMA

• FINMA has appointed Stefan Walter as the authority’s new CEO. He started his new role on April 1. Walter succeeds Urban Angehrn, who stepped down at the end of September 2023.

Glarner Kantonalbank 

• Martin Leutenegger had been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Glarner Kantonalbank since 2008. He has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 57. 
• The Board of Directors has now elected the previous Vice President Urs Gnos as the new President for the remaining term of office. Konrad Marti will take over the office of Vice President.

Hypothekarbank Lenzburg

• The Board of Directors has appointed Silvan Hilfiker as the new head of the bank. He will start his role on June 1. He replaces Marianne Wildi, who will be proposed for election to the Board of Directors at the AGM. In the period between the AGM and Hilfiker taking over, Stefan Meyer, Deputy CEO, will lead the Executive Board ad interim.

Inventx

• Damian Hallenbarter was appointed new Head of Banking and Member of the Executive Board and started from March 1. He succeeds Pascal Wild, who left the company after more than six years and took over as Head of Consulting Services at Ti&m at the beginning of January.

Julius Bär

• CEO Philipp Rickenbacher stepped down, being replaced ad interim with Nic Dreckmann, current Deputy CEO and COO.
• David Nicol, Chair of the Governance and Risk Committee Meeting of the Board of Directors, would not stand for re-election at the 2024 AGM.
• Gilles Stuck, Market Manager for Switzerland, is leaving Julius Bär after six years. Sonia Gössi is now taking over his duties on an interim basis.
• The Julius Bär Group intends to elect Bruce Fletcher and Andrea Sambo as independent Members of the Board of Directors at the AGM on April 11. They succeed Gilbert Achermann, who has reached the maximum term of office for Julius Bär Board members, and David Nicol, Chairman of the Governance and Risk Committee.

Lichtensteinische Landesbank

• Andreas Gerber, a longstanding Credit Suisse executive, became a new Member of the Group Executive Board of the LLB and also Head of the Private and Corporate Clients Division since the beginning of 2024. He took over the role from Urs Müller.

Lombard Odier

• Geneva-based private bank Lombard Odier has appointed Bettina Ducat as Co-Head of Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM), effective since March 5. She took over the role held by Nathalia Barazal, who has been Co-Head of LOIM for the last three years.
• Adam Molina was named the COO of Swiss private bank Lombard Odier's Asset Management Business. He is taking over from Alexandre Meyer, who was recently named a Managing Partner of the Lombard Odier Group.

Migros Bank

• Ursula La Roche resigns from the Board of Directors of Migros Bank. That will take effect by the end of July the latest. La Roche is taking over as Head of Auditing at Deutsche Bank. She will take up her new role on August 1.

Neue Bank

• The Board of Directors of Neue Bank recommends Hansruedi Köng as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is to be elected at the AGM on April 26. He succeeds the well-known financial scientist Manuel Ammann.

Postfinance

• Beat Röthlisberger takes over as the new CEO of Postfinance as of July 1. The Deputy CEO of BLKB will move to the Swiss Post subsidiary and succeeds former CEO Hansruedi Köng. Head of Finance, Kurt Fuchs, will lead Postfinance on an interim basis from March to the end of June 2024.

Société Générale

• The Swiss private banking subsidiary of the major French bank Société Générale has appointed Frédéric-Charles Bois as Chief Investment Officer.

Swiss National Bank

• The Chairman of the Governing Board of the SNB, Thomas Jordan, will resign at the end of September 2024.

UBS

• The major Swiss bank UBS will propose Gail Kelly for election to the Board of Directors at the AGM on April 24. At the same time, it was announced that Dieter Wemmer will no longer stand for re-election to the Board of Directors.
• UBS has appointed Jon Hollick as its new Head of Global Real Estate Investments, excluding the DACH markets.
• The President of Asset Management at UBS, Suni Harford, is stepping down. The current President of Asset Management for the EMEA and Switzerland regions, Aleksandar Ivanovic, has been appointed as her successor from March 1. Harford’s second area of responsibility - sustainability and impact - was also reassigned from the start of March. This will go to Beatriz Martin Jimenez in addition to her current tasks.
• From February 2024, Thomas Pohl took on the role of Chief of Staff to the Group CEO. He took over from Marsha Yuan, who is on maternity leave and will subsequently take on another role within the bank. Pohl's successor in Governmental Affairs will be announced at a later date. Until then, Michael Schoch, Head Governmental & Regulatory Affairs, will fulfil this role.
• In Bern, their own manager Christa Emminger de Grenus has taken over the regional management and Jürg Kaufmann the private banking. 
• In Gstaad, the entire team of Manuel Blanco, Head of the Gstaad location, moved to Zurich-based private bank EFG International, which immediately appointed Blanco as Head of Private Banking Gstaad and Greater Berne Area.

Union Bancaire Privée

• The former CEO of Banque Edmond de Rothschild, François Pauly, was elected to the Board of Directors of Geneva-based UBP.

Vontobel

• Martin Arregger is joining Vontobel. He will take over the role of Deputy Regional Head of Bern Mittelland on April 1, alongside Roland Heiniger.
• The Board of Directors of Vontobel proposes Kristine Braden, Annika Falkengren and Mary Pang for election to the Board of Directors. The AGM will take place on April 9. Current committee members Clara Streit and Michael Halbherr have decided not to stand for re-election due to other professional commitments.

VP Bank

• Dirk Klee will be proposed to the AGM on April 26 as a new Member of the Supervisory Board. He is to be elected for three years. The shareholders will then also decide on a further three-year term of office for Philipp Elkuch.
• The Board of Directors also intends to elect Stephan Zimmermann as its new Chairman at an extraordinary meeting following the AGM.

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