Private Banking Executive Moves | Q1 2025

Aargauische Kantonalbank

  • Evelyn Meier will join the Executive Board as Head of Client Solutions on 1 July 2025, succeeding Mirco Hager, who is retiring.

Berner Kantonalbank

  • Petra Kalt is proposed for election to the Board of Directors at the AGM on 13 May 2025, succeed-ing Stefan Bichsel, who is stepping down due to age after four years of service. Kalt previously served as Head of Wealth Management and member of the Executive Board at Zuger Kantonalbank. 

BNP Paribas (Suisse)

  • Michael Keller joined as Head of Corporate Coverage Switzerland on 1 March 2025. He’s based in Zurich and joined from UBS, where he was Managing Director in Corporate & Institutional Clients.

Cembra Money Bank

  • Monica Mächler will step down from the Board of Directors at the AGM on 24 April 2025 due to term limits.
  • Wanda Eriksen is proposed as her successor. She currently serves as Chair of the Board at the Federal Audit Oversight Authority (FAOA).

Deutsche Bank

  • Clemens Kaiser has been appointed Chief Country Officer Switzerland and CEO of Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, subject to Finma approval. He succeeds Alessandro Balestra, who held both roles on an interim basis following the departure of Loïc Voide in November 2024. Kaiser will continue as Head of Private Bank Central Europe & Switzerland and will be based in Zurich.

EFG International

  • Prasanna Gopalakrishnan, Amy Yip, Stuart Robertson, and Périclès Petalas stepped down from the Board at the AGM on 21 March 2025.

Glarner Kantonalbank

  • Susanne De Zordi is proposed for election to the Board of Directors at the AGM on 25 April 2025, replacing Sonja Stirnimann, who stepped down in December 2024.

Julius Bär

  • The Executive Board has been reduced to five members as of 2025. It now includes: Stefan Bollinger (CEO), Nic Dreckmann (COO & Deputy CEO), Oliver Bartholet (CRO), Evie Kostakis (CFO), and Christoph Hiestand (Group General Counsel).
  • Noel Quinn is proposed as new Chairman of the Board at the AGM on 10 April 2025 and will assume the role on 1 May 2025, replacing Romeo Lacher. Richard Campbell-Breeden will serve as interim Chairman until then.
  • Andrea Sambo will also step down from the Board at the AGM. 

Liechtensteinische Landesbank

  • Michael Hartmann has been appointed as a new member of the Group Executive Board of Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) and will take over as Head of the Private and Corporate Clients Division as of 1 July 2025. He succeeds Urs Müller, who retired at the end of March 2025 after 14 years on the Group Executive Board.

Oddo BHF (Schweiz)

  • Thomas Burri joined as Head of Private Wealth Management on 1 April 2025, a newly created role. He is responsible for all PWM activities in Switzerland and will report to Martin Liebi (CEO Switzer-land) and Joachim Häger (Global Head PWM). Burri joined from UBS and brings extensive experience in international wealth management.

Post Finance

  • Post finance is restructuring its Executive Board to strengthen customer service and adapt to market conditions. Sandra Lienhart will lead the new Private Clients unit; Felicia Kölliker will take over the Corporate Clients unit.
  • Ron Schneider has been appointed Head of the newly created Customer Experience unit.
  • Changes take effect on 1 December 2025; the roles of Head Risk, Compliance & Legal and Head Corporate Development will be newly advertised.

Private Client Bank

  • Philipp Wehle joined the bank as Deputy CEO and Partner in early March 2025. The role is newly created, and Wehle will support the bank’s growth in Switzerland and Europe. 

Twint

  • Christian Burger will become CFO in May 2025, succeeding Thomas Wicki, who is leaving the company after seven years. He will report to CEO Markus Kilb and oversee Finance, Risk Management, Legal & Compliance, Information Security, and HR.

UBS

  • Renata Jungo Brüngger and Lila Tretikov have been nominated for election to the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on 10 April 2025. They will succeed Claudia Böckstiegel and Nathalie Rachou, who are stepping down after four and five years of service, respectively.
  • Jungo Brüngger is a seasoned legal and governance expert and currently serves on the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group, where she oversees Integrity, Governance, and Sustainability. She also holds board positions at Munich Re and Daimler Truck Holding.
  • Tretikov brings deep expertise in artificial intelligence and digital transformation. She currently leads AI strategy at Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and was formerly Deputy CTO at Microsoft and Senior Vice President at Engie.
  • Markus Baumann retired as Group Company Secretary after 46 years with the bank. He played a key role in the Credit Suisse transaction and will continue as Chairman of Savoy Hotel Baur en Ville. Michael Schoch has been appointed as his successor, effective 1 July 2025. Schoch previously held senior roles at UBS and FINMA, and currently leads Governmental and Regulatory Affairs.
  • Oliver Wünsch will take over as Head of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs in May 2025. He joins from Oliver Wyman and brings experience from the IMF, BIS, and Swiss administration.
  • Solita Marcelli has been appointed Global Head of Investment Management, effective 1 July 2025. She will oversee all regions: Americas, APAC, Switzerland, and EMEA, and lead offerings in discretionary mandates, advisory, investment funds, wealth planning, and insured solutions. Marcelli previously served as Chief Investment Officer Americas and will now manage over USD 2 trillion in client assets globally.

Vontobel

  • Co-CEOs Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger stepped back from their responsibilities for Investments and Private Clients as of 1 March 2025 to focus fully on their CEO roles.
  • Andrew Jackson newly leads Investments and remains Head of the Fixed Income Boutique.
  • Private Clients were reorganized into four units: Brian Fischer (Global Business & Services), Jean-Pierre Stillhart (DACH), Gianpiero Galasso (Europe & Middle East), and Billy Obregon (Americas).
  • Billy Obregon joined from Deutsche Bank on 1 March 2025.
  • Jackson, Fischer, Stillhart, Galasso, and Christoph von Reiche (Head Institutional Clients) joined the Executive Committee of Vontobel.
  • Bruno Basler will step down from the Board of Directors after 20 years and will not stand for reelection at the AGM.
  • Zeno Staub is confirmed to return to Vontobel as a non-executive Board member, as previously announced in October 2023. Staub served as CEO of Vontobel from 2011 to 2023 and held various leadership roles at the firm for over two decades.

Zürcher Kantonalbank

  • A new business unit “Privatkunden” will be established in November 2025 to serve clients with assets up to CHF 1 million. Susanne Thellung will join ZKB on 1 June 2025 and take over as Head of the new unit in November. She has been appointed as a designated member of the General Executive Board. Thellung is currently CEO of Schwyzer Kantonalbank, where Michel Degen has taken over as interim CEO.
  • Mario Crameri has been appointed interim Head of IT, Operations & Real Estate as of 1 April 2025. He succeeds Remo Schmidli, who left the bank on 31 March 2025 after 24 years. Crameri will hold the role until a permanent successor is appointed.

 


 

Contact

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Dr. Matthias Oberholzer
Russell Reynolds Associates
Stampfenbachstrasse 5 8001 Zurich
Switzerland
Direct: +41-44-447-30-34
Mobile: +41-79-473-72-68
matthias.oberholzer@russellreynolds.com

Dr. Corrado Menghini
Russell Reynolds Associates
Stampfenbachstrasse 5 8001 Zurich
Switzerland
Direct: +41-44-447-30-33
Mobile: +41-79-261-92-42
corrado.menghini@russellreynolds.com