Julius Baer has named Goldman Sachs banker Stefan Bollinger as chief executive, an appointment that the Swiss wealth manager hopes will draw a line under a crisis triggered by its exposure to property group Signa.
The company has been without a chief executive since February, when a SFr606mn ($700mn) writedown of its exposure to collapsed property group Signa led to the departure of Philipp Rickenbacher.
Bollinger, a Swiss citizen, who is co-head of private wealth management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman, will take over at Julius Baer by February next year.
Julius Baer chair Romeo Lacher said Bollinger’s experience “combines a comprehensive understanding of risk, products, and of how to deliver value to global wealth management clients through building scalable client-centric businesses”.
Several European private bank bosses had been linked with the role during the search process, which was led by headhunters Egon Zehnder.
At one point, the Julius Baer board considered bringing in EFG chief executive Giorgio Pradelli, which led to revived merger talks between the two Swiss banks, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions.
But talks broke down after it became apparent that Swiss regulator Finma would not approve the deal following Julius Baer’s Signa losses.
When Rickenbacher’s departure was announced, Lacher made it clear the new hire would come from outside the group. Rickenbacher’s deputy, Nic Dreckmann, has led the business on an interim basis since February.
Julius Baer is due to publish its half-year results on Thursday.
Bollinger has been at Goldman for 20 years and been a partner for 14, having previously worked at JPMorgan in London.
Since becoming co-head of private wealth management Emea in 2019, the business has doubled its assets.
“I look forward to working closely with the board, the management team, and all the people of Julius Baer to capitalise on its unique strengths,” he said.