The Julius Baer Group has re-shuffled its regional structure, a move that has ultimately led to the resignation of the bank’s head of global custody.
Barend Fruithof, who was also regional head of Switzerland, has left the group because of “differing views of the functional changes”, according to Julius Baer.
The changes affect operations in Switzerland, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region, and have seen the creation of two new regional teams, one focusing on Europe and one on emerging markets.
The new regions will replace the existing working sectors of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
According to the bank, aligning these markets is intended to increase efficiency and focus more on client orientation.
The intermediaries business, including global custody, will be largely merged into the Swiss operations, which will now be led by Gian Rossi, current head of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
The bank’s new Europe region excludes Central and Eastern Europe and includes Israel. It will be run by Yves Robert-Charrue, who is currently responsible for the intermediaries business.
The other new regional team, focusing on emerging markets, will be led by Rémy Bersier, current head of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
This team aims to capture growth opportunities in markets such as Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. In his new role, Bersier will be based in Dubai.
In addition, the investment solutions group is being re-branded as ‘advisory solutions’ and will be run under the leadership of Philipp Rickenbacher.
Rickenbacher, who is currently head of structured products, will also become a member of the executive board.
Nic Dreckmann will be the new COO of Julius Baer, as of 1 August. He will replace Gregory Gatesman, who will be leaving his position by the end of the year to return to the US.
Dreckmann will also take Gatesman’s place as a member of the executive board.
Finally, Giovanni Flury, a member of the executive board, is retiring at the end of 2016 after 10 years at Julius Baer and 30 years in the financial industry.
Boris Collardi, CEO of Julius Baer, said: “The alignment of the front organisation will enable a period of very strong growth of our group. The changes, which are beneficial for our clients and ease the set-up of our regional structure, are a further step to confirming our position as the leading Swiss private banking group.”
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