Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger to succeed Zeno Staub as Co-CEOs of Vontobel
- Leadership change to take place at end of 2023
- Georg Schubiger and Christel Rendu de Lint will continue to serve as Head Wealth Management and Head Investments, respectively
- Marko Röder, Head Asset Management, will take on a new role in 2024
Georg Schubiger, Head Wealth Management, and Christel Rendu de Lint, PhD, Head Investments, are to lead Vontobel as Co‑CEOs, effective January 1, 2024. The Board of Directors of Vontobel reached this decision on October 2, 2023, after completing a rigorous process to appoint Zeno Staub’s successor. Vontobel already announced on May 24, 2023, that after 22 years at Vontobel, including 20 years as a member of the Executive Committee and 12 years as CEO, Zeno Staub wanted to step down from his role at the next General Meeting of Shareholders on April 9, 2024, in order to become more actively involved in Swiss civil society. In addition to performing their duties as Co-CEOs, Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger will continue to serve as Head Investments and Head Wealth Management, respectively. In connection with his appointment as Co‑CEO, Georg Schubiger will also become a Member of the Executive Committee of Vontobel Holding AG, effective January 1, 2024.
“In appointing Georg Schubiger and Christel Rendu de Lint, we have decided on a leadership structure that is fully in line with the profile that formed the basis for the succession process involving both internal and external candidates. Georg Schubiger and Christel Rendu de Lint are both committed to our focused strategy as a globally active investment firm with strong Swiss roots and to our Lighthouse Ambition 2030. In recent years, Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger have been involved at key points in the implementation of the strategy and the Lighthouse Ambition 2030. They don’t need to spend time learning about Vontobel. They know our clients and their expectations, and they know our employees from their daily work. In terms of their credentials, Georg Schubiger and Christel Rendu de Lint both bring with them many years of investment expertise, international client and market experience, and Swissness. During their careers, they have both demonstrated Vontobel’s values and have assumed responsibility. And finally, they both demonstrate a collaborative style of leadership. Flat structures and collaboration are also qualities that Vontobel demonstrates in our relationship with our clients and in the way we work together in our teams. The Board of Directors and I look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger“, stated Andreas E.F. Utermann, Chair of the Board of Directors of Vontobel.
“Vontobel’s ambition is to be known as one of the leading and most trusted global investment firms by 2030. Georg Schubiger and I will continue to work towards this goal together with all Vontobel employees in our focus markets in the future. As a client-centric investment firm that is renowned for its best-in-class investment knowhow and client service, we are ideally positioned for the future. Our investment and product expertise are at the heart of our company and enable our clients to build their future. We do not intend to revamp our strategy; we want to become better each day for the benefit of our clients and investors. This is our shared goal and I look forward to tackling it,” stated Christel Rendu de Lint, Member of the Executive Committee of Vontobel Holding AG and of Bank Vontobel AG and Head Investments.
“As a globally active financial expert with Swiss roots and a family as well as a charitable foundation as majority owners, we think and act long-term for the benefit of our clients and shareholders. We continue to look to the future, even in difficult times, and we always seek the best opportunities. These are qualities that set Vontobel apart. We leverage technology to deliver high-quality, tailored client solutions. We master what we do – and we only do what we master. Vontobel pursues a capital-light, focused business model with a conservative risk profile, and we will continue to do so in the future. As a team with more than 2,000 employees worldwide, we also remained committed to the mid-term targets that we presented in November 2022,” stated Georg Schubiger, Member of the Executive Committee of Bank Vontobel AG and Head Wealth Management.
To ensure a smooth transition, Zeno Staub will be available to support the Co-CEOs until the General Meeting of Shareholders in April 2024.
“I am pleased that after two decades of management responsibility at Vontobel, I will be able to hand over the reins to Christel Rendu de Lint und Georg Schubiger at the end of this year. I have had the privilege of working closely with them for several years and building a relationship of trust. They both embody the qualities that set Vontobel apart: Expertise, team spirit and the willingness to assume responsibility. Over the coming weeks and months, I look forward to supporting them both as they take on this additional role. I will be at their side in my capacity as CEO until the end of this year and then as a Vontobel employee from January 1, 2024, until the General Meeting of Shareholders,” stated Zeno Staub, CEO Vontobel.
“Under Zeno Staub’s leadership, Vontobel can look back at more than 20 years of success. Vontobel has developed into a leading, focused and therefore successful Swiss investment firm that is at its clients’ side, offering them its global investment expertise. I would already like to take this opportunity to thank Zeno Staub on behalf of the Board of Directors and to also express my personal gratitude to him for our close collaboration, which was founded on trust, and for his enormous dedication,” stated Andreas E.F. Utermann.
The appointment of Georg Schubiger to the Executive Committee of Vontobel Holding AG and the appointment of Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger as Co-CEOs of Vontobel Holding AG and Bank Vontobel AG are subject to the approval of the regulator.
Marko Röder, Head Asset Management, to assume a new role in 2024
Marko Röder has informed the Board of Directors that he wishes to step down from his current role as Head Asset Management in 2024 for personal reasons and to take on a new role within or outside the Vontobel Group. Marko Röder was appointed Head Asset Management in 2021 after having spent more than 10 years as Head of Sales, driving Vontobel’s expansion to become a globally diversified provider of actively managed investment solutions for asset management clients.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish to take the opportunity to thank Marko Röder for his huge contribution to the development of our company. He has helped to shape Vontobel: Under his leadership, it has become a global, focused provider of diversified actively managed investment solutions for institutional investors. I also wish to thank Marko Röder for agreeing to continue to perform his role in full until we have appointed a successor. We have already initiated a rigorous process involving internal and external candidates,” stated Andreas E.F. Utermann.
About:
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Christel Rendu de Lint
Christel Rendu de Lint has been Head Investments and a member of the Executive Committee of Bank Vontobel AG and Vontobel Holding AG since January 13, 2023. Investments comprises the six investment boutiques: Quality Growth, Vontobel Conviction Equities, TwentyFour Asset Management, Fixed Income, Vontobel Multi Asset und Vescore. She joined Vontobel as Deputy Head of Investments in May 2021 from Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), where she built and managed a fixed income boutique from end-2007 to end 2020, growing its asset under management from around USD 1 billion to USD 20 billion over that period. Before joining UBP, Christel Rendu de Lint was a Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Pictet. She began her career in the financial sector in 2000 at Morgan Stanley in London as a Senior Economist in Sell-Side Equity Research. Prior to that, she studied at London Business School and the University of St. Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland, and she holds a PhD in Economics from London Business School. During that time, she worked on various research projects for the IMF, the UK Treasury and the Swiss National Bank, among others.
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Georg Schubiger
Georg Schubiger has been Head Wealth Management and a Member of the Executive Committee of Bank Vontobel, as well as Chair of the Board of Vontobel SFA, since August 1, 2012. He joined Vontobel in 2012 from Danske Bank Group, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and a Member of the Group Executive Board, among other positions. Prior to that, he spent several years as a Member of the Executive Board and a Member of the Group's Management Committee of Sampo Bank in Finland. Georg Schubiger began his career at McKinsey in Zurich and Helsinki in 1996. He holds a degree in Business Administration & Accounting from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and a Master of Arts in European Political Studies from the College of Europe Bruges in Belgium.
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Vontobel
At Vontobel, we actively shape the future. We create and pursue opportunities with determination. We master what we do – and we only do what we master. This is how we get our clients ahead. As a globally active investment manager with Swiss roots, we specialize in wealth management, active asset management and investment solutions. We harness the power of technology to deliver a high-quality, individual client experience and to deploy our investment expertise across multiple platforms and ecosystems. We empower our employees to take ownership of their work and bring opportunities to life. We do so based on the conviction that successful investing begins with the assumption of personal responsibility. We continuously scrutinize our achievements as we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients. The registered shares of the Vontobel Holding AG are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The Vontobel families' close ties to the company guarantee our entrepreneurial independence. We consider the resulting freedom as an obligation to also assume our social responsibility. As of June 30, 2023, Vontobel held CHF 272.7 billion of total client assets. Around the world and in our home market, we serve our clients from 27 locations.
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