5. Adrian Kuenzi – Halfway Mark
As Notenstein La Roche CEO, Adrian Kuenzi's job was to build up a leading Swiss boutique private bank. His timing was torrid: the bank's start in 2013 came against the backdrop of a massive ramp-up of regulatory requirements, including for small firms, as margins eroded under lack of activity.
Kuenzi's misfortune was that the Notenstein portfolio lifted out of the debris of collapsed Bank Wegelin didn't fit the requirements of a clean-money Swiss market-focused private bank. The 44-year-old CEO successfully bought up Basel's La Roche nearly three years ago, but still struggled with high spending, an asset management unit in crisis, feeble growth, and the departure of a series of key lieutenants. His departure in October after six years at the helm was simple and discreet: Kuenzi had given up at the halfway point.
