Julius Baer's long-standing former Asia boss, Thomas Meier, has taken a prominent job at a rival private bank.
VP Bank Group is proposing Thomas «Tom» Meier to join its board, the Liechtenstein bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The move is noteworthy because Meier is a ten-year veteran of Julius Baer in Asia, and his appointment will bolster the Vaduz-based bank as it seeks to expand in Asian wealth management footprint.
The bank made it clear that the door is open to move higher. «By this means, the board of directors of VP Bank Group is further strengthening its own expertise, while safeguarding its long-term succession planning,» the bank of his nomination to its board. VP's chairman, Fredy Vogt, turns 60 this year, and its vice-chairman, Markus Thomas Hilti, is 67.
Asia Expertise
In 2006, Julius Baer moved Meier to Singapore to run its Asian business. In the intervening years, the heavyweight Swiss private banker oversaw a furious hiring spree – nearly one-fourth of its total 6,000 staff are now located in the region, as finews.asia reported.
Before Julius Baer, the 56-year-old ran Deutsche Bank's wealth arm in Luxembourg. He started his career at Credit Suisse in 1988, with a focus on the Asian market as well as the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Meier's seat on the board at VP Bank is his first foray into banking since leaving Julius Baer (though he still oversees the bank's foundation). He is also an influential member of Leonteq's board, as finews.asia reported previously.
