After 17 years in the pay of Credit Suisse, another executive is moving on. But first, he wants to take some time off, finews.asia has learned.

Philipp Wehle, head of finance at the Global Wealth Management (GWM) division and head of client segment management, is leaving Credit Suisse, finews.asia has determined. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the departure, which has since been communicated internally.

Wehle worked at Credit Suisse for 17 years, reaching his highest position as head of the IWM division from July 2019 to December 2021, which he took over as successor to Iqbal Khan after the latter moved to UBS.

No Superstar Banker

Throughout subsequent Credit Suisse reorganizations, he relinquished the post to Francesco De Ferrari and assumed his current role which he will leave at the end of May.

Within Credit Suisse, Wehle was the antithesis of highly acclaimed superstar bankers. Perceived as an unpretentious man of integrity, he once told finews.asia that any manager in a group is only as good as the team behind him. As a supervisor, he was accordingly well received.

Working in Singapore

Wehle played a key role in developing and shaping Credit Suisse's wealth management business. Among other things, he was instrumental in setting up Private Banking International, in the broader rollout of the strategic client business, and, more recently, in the creation of the divisional Client Segment Management (CSM) function.

In his role as IWM CEO, he led a restructuring of the division, including a more focused organizational structure and the cultivation of new leadership talent that formed the foundation for the new Wealth Management division. He also spent almost two years working for the bank in Singapore, where he developed incentive and bonus systems for client advisors, among other things.

Succession in Place

Starting in June, the previous Head of WM Divisional Finance, Juerg Zuberbuehler, will take over Wehle's role on an interim basis, reporting to Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dixit Joshi and a further reporting line to De Ferrari.

Kathrin Wehrli will continue to lead WM Strategy & Projects and report directly to De Ferrari. In addition, WM Chief of Staff Philippe Theytaz will lead the CSM departments on an interim basis as well. The three leaders are expected to continue the ongoing work and effectively prepare their teams for the integration of Credit Suisse into UBS