Four months after the departure of CEO and co-founder Jan Schoch, the derivatives specialist appointed a little-known insider as his replacement.
Lukas Ruflin is the new chief executive officer at Leonteq in Zurich, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The choice comes as a surprise, because the 43-year-old wasn’t expected to return to a management role. Ruflin co-founded Leonteq ten years ago, and is currently deputy chairman.
Marco Amato, who took the reins at Leonteq after the departure of Jan Schoch last year, will stay at the company and return to his role as deputy CEO as well as financial chief. The moves are effective on May 1.
Growth Opportunities
Ruflin is the best choice as CEO because of his intimate knowledge of Leonteq, his business credentials and management expertise at listed companies, Chairman Christopher Chambers said, adding that Ruflin would lead the company into a new period of growth.
The former EFG banker is one of Leonteq’s major shareholders alongside Raiffeisen bank and Rainer-Marc Frey. Ruflin owns about 10 percent of the company.
Ex-Investment Banker
The new CEO previously worked as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers. He joined EFG Private Bank in 2004 to first manage the derivatives business – EFG Financial Products, the predecessor of Leonteq. Later he became deputy CEO.
Ruflin was a member of Leonteq’s board throughout its existence and was one of the major driving forces behind its development. Leonteq today also said that it proposed Richard Laxer for election as member of the board. Laxer recently resigned as CEO of GE Capital.
