The Swiss wealth manager has decided on a successor to Patrick Odier. The long-standing senior partner isn't in a hurry to hand over to his crown prince.
Patrick Odier (pictured below) will step down as senior partner of Lombard Odier in 2022 and hand over to Hubert Keller, another partner, according to a memorandum to staff seen by finews.asia on Wednesday. A spokesman for the Swiss private bank confirmed the contents of the memo.
The move means the Genevan wealth manager has solved one of its most pressing issues: long-term succession planning for the 64-year-old. Odier has overseen the institute's seven-person partnership as «primus inter pares» since 2008.
Slow Handover
Lombard Odier's informal rules impose retirement at 65, but Odier clearly plans to work through his 67th birthday (the age limit is not set in stone). The veteran Swiss banker and his six partners agreed on 2022, the same year that the wealth manager moves 2,600 staff into a new, Herzog & de Meuron-designed headquarters in Geneva's Bellevue area (pictured below).
Most recently, Odier was responsible for slimming and focusing Lombard Odier's wealth arm: a North American business was offloaded to Zurich rival Vontobel, while an offshore arm in Gibraltar was snapped up by J. Safra Sarasin.
While wealth management picked up fresh client money last year, Lombard Odier's investment management arm, led by Hubert Keller, flattened. The nod to senior partner is the sensible solution: the 52-year-old Keller has been a partner since 2006, and he has the second-most seniority, after Christophe Hentsch, who is 60.
With Odier's exit in three years, the bank will lose the last partner who lends the name of one of the founding families to the bank. Former partner Thierry Lombard left in dispute five years ago, taking his son Alexis Lombard with him to Neuchatel-based rival Landolt.
Wider Rejuvenation
Keller, whose father Jean Keller was also a Lombard Odier partner, started his career as an SG Warburg investment banker, before moving to Deutsche Bank. He left in 2005 following a restructuring at the German bank. Keller stayed in London, where Lombard Odier's investment arm is based, after joining the Swiss bank.
The move follows Lombard Odier's recent replenishment its partner ranks with Swiss veteran Alexandre Zeller, after ex-Deutsche Banker Hugo Baenziger departed abruptly. Two years ago, the wealth manager hired Swedish top banker Annika Falkengren as a partner, and also promoted limited partner Denis Pittet to managing partner.
