One year ago, Andrea Orcel was fired as the CEO of Santander before he even had a chance to take the job. finews.asia on the Italian dealmaker's attempt to get the Spanish bank to make things right.
Early last January, Andrea Orcel flew from London to Madrid, ostensibly to lunch with Santander Chairman Ana Botin. The day was also devoted to detailing a business plan for the Spanish bank he had been hired to helm three months before. Instead, the high-intensity investment banker was fired.
After the shock of the Spanish bank reneging, it became clear Orcel couldn’t return to UBS’ top management, according to three sources familiar with the matter. His exit from UBS laid bare just how valuable he was for UBS: the Swiss bank fought unsuccessfully to keep him, including by offering him expanded responsibilities and clearer positioning as a potential successor to CEO Sergio Ermotti.
Santander Lawsuit
Since last January, Orcel has cultivated his stellar network – but also spent several months deciding whether to try and get Botin and Santander to make good on their promise to hire him. A Madrid court will on April 12 begin hearing initial arguments in a $100 million euro ($111 million) lawsuit Orcel filed for fulfillment of contract.
Being idle is agonizing for Orcel, a lifelong overachiever who was instilled with a strong sense of work as a fulfillment of purpose by his father (his brother, Riccardo Orcel, is the deputy CEO of Moscow's VTB Group).
Repair Reputation
Nevertheless, the 56-year-old is sanguine about his fate, according to people familiar with his thinking – but determined to proceed with what he feels is rightfully his. He wants to restore his reputation, then returns to work, according to this person.
«You can re-earn the money – but not your reputation,» he has told close associates. He views his current situation sportingly: as a daunting personal test. The judge presiding over the Spanish «audienca previa» can either rule directly, or send the case to full trial – which would include witness testimony (something Santander would likely want to avoid).
«Bad» vs «Good» Leaver
The Madrid case notwithstanding, Orcel’s main options appear to win a CEO job at another bank, provided the new shop would «make him whole,» set up his own boutique mergers-and-acquisitions firm, or launch a special situations fund, according to people close to him.
The problem? Returning to work, even in Silicon Valley, for example, means becoming a «bad» leaver, and relinquishing hefty UBS pay awards (Orcel has roughly 1 million shares yet to vest at the Swiss bank).
Adrenalin Junkie
Despite being hamstrung: he remains impeccably well-connected in finance, and regularly travels and takes meetings. Orcel is reportedly in the running at HSBC, but the competition at the British bank is brisk. Swiss banking gossip has linked him to Credit Suisse; a person familiar with the matter said Orcel and the Swiss lender haven't talked.
With a slower pace of life and more time for himself, Orcel is still restless and an adrenalin-lover. The banker is spending much more time with his school-age daughter, is learning to play ice-hockey and dabbled in mixed martial arts during a recent vacation.
