Page 2 of 2

If Pictet sounds a world removed from the harsh realities of Paradeplatz, quarterly results and investors – it is. Partners are the financial equivalent of untouchables in Geneva banking circles, and answer to no one except themselves. Their tenure is usually more than 20 years, which is why new partners are chosen with the care normally devoted to picking a spouse.

Asia, U.S. Know-How

To be sure, Collardi offers far more to Pictet than pleasant dinner conversation: he is expected to use his stellar connections in Asia to kickstart Pictet's business in the region, which has been slow to grow. Fluent in French, German and Italian besides his long-time working language of English, Collardi is supremely well-connected and confident in the type of entrepreneur circles that Pictet would like to crack.

He also has extensive experience in settling regulatory snafus with U.S. authorities. Pictet, like Julius Baer, is still on the hook with U.S. prosecutors for helping wealthy Americans hide their money from tax. Julius Baer paid $547 million to settle the probe last year.

The U.S. fine is the type of setback that Collardi will, in future, have to shoulder as a co-owner and no longer as an employee. Doubtlessly, Pictet has stowed funds towards a settlement, and its capital stands at a healthy 2o.4 percent, more than twice the 7.8 percent Swiss requirement. 

No More Hobnobbing

Collardi is the youngest Pictet partner, but not by much: Marc Pictet, an eighth generation family representation, and trading and sales head Bertrand Demole are just one year older than him.

The banker has grown accustomed to the limelight as well as hobnobbing in recent years. He has also taken a more active role in speaking for the Swiss-wide industry, which will have intensified his relationship to Pictet's partners.

But now he is likely to disappear from public view initially: one of Pictet's rigid traditions is that the partner with the most seniority – currently Nicolas Pictet – speaks for the partnership, and the rest are seen but rarely heard.