Sweden’s Annika Falkengren has been a managing partner at Lombard Odier since the summer of 2017. She spoke to finews.com about her first months at the Geneva-based bank and her plans for the future.
Annika Falkengren, 55, joined Lombard Odier in July 2017. Making her a managing partner at the exclusive private bank caught the attention of a banking world still predominantly male and conservative.
Falkengren gave up her job as CEO of SEB, one of the large Swedish banks. She is said to enjoy excellent contacts with a number of European business dynasties, including to the Wallenberg family in her native Sweden, which also is invested in SEB.
She has now been in Geneva for about eight months and has had the time to get going at her new workplace. Lombard Odier hands the various executive roles to the seven managing partners and Falkengren has taken on the responsibility for the firm’s finances.
Quick Learner
«The finance dossier is ideally suited to gain a deeper insight into the various fields of business and activities of Lombard Odier. Which other or additional functions I will assume in future will be part of discussions with the partners,» she told finews.com in an interview at the presentation of the bank’s earnings in 2017.
Falkengren has been quick to adapt to live in Geneva and is eager to improve her French in language courses. She is already able to follow a conversation. «I’m however not yet ready to take an active part. But that will come,» Falkengren said.
New Challenge After Three Decades
Giving up on one of the most coveted jobs in Swedish business for a role as a managing partner at Lombard Odier may have come as a surprise to some in the industry. But Falkengren says that she wanted to do something new after 30 years at the same company. Starting with a rival bank however would have proven difficult, she readily admitted.
The Swede particularly enjoys the proximity to the bank’s clientele and sharing responsibility in the team of partners. «That way I’m also active as an entrepreneur, which I like very much,» she said, giving an explanation for why she wanted to move to Geneva.
Falkengren a «Dream» for Lombard Odier
Still, the new work will prove a challenge for Falkengren, who was named European banker of the year 2013 by «Euro Finance Week». At SEB, she had been in charge for a dozen years, with the power to enforce decisions on her own. At Lombard Odier, a bank with a tradition built up over more than 200 years, she shares responsibility with six men.
She’s confident of being up to the task – not least thanks to the open and constructive dialogue within the managing partner committee. Patrick Odier (pictured below), as senior managing partner the leading member of the group – was present during the interview and praised the latest addition to the team for her «wonderful character. It is a dream» for a bank managed by partners to have such a person on board, he added.
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