12. Saman Habibian, Pictet
One of Julius Baer’s top bankers for the Middle East, the Swiss native was among a raft of defections to Pictet this year. The Swiss native, who is fluent in Persian, began his career at Credit Suisse in Singapore – like new Pictet partner Boris Collardi. Habibian, who spent a total of eight years at Julius Baer, interrupted by a brief stint at Safra Sarasin, is credited with building Julius Baer’s business in Bahrain.
11. Marc Pictet, Pictet
The 46-year-old represents the eighth generation to govern the bank. Despite his relatively young age, Pictet represents the old-guard – not least because he bears the name of the family bank. The Geneva wealth manager has experienced considerable upheaval in recent months: Collardi has poached dozens of bankers, many from his former shop, Julius Baer; a long-standing employee was caught in an alleged embezzlement scheme; and Pictet is switching senior partners later this year, in what is viewed as a nod to the subtle power shift towards its asset managers. Marc Pictet, responsible for the Genevan firm’s offices in Basel, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, and Zurich, devotes some of his private time to a local wildlife conservation organization.
10. Ralph Ebert, BIL
Like any good compliance banker, the German lawyer keeps his cards close to his chest. At Credit Suisse, Ebert coordinated the Swiss bank’s response to the FIFA and Petrobras scandals – and bedded down the lessons learned. Ebert just jumped from Indosuez to Banque Internationale de Luxembourg – his third job in as many years. He has spent the bulk of his career in Paris and Geneva, with stints in Zurich.
