The Swiss bank's new wealth boss debuted under the shadow of a major scandal. How Philipp Wehle is seeking to distance Credit Suisse from the «sturm and drang» ending to the era of his predecessor, Iqbal Khan.
«Hello, I'm Philipp,» the executive greets visitors to his Paradeplatz corner office – dispensing with the aloofness and formality that many private bankers cultivate. Philipp Wehle has been CEO of Credit Suisse's biggest wealth arm for nearly five months: the German native oversees more than 10,000 employees managing roughly 750 billion Swiss francs ($757 billion) of assets.
The 45-year-old is taking over one of the toughest jobs in Swiss banking currently: following in the footsteps of Iqbal Khan, who is widely considered a superstar Swiss wealth manager (Khan now co-heads the private banking arm at Credit Suisse's larger archrival, UBS). Wehle's promotion was overshadowed by an ugly spy affair in which Credit Suisse had to apologize – the collateral damage on its business is as yet unclear.
Tumultuous Debut
Against the backdrop of the scandal and two other top executive exits in two months, Wehle's debut in the job wasn't as smooth as he might have wished for – though it afforded him the luxury of going largely unnoticed in his first few months on the job.
In Wehle, Credit Suisse is handing over to an unpretentious, fresh face largely unknown to investors. The consultant-turned-banker has the potential to seize opportunities more rigorously – he emphasizes to finews.com that he is only too aware that every executive is only as good as the team behind him or her.
Asian Incentives
He seeks to question and reflect on the course of his predecessor – and to identify new priorities. «It went well in the past, but we can still improve,» he admits openly. «I see great potential if our various divisions work even more closely together.» Wehle is convinced that few major banks can comprehensively and holistically meet the needs and expectations of very wealthy clients today.
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