The 130-year-old Swiss private bank landed a massive coup: the «grande dame» of Asian private banking, as well as a veteran investment banker, are poised to join its board. 

Julius Baer will ask investors to elect Kathryn Shih and Christian Meissner (pictured below) to its board at its shareholder meeting in April, the Swiss wealth manager said in a statement on Monday. The nomination of twin heavyweights comes after Paul Man Yiu Chow, ex-boss of Hong Kong's stock exchange, opted not to stand for reelection.

Christian Meissner 503

The nominations of Shih and Meissner are an enormous coup as well as a surprise: the «grand dame» of Asian wealth management helmed UBS' private bank in the region for 13 years in a 31-year career with the Swiss giant. Meissner is equally as distinguished in his career: the veteran investment banker was most recently co-head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's securities unit in the U.S.

Ties to UBS

Meissner, a 50-year-old Austrian, also has ties to UBS: he spoke to the Swiss bank last year about a top role, several sources familiar with the matter told finews.com. If elected, he joins Julius Baer's board immediately, while Shih, who is 61, would join in September. 

«Kathryn’s exceptional experience in Asia and Christian’s deep understanding in markets will be of particular relevance for us,» Julius Baer Chairman Romeo Lacher said. He himself has been in the job for less than a year, during which he neatly organized Julius Baer's succession planning.