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UBS hired a digital expert to help take the next big step in banking. At some of its smaller Swiss rivals, CEOs have been around for decades – and the pressures on them are mounting.

The appointment took the market by surprise but had been in planning for a long while: UBS Chairman Axel Weber had approached Ralph Hamers two years ago. And yet, London-based HSBC almost stole the current ING boss from under nose of its Swiss rival.

In the end, Weber sealed the deal and in November he will welcome a man who comes close to what a banking boss of the future will need to be like: a successful developer of the digital banking experience and an executive who is unsentimental enough to eliminate what stands in the way of his vision. In short: the boards of most major European banks would surely have been more than happy to install him as their new CEO.

Veterans Vs New Banking Model

Does this hold for the domestic banking industry in Switzerland too? Admittedly, regional, cantonal and also private banks don’t have the same exposure to global risks as their bigger competitors. But the model of a successful digital banking strategy is emerging. And yet, the chiefs of many local banks have been around for years or even decades (see table below).

Out of 50 CEOs at major Swiss banks, more than a dozen have been installed in the decade before last. Blaise Goetschin took charge of Banque Cantonale de Genève in 2000, Bertrand Valley was made CEO of Banque Cantonale du Jura in 2004, while Harald Nedwed has been the top executive of Migros Bank since 2003 (he retires in May) – to name but a few who have been CEO of a retail bank for more than a decade.

Forged in Tough Times

In private banking, there is a long tradition of management stability. François Reyl at Banque Reyl and Patrick Odier at Lombard Odier have both been at the top of their respective companies since 2008. Nicolas Maurice took charge of Gutzwiller & Cie in 2004, and Zeno Staub was appointed CEO of Vontobel in 2011. Guy de Picciotto has led his family’s bank UBP since 1998, but didn't become the frontman until his father Edgar died four years ago.

Then there are the special cases of VZ and Swissquote. Matthias Reinhart and Marc Buerki have been the key people at their banks since 1993 (Reinhart at VZ) and 2002 (Buerki at Swissquote), when the two companies were founded.

A great many of these bank managers have steered their companies through tough times, with the financial crisis, the tax dispute and the sudden surge of the Swiss franc to name but the most important challenges they faced. But now they arguably confronted by the biggest challenge of their careers. Digital banking is changing the game and affecting the habits of their clients. These changes have a major impact on the very position and on the challenges that face a bank executive.

The New Digital CEO

The business cycles in banking are getting shorter, says Stephan Surber, senior partner at Page Executive, an executive recruitment consultancy. The managers therefore have to refresh their knowhow and remain flexible and agile throughout their careers.

In a study, Page Executive drew up the profile of an ideal bank manager as a «digitalized CEO», executives who know to navigate their companies in an industry that is heavily impacted by technology.

Cantonal Bank Veterans