Lombard Odier snapped up Swiss banking's former chief lobbyist for a public policy role.
The Geneva-based wealth manager is hiring Claude-Alain Margelisch as head of corporate affairs in its legal department. He reports to David Garrido, who is Lombard Odier's chief counsel.
Margelisch was CEO of the Swiss Bankers Association, or SBA, until last year, when he was replaced by Joerg Gasser. Since then, he had worked as an advisor to Gasser, an ex-diplomat. The tenure of Margelisch was eventful: Switzerland was under attack on a tax crackdown, first from the U.S. and later in Europe, it struggled to win market access in the European Union.
Bern Connections
His responsibilities at Lombard Odier include monitoring and implementing legislative and regulatory changes that affect the bank, and deepening dialogue with trade groups and officials. A Swiss lawyer, Margelisch is impeccably connected in Bern, where he is politically active in the centrist Christian Democrats (CVP).
He is also on the board of a family company and of the French-Swiss chamber of commerce. Margelisch has long-standing ties to Patrick Odier, Lombard Odier's senior partner. Then chairman of the SBA, Odier hired Margelisch as CEO of the lobbying group in 2010 and the two worked together closely for six years.
