The Swiss banking software firm’s CEO is stepping down after a takeover by Japanese giant NEC in coming weeks, finews.com has learned. Two top executives are poised to take over.
Juerg Hunziker, CEO of Zurich-based Avaloq, has elected to step down at the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com on Wednesday. A spokesman for the company confirmed the changes, noting that Hunziker’s departure was a personal decision.
Product chief Martin Greweldinger (below, left) and technology boss Thomas Beck (below, right) will take over from him as co-CEOs from next month. Hunziker will remain a senior adviser to Avaloq, focusing on existing and prospective clients.
Greweldinger joined Avaloq just two years ago from Boston Consulting Group, where he was a principal in Switzerland. Previously, he worked for Credit Suisse as well as for Commerzbank.
Beck joined Avaloq in 2012 and advanced to technology chief three years later. He was previously with Unicredit, and has a PhD from the Technical University of Munich in math and computer science.
Coaxing Handover
His exit coincides with the conclusion of a three-month integration project by NEC, which in December wrapped its 2.05 billion Swiss franc ($2.21 billion) takeover of Avaloq. A veteran of software firm Sunguard, Hunziker was hired by Avaloq in 2016 and promoted to CEO in 2018, after private equity firm Warburg Pincus had taken a substantial stake in the company.
Hunziker’s job wasn’t always easy: he spent much of his first year coaxing founder-chairman Francisco Fernandez into letting go, he told finews.com two years ago. Fernandez in December ceded his job as Avaloq chairman to NEC’s Masakazu Yamashina, but remains on the company's board.
