A former UBS strategist is opening an office in Geneva for a foreign recruitment agency. As finews.ch has learned, he wants to work on a very specific client segment.
Philippe Reynier takes over the management of the first Swiss branch of the international executive recruiting firm Sheffield Haworth at the beginning of December. Based in Geneva, he will be responsible for building up the business in the local market and at act as the local liaison for the global business of the headhunting firm. The latter specializes in the placement of top personnel in the technology, finance, and services sectors.
Rare Tech Posts
As finews.ch has learned, Reynier will be in close contact with the technology team under Mark Dixon and provide local financial service providers with rare expertise in the area of digitization. The profiles include positions such as chief technology officer, chief information officer, or head of digitization.
Reynier sees a large gap in the area of fintech in Switzerland, which he would like to fill with the help of Sheffield Haworth. He says reports from the field indicate local fintech startups are having great difficulty finding personnel for executive management positions. «There are practically very few executive search firms in Switzerland that truly support fintechs in this,» he notes.
Co-Architect of UBS VC Fund
After career stints at the European stock exchange NYSE Euronext and the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Reynier moved to the strategy department of UBS. He was primarily responsible for the bank's connection to the fintech industry and was involved in the launch of UBS Next, the venture capital fund of Switzerland's largest bank.
Most recently, as head of business development and special projects, he helped with the digitalization of the Swiss business.
«This led me to deal with many fintech CEOs as well as partners of venture capital firms. As I got to know them and their business better, I got feedback almost systematically about how difficult it is to find the right executives to take the fintech to the next level after a successful fundraising,» says the 38-year-old.
«I Could Probably Help»
That, he said, led him to believe that there was an untapped market opportunity in finding executives for fintechs, «and that I could probably help with my background.»
By harnessing Sheffield Haworth's global network and tech expertise, Reynier is now embracing and seeking to exploit the opportunity.
Although not afraid to fish in competitors' ponds, «Of course, we also look for private banking and asset management executives when we are approached, with the support of Sheffield Haworth’s leading practices in these areas,» he says.
