Ariane de Rothschild, former president of Edmond de Rothschild Group, is taking over operational responsibility of the Swiss-French financial group with immediate effect. The previous CEO is leaving the bank, although not completely.
What finews.com hinted at a week ago has transpired. The CEO of the Swiss-French private bank Edmond de Rothschild, François Pauly (pictured below), relinquished his post with immediate effect, according to a statement Tuesday evening. Baroness Ariane de Rothschild is taking over the reins.
She assumed the chairmanship of the group after the death of her husband Baron Benjamin de Rothschild in January 2021, handing over those duties to Yves Perrier at the next annual general meeting. Perrier sat on the bank's supervisory board since 2021 and was previously CEO of the French asset manager Amundi, a post he has vacated.
Closest Confidant of the Baroness
Cynthia Tobiano (Image: EdR)
The bank also announced Cynthia Tobiano (pictured above) becomes deputy CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Suisse. She has been Ariane de Rothschild's closest professional confidante for many years. The other members of the Executive Committee remain unchanged.
Ariane de Rothschild presents Pauly's abrupt departure as an amicable change. The Luxembourger, who sat on the board of directors from 2016 to 2021 and then took over the CEO role, will remain with the company as an independent director of the real estate division Edmond de Rothschild REIM. Nevertheless, it is an open secret there have been differences of opinion recently between the Baroness and Pauly, various sources have confirmed to finews.com. Otherwise, a change in the CEO post would not have occurred until the end of 2023.
Between Geneva und Paris
François Pauly (Image: EdR)
Communication, and decision-making between Geneva, the location of the holding company, and the private bank, and Paris, where many activities of the group come together, proved to be difficult. Compliance issues arose several times, which the company handled rather clumsily vis-à-vis its clientele. The challenging situation in the financial markets, triggered by higher interest rates, stubborn inflation, and war in Ukraine, likely contributed to the financial group having to navigate stormy waters.
Those developments were reflected in last year's results. Bottom-line profit fell to 55 million Swiss francs ($60.2 million) last year, down from 79 million francs the year before, the bank announced Tuesday evening. Excluding special items, the profit decline would have been only half as much, with a decline of 14 percent.
Difficult Environment
The operating result fell by 11 percent to 172 million francs, but excluding one-off effects, it would have risen by one percent. According to the company, the pressure on earnings was offset by business momentum, the positive effect of interest rate increases, and income from the credit and treasury business. In addition, the bank said costs were under control.
Last year, Edmond de Rothschild saw net new money inflows of 5.8 billion francs, down from 8.2 billion francs in 2021. Assets under management fell to 158 billion francs, down nine percent, due to the unfavorable development of the financial markets and the appreciation of the Swiss franc.
New Opportunities
Pauly replaced former CEO Vincent Taupin in 2021, having previously been chairman of the board of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg until March 2016. In addition to his involvement with Edmond de Rothschild, he sits on various other supervisory boards and chairs the family-owned insurance company La Luxembourgeoise. Given his experience, Pauly is likely to be an attractive target for other company mandates.
Founded in 1953, the Edmond de Rothschild Group employs around 2,500 people and is represented in 29 locations worldwide.
