Geneva-based private bank Lombard Odier is launching a corporate advisory business catering to entrepreneurs. It is headed by two veterans with Big Four experience.
Over the next five years, around two thousand SMEs in French-speaking Switzerland and 35,000 in the country as a whole, will change ownership and need advisory services. To help them and take advantage of the dynamic, Lombard Odier is launching an advisory service for entrepreneurs.
The Geneva-based wealth manager is creating a new service for its entrepreneurial clients to help them with strategic decisions related to the sale, transfer, and governance of their businesses, according to a statement from Lombard Odier Tuesday.
Today's announcement by Lombard Odier comes shortly after Credit Suisse, which billed itself as the bank for entrepreneurs, was taken over by rival UBS less than two weeks ago. In September 2019, Andreas Arni joined Lombard Odier and heads its Zurich branch. His move was seen at the time as an effort by private banks to get closer to their entrepreneurial clients, as finews.com reported.
Big Four Veterans
Lombard Odier named Maxime Dubouloz and Jules Boudrand to lead Lombard Odier Corporate Advisory. The joined the firm in November of last year and will report to Gérard Felley, a limited partner and head of Swiss and francophone private client markets.
Dubouloz and Boudrand gained experience at Big Four accounting firms at PwC and Deloitte, respectively.
In his role as head of deals for western Switzerland, Dubouloz led a team responsible for acquisitions, mergers, and divestitures and also supported clients with succession planning.
At Deloitte, where he spent nearly 15 years, Boudrand was the head of the corporate finance advisory unit for French-speaking Switzerland.
Setting the Standard
«We have always sought to set the standard in private banking for entrepreneurs and their families over the long term. At a time when many business owners are preparing to hand over the reins of their companies and sometimes to restructure their wealth, we see the provision of this new expertise as a natural extension of our service offering, said Lombard Odier managing partner Frédéric Rochat.
