The eight-year tenure of Bellevue's CEO ends by mutual agreement, citing the need for new impulses and ideas. The new CEO had a long career at Credit Suisse.
Bellevue Group's board of directors appoints Gebhard Giselbrecht CEO effective January 1, succeeding André Rueegg who leaves the Group by mutual agreement after 15 years, eight of them as CEO.
«New impulses and ideas will be profitable for the sustainable further development of Bellevue Group,» was the conclusion Rueegg and the board, according to a statement on Monday. Rueegg will work to ensure a professional handover.
Credit Suisse Veteran
Giselbrecht (pictured above) brings extensive asset management experience, including at Credit Suisse where he held various roles, including strategy, sales, management/COO, and new business development. Before his career at Credit Suisse, he worked for McKinsey & Company in Munich and Zurich in the financial sector.
The departure of Rueegg isn't the first reshuffling at the top of the asset manager this year. In July the board said it released Jan Kollros from his duties on the group executive board, effective September 1. Kollros who is also CEO of Bellevue Private Markets will fully focus on the operational management of a newly established business unit.
No Improvement Until Next Year
Rueegg served as Bellevue's CEO since 2016 and played a key role in shaping its realignment, expanding the asset management expertise, and positioning Bellevue Group as a specialist in the healthcare sector.
In July, Bellevue said it doesn't expect the market for its healthcare investment to improve until the end of next year. For the first six months of the year, it saw its net profit decline to eight million Swiss francs ($9.3 million) from 14.3 million francs in the comparable year-ago period.
At the same time, assets under management slipped below ten billion francs to 9.6 billion, falling by over 2.8 billion. The rate hike by the Swiss National Bank on June 16 put a 400 million damper on Bellevue's AuM level.
«The first signs of an upward trend in healthcare markets are already visible, although a sustained recovery will depend on the future path of inflation and interest rates,» Rueegg said upon release of the mid-year results.
Chairman Veit de Maddalena said «I'm very pleased that with Gebhard Giselbrecht we've been able to attract a recognized expert in national and international asset management to Bellevue Group. With his extensive and long-standing experience, he will bring new impetus and set the course to return Bellevue Group to its growth path.» In thanking Rueegg for his years of service, the chairman said «He has shaped the transformation of our Group and successfully positioned Bellevue as a pure asset manager.»
