In der Rubrik Backstage geben interessante Persönlichkeiten aus der Finanzwirtschaft und darüber hinaus jeden Mittwoch Einblicke in ihre ganz persönlichen Vorlieben.

What do you do first in the morning?

The first thing I do is read my emails and messages. After that, I have a nice coffee and feed my cats.

What is the best part of your job?

Turning my vision into reality and dealing with exciting topics with interesting people every day.

A moment that changed your life?

When I co-founded a blockchain start-up in 2017 and worked on it full-time, my career took a new direction. Much of my life today goes back to that moment.

What cars do you own? Which is your favorite?

I have a Mercedes electric car as well as a 1973 Porsche 911 Targa, which I have really taken a liking to.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

Buy Bitcoin :)! And have a little more patience. Life, and above all also your career, is a marathon, not a sprint.

What are you particularly proud of?

That I succeeded in building a strong team with which we have jointly led a traditional, large Swiss financial institution successfully into the digital assets era.

What do you do when you have doubts?

I sleep on it.

What is your favorite wine?

The Gavi dei Gavi by La Scolca D’Antan.

What projects are you currently working on?

At the moment, a lot of my work revolves around the future of the Swiss and international financial centre: the CHF stablecoin sandbox, the deposit token and Project Agora by the BIS. At the same time, we are continuously expanding the crypto offering at PostFinance – from staking and crypto transfers to corporate clients and custody.

What do you admire in other people?

I admire people who can inspire others about a topic and convey a clear vision in such a way that others also believe in it.

What would be the biggest surprise for someone who had to take over your job for a day?

How much time I spend on the phone during the day.

What is your personal drive?

I am ambitious and have high standards for my own work. That is the engine that drives me.

What are you afraid of?

I have a slight fear of heights and hate snakes.

Your favorite watch brand?

Omega – because of its achievements as the «official timekeeper» of Nasa.

Is there an unfulfilled dream you would still like to realize?

I want to ride through all of Japan on an old Japanese motorcycle. Japan has fascinated me for years, and for me that would be the perfect way to experience the country in a new way.

Your best investment?

My education – it laid the foundation for my further path. And Ether :).

Dr. Alexander Thoma has been with PostFinance since 2020 and heads the Digital Assets division. In this role, he is responsible for all products and initiatives relating to digital assets and represents PostFinance both internally and externally in this area. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Zurich and is a Certified Digital Assets Analyst. Before joining PostFinance, he was a co-founder of Alethena. He is also involved in expert groups of the SBF, the SBVg and  AMAS and is a founding member of Digital Assets Switzerland.