Bank of America has appointed Thorsten Pauli as Head of Asia Pacific Global Capital Markets, completing a leadership transition following the retirement of Matthew Basler.

Pauli, currently Country Executive for Switzerland, will relocate to Hong Kong in the coming months. In his new role, he will report to Lisa Clyde and Sarang Gadkari, with regional accountability to Peter Guenthardt.

Olof Engelbrekts, currently Head of Investment Banking Switzerland, will succeed Pauli as Country Executive for Switzerland. He will remain based in Zurich and report to Bernie Mensah.

Olof Engelbrekts. (Image: Courtesy)

Swiss Business Expanded Significantly

The appointments mark the promotion of two experienced internal executives across strategically important businesses for the US banking group.

Pauli brings more than two decades of capital markets experience across Europe and Asia. During his tenure as Switzerland Country Executive, Bank of America significantly expanded its local operations.

The Swiss banking team has more than doubled in recent years to over 60 employees and now serves more than 250 Swiss companies across investment banking, corporate banking, lending, markets and treasury services.

Major Swiss Transactions

Bank of America has also generated strong transaction momentum in Switzerland in recent years.

The bank is advising ABB on the pending $5.4 billion sale of its Robotics division to SoftBank and acted as sole financial adviser to EQT on its acquisition of a majority stake in Acronis.

Other mandates include advising Zurich Insurance on its acquisition of AIG’s global personal travel insurance business and working on Galderma’s 2.6 billion Swiss francs in secondary share sales following the company’s 2024 initial public offering.

Bank of America also worked on DocMorris’s rights issue and Medartis’s 116 million Swiss franc convertible bond offering. In debt capital markets, the bank has participated in recent transactions for issuers including Swisscom, Nestlé, Lonza and Philip Morris International.

Continuity at The Top

Engelbrekts has been closely involved in developing Bank of America’s senior client relationships in Switzerland. His appointment is intended to ensure continuity as the bank continues to invest in its Swiss franchise.

Pauli, meanwhile, takes on his new role as capital markets activity across Asia Pacific continues to broaden.

Equity issuance was the strongest component of APAC investment banking activity in the first half of the year, while Japan, India, Hong Kong and Australia are generating increasingly distinct pools of IPO and financing activity.

Recent transactions also underline the importance of connecting Asian issuers with global capital. Bank of America, for example, acted as a joint global coordinator on SK Hynix’s $26.5 billion US depositary share offering.

The leadership changes combine Pauli’s experience in building a cross-border client franchise in Switzerland with Bank of America’s ambitions in Asia Pacific, while Engelbrekts’ promotion ensures continuity in the Swiss market.