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JULIUS BAER FEATUREthe growth areas and has contributed
substantially to net new money, of course
we want also to continue to grow here, and
there is a budget for managers,” he notes.
A game of thrones
Hodler was appointed as the bank’s CEO
in November 2017, when his predecessor
Boris Collardi defected to become one of
seven partners at Pictet, a rival private
bank and asset manager. At the time,
Collardi’s sudden departure prompted
rumours that many of Julius Baer’s clients
or staff would follow him. According to
Hodler, this hasn’t been the case.
“Look, we have lots of competitors,” he
says, matter-of-factly. “One of the
competitors is Pictet. It’s a good brand, but
they have a different business model. They
are quite good on the asset management
side, but on the wealth management side
our platform is substantially bigger. To be
honest, we have competitors that are much
stronger in the wealth management field;
UBS, some of the local banks are very good,
HSBC and others. We haven’t seen clients
or relationship managers moving.”
At the time of our interview, media
speculation surrounding Switzerland’s
famously secretive banking sector was
further exacerbated by a week’s worth of
hectic boardroom scrambling before
Hodler’s appointment and the impression
that perhaps Hodler – known as being a
particularly discreet and quiet executive- was merely a stop-gap. At first, Hodler
did little to dispel these rumours, saying
that it’s always best to have a plan B “in
case [he] gets hit by a tram”. According to
Hodler, however, he’s here to stay.
“I was the plan B because I was deputy
CEO, so if something happens to the CEO,
or if he’s run over by a bus or goes over to
a competitor, then the deputy obviously
takes over,” he notes. “I was never
nominated to be temporary, so I’m here
to stay. But, of course, it’s probably the
most important role of the board to ensure
that they think about their plan B, if the
CEO moves on or retires after 10 years.”
FinTech and blockchain
Hodler’s appointment as CEO came just
months after Julius Baer hired a chief
digital officer, who reports directly to the
Nic Dreckmann, the bank’s chief operating
officer. This move, Hodler says, was a
natural step as the world continues to
move towards digitisation and technology
continues to change the way that
businesses – banks included – operate.
“Technology and digitisation are
changing every business, so it’s important
for us to ensure that we don’t miss that
boat. We therefore nominated somebody
that really thinks about that change andu AI-assisted fi ntech is being used to help analyse what clients want and their appetite for risk
Julius Baer
and the arts
In February 2018, Julius Baer became
the fi rst company in the fi nancial
services industry to become an
offi cial sponsor of Dubai Opera.
With the announcement, the
Emaar-owned venue became the
latest art platform supported by Julius
Baer, with other examples including
Switzerland’s Verbier Festival and
Lucerne Festival, as well as the Austria’s
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. In the
UAE, Julius Baer has also been a sponsor
of Art Dubai for the last four years.
The Julius Baer Art Collection,
meanwhile, encompasses more than
5,000 works, including paintings,
sculpture, photography, video, graphics
and drawings. These are displayed in
Julius Baer’s offi ces around the globe.
Established in 1981 by Hans J Baer
(1927-2011), the collection was inspired
by his belief that art presents a starting
point for conversation.
In line with Julius Baer’s innovative
spirit, the collection focuses on
supporting up-and-coming artists,
following them throughout their careers
and to help develop a diverse selection.