Romeo Lacher will step down as chairman of Julius Baer at the bank’s annual general meeting in April 2025. A successor will be nominated for election in March 2025. Lacher has served as chairman since 2019 and is currently chairman of SIX Group and vice-chairman of the Swiss Finance Institute.
Lacher previously chaired Credit Suisse Luxembourg and held senior roles at Credit Suisse, including chief operating officer of international wealth management and head of private banking EMEA.
Lacher’s departure follows a series of leadership changes at the Swiss private bank. Per January 2025, Stefan Bollinger officially assumed the role of CEO, having been appointed in July 2024. Bollinger, a former Goldman Sachs executive, was co-head of private wealth management for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
His appointment came after Philipp Rickenbacher resigned in February 2024, following Julius Baer’s disclosure of 678 million dollar in credit losses linked to loans to Rene Benko’s Signa Holding, which is in bankruptcy proceedings in Austria and had several funds in Luxembourg. Benko was arrested in Vienna last week.
Other transfers news in and around Luxembourg this week includes updates from EY Luxembourg, Allianz Partners, and Federated Hermes.
EY Luxembourg
Adriana Boixados (photo) has been appointed as deputy country managing partner at EY Luxembourg. Boixados, previously the country people leader, will work alongside country managing partner Olivier Coekelbergs to support the firm’s long-term strategic vision. A tax partner with 20 years of experience advising alternative asset managers, she will focus on strengthening leadership capacity and guiding strategic priorities.
Several other senior leadership changes have also been announced. René Ensch will succeed Boixados as country people leader, having previously served as country risk management leader. An assurance partner specialising in the real estate sector, he has more than 25 years of audit experience. Julie Honoré will take over as country risk management leader, bringing expertise in risk and quality assurance. Also an assurance partner, she has extensive experience serving real estate clients across the entire value chain.
Alban Aubrée has been appointed as chief operating officer, transitioning from his role as chief financial officer, which he held for five years. He will continue to oversee financial matters while focusing on operational strategy. In the tax division, Christian Schlesser has been named tax leader. Previously leading the commercial and public sector tax team and operating model and transfer pricing services, Schlesser has worked for EY in Luxembourg and Chicago for 21 years.
In the technology sector, Bart Van Droogenbroek has been appointed as TMT (technology, media, and telecommunications) leader, responsible for driving EY’s work in these industries. Van Droogenbroek, formerly EY Luxembourg’s tax practice leader and global telecommunication tax sector leader, has also been named chairman of the board.
Over the past four years, EY Luxembourg has expanded by 60 percent, adapting to the evolving business environment through leadership changes across service lines and governance.
Allianz Partners
Allianz Partners has appointed Laurent Floquet as chief operating officer, Beatriz Corti as chief officer for mobility & assistance, and Clara Silvestri as chief transformation officer. The appointments are intended to support the company’s transformation and growth strategy.
Floquet, who has been with Allianz Partners for a decade, took over as chief operating officer on 1 January. He previously served as chief officer for mobility & assistance and has held roles including chief transformation officer and regional managing director for North, Central, and Eastern Europe. He succeeds Lars Rogge, whose contract ended in late 2024.
Corti, previously chief transformation officer, has assumed the role of chief officer for mobility & assistance, replacing Floquet. She has nearly 20 years of experience within the Allianz Group, having worked at Allianz Seguros and Allianz SE before joining Allianz Partners in 2022 to lead restructuring and digital initiatives.
Silvestri will take over as chief transformation officer on 1 March. She joins from Microsoft, where she was chief financial officer for Western Europe. With over 25 years of experience in senior leadership and finance, she has also worked at PwC, Oracle, and General Electric, focusing on business transformation and operational efficiency.
Thomas Dirkmaat
Federated Hermes has appointed Thomas Dirkmaat as director of business development for the Benelux region. Based in Amsterdam, he will oversee the firm’s distribution strategy and expansion efforts as Federated Hermes prepares to open a new office in the Netherlands. He will report to Angelo Natale, head of business development for CEMEA.
Dirkmaat brings over 17 years of experience in financial services. He previously spent 12 years at Schroders as sales director, focusing on the distribution of private assets, long-only equity, and fixed-income strategies to institutional clients, private and retail banks, and family offices.
His appointment follows a series of hires across Europe as Federated Hermes expands its distribution capabilities. In recent months, Henning Fock joined as director of business development for Germany and Austria, while Dominik Schubert and Christine Bergstedt were appointed to the business development teams in Germany and the Nordics.
Investment Officer publishes an overview of key appointments in and around Luxembourg every week. Send your announcements via email to editor@investmentofficer.lu.