Goldman Sachs is nabbing a senior private banker from rival Lombard Odier to run its Swiss wealth management arm, finews.com has learned.
The American powerhouse is hiring Dominique Wohnlich, Lombard Odier's top private banker in Zurich, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com on Monday. Wohnlich will oversee Goldman's bank in Zurich, recently upgraded under Swiss head Stefan Bollinger.
The move is emblematic of Goldman's ambitions to grow outside of investment banking, where it still earns the bulk of its profits. The New York-based bank also recently returned to Geneva, where it is reinforcing with additional wealth and asset management staff. Wohnlich had hired copiously at Lombard Odier, part of a bid to win more Swiss business outside of Geneva.
Exit for Deutsche
Wohnlich, who will report to European wealth co-heads Chris French and Bollinger, is expected to begin at Goldman by September. The bank in Zurich was until now led by Marco Pagliara, who left for Deutsche Bank last month. Goldman employs roughly 100 people in Switzerland, and has under Bollinger attempted to strengthen in wealth and asset management.
Lombard Odier confirmed that Wohnlich left at the end of June, and said it will name a successor to run its Zurich office in due course. Until then, Wohnlich's operating chief Hilmar Preuss will stand in. Wohnlich was hired away from Credit Suisse by Lombard Odier in 2014.
