Appointment of New Board Members

The Geneva Financial Place Foundation (FGPF) is governed by a Board of 14 directors who represent the many facets of the Lake Geneva financial industry. The Board defines the strategic priorities of the Foundation. As such, understanding the needs of the financial community is central to its mission. This approach enables the Foundation to drive initiatives that benefit the Geneva financial sector and best meet the interests of all its members.

Philipp Rickenbacher, CEO of Julius Bär Group AG, will join the Board as the representative of the Association of Swiss Asset and Wealth Management Banks (VAV/ABG). He replaces François Pauly, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild (Switzerland) SA, who is stepping down. After obtaining his MSc. in Biotechnology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Philipp Rickenbacher began his career at McKinsey. He joined the Julius Bär Group in 2004 and was appointed CEO in 2019. He is also a member of the Board of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and the Chairman of the Association of Swiss Asset and Wealth Management Banks (VAV/ABG). The Board of the GFC will benefit from his far-reaching experience in wealth management. He will help reinforce the role of the Foundation in wealth management and innovation, and contribute to building stronger ties between the highly complementary Geneva and Zurich financial centres.  

The presence of accounting and audit firms on the Board supports the diversity and success of the Geneva financial centre. Frédéric Berney, President of the Geneva Chapter of the Swiss Expert Association for Audit, Tax and Fiduciary, will succeed André Tinguely as Board member. A graduate of St Gallen University, Mr. Berney joined Bertorelli & Co. in San Francisco, USA, as a CPA in 1996, before moving back to Switzerland in 1998 to work for Deloitte & Touche AG in Zurich as an auditor in the industrial and financial sectors. Since 2002, he has been a senior executive with Berney Associés SA in Geneva. His technical mastery of accounting, business, financial and fiscal matters, in Switzerland and internationally, will assist the Board on questions of taxation, a priority area for the GFC.

• Press Release (PDF)