CEOs work from home just like you and me: they work from the kitchen table, listen to «The Who» on coffee breaks, and enjoy take-out pizza sometimes. finews asked around.
Thomas Gottstein, Credit Suisse CEO: «The phone is my most important work tool now. I’m talking to our employees, clients, and political representatives as well as other banks even more frequently than usual. I can do that fine from home. I also appreciate being able to eat lunch with my family during the workweek. And I love getting some fresh air with our dogs.»
Eric Syz, Syz founder: «Normally I’m at my desk by 7: 30 a.m. in a suit and tie, but it was surprisingly easy to get used to working from my kitchen table in jeans and a sweater. I’m proud of the «Syz family» which is upholding high standards in service despite the circumstances. Even if most of us are working from home, we’re still completely present.»
Marc Buerki, Swissquote co-founder and CEO: «We reevaluated our guidelines for working from home for all departments and functions, established flexible working hours, and reassembled teams due to the crisis. In order to ensure we could continue to function as a regulated, listed Swiss bank, we activated business continuity plans and rolled out the measures.»
Grégoire Bordier, Bordier managing partner: «Digitization isn’t an alien concept even for a traditional private bank like Bordier. We have the tools to work from home. No day is like the other, the world of finance is in constant motion. It’s defined by the major events we’re living through, which constantly force us to think about what the world will look like tomorrow.»
Yves Robert-Charrue, Julius Baer head Switzerland and EMEA: «The corona crisis requires flexibility from all of us – unthinkable a short while ago, the majority of our employees now work from home. It’s impressive how quickly we have become accustomed to the extraordinary situation and arranged ourselves with working from home.»
Jakob Stott, Quintet (ex-KBL) CEO: The Danish executive and ex-UBS private banker only recently took over at the helm of Quintet, after the death of CEO Juerg Zeltner. The coronavirus crisis comes as Quintet, bankrolled by the ruling al-Thani family of Qatar, mounts a reinvention as a European wealth manager.
Zeno Staub, Vontobel CEO: The long-standing Vontobel boss is also partly working from home, as the image illustrates. CEO Zeno Staub didn’t want to pose but told finews.asia, «While the coronavirus roils markets, our portfolio managers are here to let our client know their views of the current situation.»
Anke Bridge, Credit Suisse head of digitalization products: «Establishing bridge loans for small- and mid-sized companies in less than a week shows that we can rise to the occasion in extraordinary times, even when we’re working mostly from home. Certainly, the absence of personal contact is unusual for all of us. It’s even more important to find creative, digital ways to stay in regular touch with each other.»
François Reyl, Banque Reyl CEO: «I rotate from office to home alternately with my partners. My most important work tools in the home are my phone and my laptop. My days are spent talking to my partners, our clients, our colleagues, my peers at other banks and occasionally to representatives from the authorities. The commitment of our teams is exceptional during this period and our business continuity plan was implemented without substantial issues (but a bit of stress naturally!). I appreciate very much spending my confined times with my wife and kids and occasionally squeezing a long run in the countryside. I know that we will all get through this storm together, with solidarity, determination, humility and the certainty of better days.»
Paul Arni, VP Bank CEO: «I’m pleasantly surprised how close I am to my staff despite physical distance, and we’re working well together. Thanks to video-conferencing, I can see as well as hear them. Further out, I would miss in-person social interaction. I’m glad top management is practicing rotation in the office at the moment.»
Mathias Imbach, Sygnum co-founder and CEO in Singapore: Imbach regularly communicates business partner and co-founder Manuel Krieger (see below) from his apartment in Singapore regularly. «Sygnum Bank is a natively digital business. At the start of the COVID-19, enabled by our cloud IT infrastructure, we transitioned seamlessly into fully ‘decentralized mode,’ with our teams in Zurich and Singapore working remotely.»
Manuel Krieger, Sygnum co-founder and CEO in Switzerland: «One of the positive by-products of the COVID-19 crisis has been to underline the resilience – and importance – of the digital economy. During times of great disruption like this, businesses with a fully digital operating model supported by cloud-based IT infrastructure are not just able to continue ‘business as usual,’ but also possess the agility to adapt and seize new opportunities.»
Laurent Gagnebin, Rothschild Bank CEO: «As a family, we got used to it quickly – and it’s nice to see more of each other. Thanks to tech tools, we can still work – and we’re more efficient because everyone keeps it brief. The exception is that the blizzard of emails is even stronger. I am starting to miss personal contact with our clients and employees, as well as personal ones.»
Sergio Ermotti, UBS CEO: The head of Switzerland’s largest bank wasn’t fussy about plugging in earphones to conduct an interview with financial broadcaster «Bloomberg» from his iPhone. The global wealth manager braced early for the crisis, which hit in Asia first – where UBS has a sizable presence.
Source: finews.asia
