Alex Widmer, CEO of Bank Julius Baer, suddenly died on 4
December, aged 52, at his home in Switzerland.
He is believed to have taken his own life, according to sources
in Zurich, although Swiss police declined to comment on the
death.
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A Baer
spokesman stressed there was no link between the death of Widmer,
whose wife died of cancer in 2005, and the Swiss private bank’s
current activities.
Raymond J Baer, the bank’s chairman, said: “We have lost a dear
friend, a good colleague and a charismatic leader. Our thoughts are
with his three children. His enormous passion and commitment will
be missed greatly.”
Widmer will be succeeded by Hans de Gier, who served as the CEO
of Julius Baer Group until September when he stepped down to focus
on his role as chairman of hedge fund unit GAM.
Baer has a number of high-flying executives who could succeed de
Gier, who is effectively taking on a caretaker role.
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By GlobalDataThese include Boris Collardi, Baer’s highly-regarded chief
operating officer.
The death of Widmer, who was described as hugely popular by
colleagues, disrupts long-hatched plans for senior management
succession at Baer.
The banker, who joined Baer in 2005 from Credit Suisse where he
failed to get to the chief executive position, had long been
groomed to assume the Baer CEO role.
He had been global head of private banking at Credit Suisse
between 2002 and 2005.
At Baer, he joined as a member of the executive board and head
of private banking and became chief executive in November 2007.
