Lombard Odier, one of the largest Swiss independent private banks by managed assets and Geneva's oldest, is reinforcing its commitment to the GCC region with the appointment of four seasoned relationship managers: Giridhar Bhatia, Arif Al Suwaidi, Pradip Gupta and Yazen B. Abu Gulal.
Giridhar Bhatia, who joins Lombard Odier as a Senior Vice President, brings to Lombard Odier over 20 years of banking and advisory experience. He was previously vice president, senior relationship manager at Credit Suisse, where he provided wealth management solutions to High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI), Ultra-HNWI and corporate investors, with a focus on the Indian sub-continent and non-resident-Indians (NRIs) across the GCC region. He is an Indian citizen.
Arif Al Suwaidi joins Lombard Odier as Vice President, bringing with him a depth of private banking experience, having held roles at RBS Coutts and UBS Wealth Management in London and most recently Emirates NBD, where he effectively built a team of private bankers covering the MENA region. He is a British citizen.
Pradip Gupta joins as Vice President and brings with him 15 years of asset management and private banking experience. Prior to his new appointment, Pradip was at Emirates NBD, where he closely worked with client advisors in his role as director, CIO office - investment team. He is a British citizen.
Finally, Yazen Abu Gulal joins as Vice President from Emirates NBD in his role director, private banking - offshore team. Prior to this, he held stints at various reputable regional finance organisations.
"I am happy to welcome Giridhar, Pradip, Arif and Yazen to the Lombard Odier team," said Christophe Lalandre, Head of UAE and Oman at Lombard Odier. "They have each uniquely demonstrated an impressive ability to truly understand client needs in the process of preserving, growing and transmitting wealth to future generations."
The latest round of hires has come after a series of strategic hires in 2011 of Sameh Temraz, and in late 2010 of Christophe Lalandre and Radhouane Maghraoui. The expansion effectively bolsters the private Swiss bank's presence from its Dubai hub and its ability to effectively and personally reach individual, family and institutional clients across the region.
"The new appointments deepen our commitment to the region", commented Arnaud Leclercq, Limited Partner of Lombard Odier Capital Partners and Head of New Markets. "The combined experience and in-depth knowledge and insight into multiple facets of private banking and local markets will be instrumental to our growth plans here as we take a long-term view."
Lombard Odier Group
The Lombard Odier Group has a presence in the world's main financial centres and a network of 24 offices in 17 countries. With assets of USD 174 billion under management and custody at the end of December 2011, the Group has a headcount close to 1,900 and offers its clients a broad range of asset management advice, financial products and specialized services.
Lombard Odier & Cie is headed by eight Managing Partners who represent the seventh generation of private bankers in charge of the company. They are both owners and managers, and are equally involved in strategy and management as well as client services.
Since its founding in 1796, the Firm has stayed true to its primary vocation of preserving and growing the assets entrusted to it by clients so they may hand them to future generations.
© Press Release 2012
