After a 15-year term of office that coincided with major changes in the banking industry and a number of M&A deals, the chief financial officer is standing down, handing over the role to a successor in July next year.

Dieter Enkelmann, who has been Julius Baer’s chief financial officer for 15 years, is to step down from the role and from the group’s board next July, the Swiss bank said yesterday. 

Following the transition, Enkelmann will employ his experience in non-executive responsibilities outside Julius Baer, it said.

Evie Kostakis, the deputy CFO, will take on the CFO role when Enkelmann departs and will become a member of the group’s and the bank’s executive board. She joined Julius Baer in 2013 as deputy head for corporate development and strategy. Between 2017 and 2019, she served as deputy head of investment management and head of alternative investments. Prior to that, she spent more than 13 years in various expert and leadership functions in the financial services industry in New York and Connecticut, US, and in Athens, Greece. 

“Dieter Enkelmann can look back on extraordinary successes at Julius Baer, such as navigating the company through the turbulence of the financial crisis, leading the separation from the asset management business in 2009, and shaping and positioning Julius Baer as a ‘pure’ wealth manager,” Julius Baer’s CEO Philipp Rickenbacher said. “These achievements also include the major acquisitions made under his tenure – such as the international wealth management business of Merrill Lynch, the Swiss private bank of ING as well as the independent Brazilian firms GPS and Reliance.”

“Dieter was a decisive force in the growth of Julius Baer’s franchise and instrumental in driving its operational efficiency. He has been in charge of managing our balance sheet, our trading and credit activities, and launching new business lines in structured finance and real estate advisory. I would like to thank him for his loyalty, commitment and all his contributions,” Rickenbacher added.