François Reyl (photo) becomes Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of its Strategic Committee. Pasha Bakhtiar becomes the new General Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee. The change takes effect July 1, 2024.
REYL Intesa Sanpaolo has received approval from Finma for the implementation of its new governance structure. François Reyl becomes a Member of the Bank’s Board of Directors and Chairman of its Strategic Committee. Pasha Bakhtiar, currently Partner and Member of the Executive Committee, becomes the new General Director of the Bank and Chairman of the Executive Committee. The change takes effect on 1is July 2024.
After a 13-year career as a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions with Jones Day and an investment banker with CSFB, François Reyl joined the Bank in 2002 as head of development and became its Director. General in 2008. Under his leadership, REYL & Cie grew from the status of a securities trader with 15 employees in Switzerland, to that of a bank with 400 employees, an international presence and a diversified field of activity. François Reyl notably played a decisive role in the launch of RAM Active Investments, sold to Mediobanca in 2018, as well as the Corporate Finance and Asset Services business lines. He co-led the incubation of Alpian, Switzerland’s first digital private bank and, in 2021, initiated the negotiations leading to the Bank’s strategic partnership with Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking. François Reyl succeeds Ms. Ruth Metzler-Arnold on the Board of Directors and will continue to supervise the development of the Group’s strategic activities in a non-executive manner.
Pasha Bakhtiar has been a Partner of the Bank since 2018 and a Member of the Executive Committee since 2023. As Managing Director from 1is July 2024, he will chair the Bank’s Executive Committee and will have overall responsibility for business development and operational matters. Before being appointed Partner, Pasha co-founded and led the Bank’s subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates from 2014 to 2018. He also played a key role in the launch of Alpian, where he currently chairs the Board of Directors. Pasha Bakhtiar brings 25 years of experience in wealth management, asset management and digital banking to the role of Managing Director.
François Reyl, Partner and Managing Director, comments: “After 22 years in an executive role within Reyl & Cie, I am very pleased to hand over to Pasha Bakhtiar the role of ensuring the continuation of our operational activities and supporting the development of the Group’s strategy. I intend to remain involved as a shareholder and Board Member and provide support wherever deemed useful. Pasha Bakhtiar is an extremely talented professional with particularly relevant and in-depth experience in the areas of wealth management, asset management and digital banking. He has my full confidence as well as that of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the controlling shareholder. This transition is the logical and planned evolution of REYL & Cie since its integration into the Intesa Sanpaolo Group in 2021.”
Pasha Bakhtiar, Partner, adds: “I am very honored to continue the entrepreneurial success of François Reyl as Managing Director of the Group and to bring all my commitment to the pursuit of our high value-added activities for all our clients, in working closely with and for the benefit of all shareholders and our employees.”
