Top UBS Banker Defects

Quintet is replenishing its management with a high-profile Dutch banker, in its latest raid on UBS. The Luxembourg-based private bank is hiring Eli Leenaars as its operating chief, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Currently a vice-chairman at UBS, Leennaars is due to replace Colin Price in the job, effective June 1.

The hire of Leennaars, a prominent Dutch banker, is the latest in a string of high-profile hires from UBS for Quintet. The Qatari-controlled private banking group is seeking a revival of its fortunes under new management stocked heavily with ex-UBS top executives.

The project was spearheaded by UBS’ ex-private bank head Juerg Zeltner until he died suddenly in March. Now run by Jakob Stott, also an ex-executive of the world’s largest wealth manager, Quintet opened a Swiss bank last year and is in the process of streamlining eight largely autonomous private banks across Europe.

Leennars, who has kept a low profile since moving to Zurich in 2015, was far more prominent in his 24-year career with ING. He was reportedly ultimately outmaneuvered for the top job in 2013 – by none other than Ralph Hamers, now also in Switzerland. Just ten weeks into Hamers’ tenure as CEO of UBS, Leennaars appears overworking for big companies.

After decades of service at large organizations, I am eager to put my experience and energy to work at this highly entrepreneurial firm, he said in a statement. The 60-year-old banker was instrumental in the transformation of ING after the 2008/09 crisis, after which Hamers overhauled its aging infrastructure in favor of a so-called agile organization.