Wake Up & Take Action!

Speaker Series: NICOLAS PICTET, Managing Partner, Pictet & Cie.

Breakfast, Tuesday, 27 November 2012, 8:00-9:30 am, The American Club, Town Club

How Pictet Has Managed a Family Business Across 200 Years History and Generations, and the Challenges of Swiss Private Banking, Today, in the Face of the Rising Asian Threat.

Everything you have wanted to know about private banking, but were afraid to ask …

Event Details:
The Stanford GSB Chapter of Hong Kong hosted 30 pre-registered individuals to hear Mr. Nicolas Pictet, Managing Partner, Pictet et Cie., speak.  His talk addressed two separate challenges:  FIRST, his views on the historical key success factors that have permitted his family to successfully grow over 200 years one of the world’s most important private banks.  SECOND, his thoughts on where the traditional Swiss private banking model goes from here in the face of the rise of/threat from Asia and the dramatic shifts of capital to the region.

As both Chairman of the Swiss Private Bankers Association and an Executive Board Member of the Swiss Bankers Association, Mr. Pictet is perhaps uniquely positioned to discuss both these topics.

From a Family Business Perspective:  What have been the key success factors in Pictet’s longevity as a family business across generations?  How has it handled the challenges of generational shift, of choosing between family managers vs. outside professional managers, and of competing objectives of family shareholders and business objectives? How has Pictet addressed the challenges of managing a family business in the era of international financial institutions?  How has it evaluated the trade-offs between external capital and accelerated growth and continued family control and corporate culture?  How does it see the differences between the “European Family Business Model” and the “Asian Family Business Model”?  Where does it see its greatest challenges, moving forward, as a family business, to thrive for the next 200 years?

From a Swiss Private Banking Perspective & Traditional Business Model, Nicolas Pictet has led the call for Swiss private bankers to “wake up and take action” as their world leading position faces increasing challenges – from new hubs in Asia, from regulatory authorities and from “one-stop shopping” global firms.  How does Pictet evaluate the Asian Challenge to Swiss banking?  Who will be the winners, who will be the losers and why?

Founded in 1805, Pictet is one of Switzerland’s largest private banks.  It is also one of the oldest family-run financial firms in existence today, with over 3,000 employees and roughly USD 400 billion in assets across 24 offices.  In a world of ever-larger corporations, in the financial sector, Pictet stands out – a 200 year old family run business that has not only survived, but thrived in a the era of global competition.  It is one of the 10 oldest financial institutions in the world still in existence and one of the five oldest in Switzerland. It remains a partnership – also increasingly rare in the world of modern finance.

We look forward to the privilege of Mr. Pictet’s views on the above.

Speaker’s Bio: Nicolas Pictet
Managing Partner, Pictet et Cie.