Vontobel, the Swiss bank, said it has appointed Axel Schwarzer, a former Deutsche Bank senior manager, as the new head of its asset management division, effective from 4 May this year. He replaces Zeno Staub, who becomes chief executive of the entire group on that date, the firm said.

A qualified lawyer, Schwarzer has had a long international career in Deutsche Bank's asset management business, helping to drive DWS Investments Europe, also involved with the development of DWS Americas (formerly Scudder). He was most recently a member of the executive board of DWS and of the global management committee of DeAM (Deutsche Asset Management), where he was responsible for the management of strategic distribution partnerships.

He takes up the position when Dr Staub, previous head of the asset management arm, is appointed CEO as previously announced last December.

Zurich-listed Vontobel, which was founded in 1924, oversaw more than SFr119 billion (around $131.6 billion) of assets as at the end of December last year and employs around, 1,400 staff.