Based in Geneva, Praz will report to Frédéric Rochat, managing partner and co-head of the private clients activity, and will join the private clients executive committee, the firm said in a statement.

With over 30 years of experience in the banking sector, Praz has been head of the Swiss international market at Lombard Odier since 2017. Prior to this, he held a variety of positions at Swiss private bank UBS, where he began his career in 1992. Among these roles, Praz managed a team dedicated to the French ultra-high net worth client base for nearly six years, before taking over responsibility for a part of the French HNW client base from 2015 to 2017.

In his new role, Praz will be in charge of strengthening Lombard Odier’s growth strategy in the European francophone markets, supervising the different teams responsible for these markets within the private bank. Praz’s appointment is part of limited partner Gérard Felley’s succession plan to ensure a smooth transfer of his responsibilities as he approaches retirement, the firm continued. In the meantime, Felley will continue his duties as head of the “grandes familles teams” and remain a member of the private clients executive committee.

“We are convinced that Frédéric Praz’s deep knowledge and experience of Francophone markets, his natural proximity to clients and his ability to create cohesion within geographically remote teams are key assets for our firm’s future success in the region,” Rochat said. “We wish to extend our warm thanks to Gérard Felley for his vital contribution to the development of the France, Belgium and Luxembourg region, which he has led with great success since 2016. We are pleased that we can continue to rely on his leadership and commitment to our group.” 

The firm also recently announced that Xavier Bonna would become a managing partner of the Lombard Odier Group in January 2025, subject to regulatory approval, following Alexandre Zeller's decision to retire at the end of 2024. See more commentary here.

The Geneva-headquartered group has total client assets of SFr318 billion ($374 billion), with 28 offices in 19 jurisdictions.