New GAM board promotes Elmar Zumbuehl to chief executive

Receive free GAM Holding AG updates

We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest GAM Holding AG news every morning.

GAM’s new board has appointed Elmar Zumbuehl as chief executive of the Swiss asset manager, after the previous board stepped down following the blocking by activist investors of a takeover bid by UK rival Liontrust.

Zumbuehl, who has been the firm’s chief risk officer since 2017, replaced previous CEO candidate Randy Freeman, who withdrew from the process due to “unforeseen family circumstances”.

Rock Investment SAS, part of the “NewGAMe” group of activist investors, which includes French telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel, has also increased its funding for the company from SFr20mn ($21.8mn) to SFr100mn.

GAM’s share price has collapsed 86 per cent since March 2021 after it was fined by regulators and lost one of its star fund managers over its involvement in the Greensill scandal. The struggling asset manager reported a SFr22.5mn loss in the first six months of the year, with net outflows hitting SFr2.2bn in the same period, despite a strong investment performance.

GAM’s board agreed to step down last month after the failure of a takeover offer by UK rival Liontrust, which was disrupted by the activist investors, who branded the deal “lopsided”.

The activists launched a tender offer for 17.5 per cent of the company last month, which closes today. The group currently owns 9.6 per cent of GAM.

The new board, which was voted in by shareholders last week, includes Antoine Spillmann, chief executive at Bruellan, part of the activist investor group, as chair. Other appointments include Fabien Pictet, founder of Fabien Pictet & Partners and Carlos Esteve, founder of Banque Heritage. Anthony Maarek, a former partner at Deloitte, and Jeremy Smouha, a founding member of GAM, have also been appointed to the board.

Spillmann said he was “delighted” that Zumbuehl has been appointed chief executive. “[Zumbuehl] has the right blend of experience and operational expertise, as well as an in-depth knowledge of GAM to lead the firm,” he said.

“Under his leadership we look to build on GAM’s heritage and strong investment performance to return GAM to a path of success and growth that will create long-term value for our clients, employees and other stakeholders.”

Zumbuehl said: “[GAM] has a strong international brand, talented teams across the business and exceptional investment performance. I look forward to building on these strengths to put GAM on to a sustained recovery path.”