Rodolphe Hottinger
Rodolphe Hottinger | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 14, 1956 Paris, France |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, banker |
| Known for | CEO of Hottinger Group, founder of La Financière Rodolphe Hottinger SA, board member of Petrolin SA |
Baron Rodolphe Hottinger (born 14 August 1956 in Paris) is a Swiss financier belonging to the Hottinguer lineage. His forebear, Jean-Conrad Hottinguer, established Bank Rougemont, Hottinger & Cie. in 1786. To preserve the Germanic pronunciation, the family name was altered in 1799. After leading the Hottinger Group as CEO for two decades, Rodolphe currently heads La Financière Rodolphe Hottinger SA and holds a board position at Petrolin SA.
Early life and education
Rodolphe, the firstborn of Henri Hottinger and Josyane Van Laere, represents the seventh generation and has one sibling. His schooling included Collège Bernard Palissy in Paris, followed by a degree from Académie de Commerce International. He acquired foundational banking skills through internships at institutions such as Coutts & Co., Brown Brothers Harriman, Baring Brothers, Kidder Peabody, and Chemical Bank in cities including Paris, London, New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
In 1981, he relocated to New York to broaden the family's financial footprint and revive the Hottinger presence in America, originally initiated in the 19th century through alliances like that with Heinrich Escher—whose son was instrumental in founding ETH Zurich and Credit Suisse.
Career
In 1982, Rodolphe launched the brokerage firm Hottinger Bros. in New York, which was affiliated with the National Association of Securities Dealers. Five years later, he played a key role in establishing the Swiss Helvetia Fund—the first Swiss closed-end investment company listed on the New York Stock Exchange—specializing in Swiss stocks. That same year, he assumed the position of Managing Partner at Hottinger & Cie. in Zurich, maintaining this role for 23 years.
His leadership extended to serving as President of Emba NV (publicly traded on Euronext until 2007) from 1990 to 2009 and as President and CEO of Swiss Helvetia Fund (NYSE-listed) between 1997 and 2009. He notably participated in ringing the closing bell at the NYSE on October 3, 2007.
His governance experience includes board memberships at AXA RE US (1983–2002), AXA Life and P&C Switzerland (1998–2006), and AXA Winterthur Life and P&C (2007–2012).
Following over thirty years with the Hottinger Group—including twenty years as its CEO—he established La Financière Rodolphe Hottinger in 2010 to tackle issues confronting financial firms after the 2008 economic downturn.
FINMA reports that La Compagnie Financière Rodolphe Hottinger, a fully owned subsidiary, has ceased its securities dealer operations.
Philosophy
Rodolphe Hottinger's outlook is influenced by a 1963 address delivered by his grandfather, Baron Rodolphe Hottinguer, then Chairman of the EC Banking Federation. Speaking at the first Bankers' Day event in Munich, he highlighted the necessity of respecting banking traditions while preparing for forthcoming transformations:
The example of the past should allow for the pursuit of this ancestral occupation of banking. To qualify it, to define it, to anticipate what it might become: therein lies the secret of its future. In the conduct of its forebears and the example they set, our banking family will receive the encouragement to persevere, the intelligence to change and adapt, the character to overcome challenges, and the hope to undertake new ventures.
- - Max Gérard, Messieurs Hottinguers et Cie. Banquiers à Paris, Vol. II, p. 783.
Conferences
- Finance Summit held in Geneva on September 27, 2011
Publications Featuring Rodolphe Hottinger
- Le défi Américain featured in Banque et Finance, issue 112, November/December 2011
- Une stratégie internationale volontariste published in Banque et Finance, issue 93, September/October 2008
References
- Messieurs Hottinguer Banquiers à Paris authored by Max Gérard, Volumes I & II, 1968
- The World of Private Banking (Studies in Banking and Financial History) by Philip Cottrell, Youssef Cassis, and others, Ashgate, 2009