Michael Philipp will this week relinquish his role as chairman of Middle East and Africa and chairman of the bank’s environmental business group. The departure is amicable and Credit Suisse will invest in his venture, Wealth Bulletin reports.
The venture will include advisory and private equity in the Middle East. Credit Suisse and Philipp declined to comment.
Philipp was an architect of Credit Suisse’s expansion in the Middle East during almost four years as chief executive of Europe, Middle East and Africa. In January he became chairman of Emea and Credit Suisse named Eric Varvel as his successor.
Philipp played a leading role in launching Saudi Swiss Securities, the bank’s joint venture in Saudi Arabia. He also worked with the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund, on the Masdar Clean Tech fund, in which Credit Suisse invested $100 million (€65 million).
Credit Suisse will not replace Philipp, but is expected to announce further appointments in the Middle East and emerging markets.
Philipp’s decision to launch a firm comes as western investment banks are fighting for market share in the Middle East, where investment banking fees grew by 44% last year, according to Dealogic.