With Three New Additions to the Board of Directors, QCAM Currency Asset Management AG Underpins its Leading Position in Asset and Currency Management

With new appointments to the Board of Directors and the Management Committee, QCAM Currency Asset Management AG is further expanding its strategic competence and position as an independent, globally active Swiss Asset Management and Currency specialist. 

There has been significant upheaval in the financial markets shaped by the corona pandemic. Long-term investment experience and currency expertise are therefore more important than ever for institutional investors. In addition to the interesting opportunities that arise in such phases, open currency positions also harbor substantial risks.

Against this background, the Zug-based FX specialist QCAM Currency Asset Management AG further consolidated its position with three very experienced new members on the Supervisory Board and the appointment of Martin Pendert to the Executive Board.

New additions to the Board of Directors

Previously serving as an advisor to QCAM, Gary Klopfenstein will strengthen the international competence of the Board. Klopfenstein is a pioneer in the specialized currency management industry and has extensive experience in the field of alternative investment management. As a senior managing director at Mesirow Financial in Chicago, he established the institutional currency management practice and expanded it to over $ 50 billion in less than ten years. In other career positions, he worked as Chief Executive Officer of Berenberg Asset Management, the US asset management business of the Hamburg-based bank, and as Chairman of the private investment company GK Investment Management LLC. Gary Klopfenstein is an author and a sought-after speaker at conference for institutions investors.

Hélie D’Hautefort, also an authority in the industry, is the second prominent new addition to the QCAM Board of Directors. He was the founder of Overlay Asset Management, a company that focused on currency overlay, which was acquired by BNP Paribas Asset Management in 2001. In its successful 10-year partnership with BNP Paribas Asset Management, the company managed client assets in excess of $ 20 billion. Today, Hélie is CEO of OptimInvest, an Asset Manager focused on quantitative investment strategies based in Geneva, and CEO of Reserve Currency Solutions AG in Zug, a company that offers digital currencies in the blockchain.

“We are particularly pleased that Ekaterina Schiess is the first woman to be appointed to our Board,” says QCAM CEO Thomas Suter. The polyglot, internationally experienced Swiss citizen has a degree from the University of St. Gallen (HSG), Swiss Institute for Banking and Finance with a doctorate in finance with the degree Dr. oec. HSG. Last year she successfully completed the post-graduate studies as Chief Digital Officer at SIB Zurich. Her 20-year career in the financial industry includes management positions at UBS, Clariden Leu, Bank Hofmann and Verum Capital. “Her qualifications and experience in the field of digitization and FinTech are particularly valuable for our future strategic direction,” Thomas Suter is convinced.

Together with the existing Board of Director members – Martin Wiedmann (Chairman), Thomas Suter (CEO and Delegate of the Board), Jens Mühlhoff and René Kurmann – the three new members make a significant contribution to the strategic competence and upgrading of the board.

Strengthened Management

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Having worked as a portfolio manager in the company since 2012, Martin Pendert now becomes a member of the Management Committee. The investment professional can look back on over twenty years of experience in the financial markets with career positions in London, Milan, Frankfurt and Zurich. “We are pleased that we were able to win Martin Pendert to strengthen our management. Martin Pendert’s appointment to top management is the consequence of his many years of dedication and great loyalty to our company. His outstanding investment expertise and wealth of experience are particularly in demand in these challenging times,” says Thomas Suter.