Wealth Management APAC 1H Market Outlook Seminar 2022

Head of Wealth Management Asia Pacific and APAC Sustainability Leader

Benjamin Cavalli was appointed to the role of Head of Wealth Management Asia Pacific in January 2022, based in Hong Kong. 

In his senior leadership role, Mr. Cavalli leads the Wealth Management business in Asia Pacific. He also focuses on collaboration opportunities within Credit Suisse to capitalize on the synergies and business opportunities in the region, drive profitable business growth and advance market share. Mr. Cavalli joined Credit Suisse in November 2009 as Head of Private Banking Singapore Market. He was appointed the Head of Private Banking Southeast Asia and Head of Singapore Location in October 2014. He was previously from UBS Wealth Management, where he was a Managing Director and the Head of Key Clients Singapore. He started his career in the Export Finance department at UBS in Switzerland in 1992 and headed the Commodities, Structured Trade and Export Finance at UBS Investment Bank in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2000, before beginning his career in wealth management.

He has over 25 years’ experience in both Investment Banking and Wealth Management across Switzerland and Asia, 18 of which were focused on the Singapore market and in senior management capacity.

He is a member of the Sustainability Leadership Committee at Credit Suisse Group, Co-Chair of the APAC Sustainability Committee and Trustee of the Board of Credit Suisse APAC Foundation.

Mr. Cavalli is accredited under IBF Advanced (IBFA) by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) in Singapore.

Chief Investment Officer Asia Pacific

Mr. John Woods is a Managing Director of Credit Suisse in the Wealth Management Asia Pacific Division, based in Hong Kong. As the Chief Investment Officer, he is responsible for developing regional discretionary and advisory investment strategies across asset classes and within asset classes for private and institutional clients in Asia Pacific. Mr. Woods serves as a voting member of the Global Investment Committee based in Zurich, and chairs the Regional Investment Committee, APAC.

Before joining Credit Suisse in September 2015, Mr. Woods was Head of Fixed Income at Citi Investment Management and Citi Private Bank's Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he worked at HSBC for 11 years and held senior positions in the Investment Bank including Global Head of Credit Research and Strategy, and Head of Absolute Return Proprietary Trading.
Mr. Woods brings to Credit Suisse 25 years of professional experience in Asia Pacific's equity, fixed income and currency markets, with special focus on asset allocation and asset management.

Mr. Woods holds a Masters degree in Asia Pacific Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Vice Chairman Greater China, Wealth Management Asia Pacific

Dr. Dong Tao is a Managing Director and the Vice Chairman Greater China for Wealth Management Asia Pacific.

In this role, Dong will focus on providing senior client coverage of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) and key clients for the Greater China market. Dong helps activate the Wealth Management client franchise across Asia Pacific through participation in key client meetings and marketing events. His primary focus is to develop relationship with ultra-high-net-worth clients, bringing both his macro-economic expertise and ability to develop client solutions. With a particular focus on Greater China, Dong is also an important market commentator, observing macro-economic trends and major developments. He will also play an important role in talent development matters and the mentoring of senior banking talent across Greater China.

Before that, Dong was the Chief Regional Economist for non-Japan Asia at Credit Suisse Global Markets Asia Pacific, covering the Asia regional economy as a whole, with a focus on China. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in February 1998, he was with Schroders Securities Asia as Senior Regional Economist and Head of China research.

Dong holds a Ph.D. degree and a M.Sc. degree from University of Utah and B.A. from Beijing Foreign Language University. He worked in China, the US and Japan. He has been based in Hong Kong since 1994.

Chief Investment Officer of International Wealth Management (IWM) and Global Head Economics & Research

Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe is Chief Investment Officer of International Wealth Management (IWM) and Global Head Economics & Research of Credit Suisse.

She has been with Credit Suisse since 1999, originally joining the group as the Head of Swiss Fixed Income and Credit Research at CSFB. In 2006 she transferred to Credit Suisse’s Private Banking division, where she was put in charge of global fixed-income and credit strategy advice. In 2011, as Head Global Financial Markets Research, she extended her responsibility to the research coverage of all asset classes for the Private Banking division. In August 2013, she became Head Investment Strategy, directly driving the investment strategy of all discretionary and advisory investment solutions of Credit Suisse.

She is a long-standing member of the Global Investment Committee and previously was a board member of the Credit Suisse Pension Fund Switzerland for several years and a board member of the International Capital Markets Association.

Ms. Hechler-Fayd’herbe is married and the mother of two children. In her spare time she enjoys playing the piano and likes to go sailing around the Mediterranean with her family as often as possible.

Global Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Solutions & Products

Michael Strobaek is Global Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Solutions & Products (IS&P) – a core pillar of the Wealth Management division at Credit Suisse. 

In his function as Global Chief Investment Officer, Michael chairs the Credit Suisse Investment Committee, which determines the House View – the bank’s official opinion on the global economy, financial markets, and investment strategy. Accessible to both private and institutional clients of Credit Suisse Group, the benefits of the House View are tangible to clients globally through the discretionary and advisory solutions. 

Michael Strobaek joined Credit Suisse in May 2013 from a Swiss Family Office, where he was the Chief Executive Officer, CIO and a Managing Partner. Between 1996 and 2009, Mr. Strobaek was with UBS, where he was the Head of Investment Management for UBS Wealth Management and, prior to that, the Global Head of Investment Solutions. Mr. Strobaek became a member of the UBS Group Managing Board in 2007. 

Mr. Strobaek has more than 25 years of financial markets and managerial experience, overseeing international investment management operations. He started his business career as an Equity Analyst at Swiss Bank Corporation. Mr. Strobaek holds a M.Sc. degree in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and a CEMS Master degree in Finance from the University of Cologne, Germany. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds a CEFA / AZEK diploma.

Chief Investment Officer Swiss Universal Bank, Vice-Chairman of the Global Investment Committee

Burkhard P. Varnholt is the Vice-Chairman of the Credit Suisse Global Investment Committee and Chief Investment Officer of the Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd.

Burkhard has more than twenty years of investment management- and leadership experience, more than ten of which he served at Credit Suisse. He ran large portfolios for private- and institutional investors around the globe.

Burkhard P. Varnholt gained his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen, taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Stern School of Business, New York University. He published several books on investing and numerous articles.

In 2004, Burkhard founded the charity ‘Kids of Africa’, which runs an orphanage for homeless children in Uganda (www.kids-of-africa.com). In 2006 he was awarded the Swiss Re Civilian Services Prize. In 2012 received an honorary doctorate (Dr. h.c.) in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy for his work in connection with this project. As part of his support to cultural activities, Burkhard also serves as a member of the Tate's Africa Acquisitions Committee (AAC).