OREANDA-NEWS. Dr. Heinz Knecht will retire effective 30 June 2016. Urs Müller, currently Head of the Institutional Clients Division, will take over as Head of the Retail & Corporate Banking Division. Natalie Epp will head the Institutional Clients Division. The Board of Directors of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (LLB) has appointed her as a new Member of the Group Board of Management effective 1 July 2016. By filling these positions internally, the LLB is ensuring continuity and diversity.

Natalie Epp has many years of wide-ranging experience in institutional business, especially funds and private labelling. She has been with the LLB Group since 2011, first as Head of the Institutional Clients Business Unit and since 1 July 2012 as Head of the Fund Services Business Area. "I am very proud that in Natalie Epp, we have found an outstanding leader from within our company to manage the Institutional Clients Division," says Dr. Hans-Werner Gassner, Chairman of the Group Board of Directors. "Not only thanks to her experience, expertise, and dedication, Natalie Epp is an ideal appointment. She is also a valuable addition to the Group Board of Management in terms of diversity, given that for the first time in the history of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank, a woman will serve on the Board of Management," Dr. Hans-Werner Gassner added. The Group Board of Directors and the Group Board of Management of the LLB congratulate Natalie Epp on her promotion and wish her much success in her new position. 

Urs Müller takes over as Head of the Retail & Corporate Banking Division

Effective 1 July 2016, Urs Müller will take over as Head of the Retail & Corporate Banking Division. He has been with the LLB for more than 20 years and has headed institutional business for nearly 10 years. As a Member of the Group Board of Management, he already served from April 2011 to June 2012 as the Head of Domestic & Institutional Markets, where his responsibilities included retail and corporate business. He also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Bank Linth for four years. Group CEO Roland Matt says, "I am pleased that Urs Müller is taking over responsibility for the important Retail & Corporate Banking Division. This internal succession is a sign of continuity and represents the ideal precondition for continuing the divisional strategic initiatives as part of StepUp2020. We wish Urs Müller much joy and success with his new responsibility." 

Dr. Heinz Knecht leaves the Group Board of Management effective 30 June 2016

Dr. Heinz Knecht, born in 1953, has been the Head of the Retail & Corporate Banking Division since 1 July 2012. He will retire on 30 June 2016 and leave the LLB Group Board of Management. He will continue to serve as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Linth until the General Meeting of Shareholders in 2017. "In Dr. Heinz Knecht, we are losing a respected manager with many years of banking experience at both the strategic and top operational level of the LLB Group. With his profound banking expertise, his conceptual skills, and his remarkable social competence, Dr. Heinz Knecht made a great contribution to the positive development of the LLB Group in his many years of work for Bank Linth and the LLB," said Dr. Hans-Werner Gassner, Chairman of the Group Board of Directors, praising Dr. Heinz Knecht's accomplishments. "We wish him all the best for this new phase in his life." 

Areas of responsibility in the Group Board of Management

Due to the retirement of Dr. Heinz Knecht and the appointment of Natalie Epp as a new Member of the Group Board of Management, the responsibilities within the Group Board of Management will be allocated as follows effective 1 July 2016:

  • Roland Matt, Group CEO
  • Urs Müller, Retail & Corporate Banking and Deputy Group CEO
  • Dr. Gabriel Brenna, Private Banking
  • Natalie Epp, Institutional Clients
  • Dr. Kurt Mäder, Group COO
  • Christoph Reich, Group CFO 

Curriculum vitae of Natalie Epp

Natalie Epp, Austrian citizen, born in 1977. She graduated in law from the University of Innsbruck and holds an Executive Master of European and International Business Law from the University of St. Gallen. From 2003 to 2005, she worked as a legal advisor for the Liechtenstein Bankers Association. From 2006 to 2011, she worked in private labelling for a Liechtenstein fund management company. She was appointed a member of the board of management in 2008. In that position, she was responsible for international fund promoters, most of which were financial intermediaries. She has worked in various leading positions at the LLB Group since 2011, first as the Head of the Institutional Clients Business Unit and since 1 July 2012 as the Head of the Fund Services Business Area. She is a member of the executive committee of the Liechtenstein Investment Fund Association. 

Curriculum vitae of Urs Müller

Urs Müller, Liechtenstein and Swiss citizen, born in 1962. He graduated with a licentiate in law from the University of St. Gallen. He joined the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG as legal counsel in 1995. Urs Müller took over as Head of the Legal & Compliance Unit in 1998. In 2007, he became Head of the Institutional Clients Business Unit. Urs Müller was appointed as a Member of the Group Board of Management of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG effective 1 April 2011 with responsibilities for Domestic & Institutional Markets. Since 1 July 2012, he has worked as Head of the Institutional Clients Division of the LLB Group. Urs Müller serves on the boards of directors of the following Group companies of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG: LLB Asset Management AG (Chairman) and LLB Fund Services AG (Chairman). He is also a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Future Foundation of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG.

The Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (LLB) is the longest established financial institute in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Principality of Liechtenstein holds the majority of the company's share capital. The LLB's shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: LLB). The LLB Group offers its clients comprehensive wealth management services, as a universal bank, in private banking, asset management and fund services. With 816 employees (full-time equivalent positions), the LLB is represented in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai). As per 31 December 2015 the LLB Group managed a business volume of CHF 56.6 billion.