Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank, said today that its North Asia chief executive Andrea Benenati will leave the
firm in June to pursue a career as an independent asset manager.

Thomas Meier, who is currently chief executive of Asia and
the Middle East, will also become the chief executive of Julius Baer's Hong Kong branch and CEO of North Asia at the end of June.

Benenati joined Julius Baer as CEO North Asia at the
beginning of 2006 and played an important role in the build-up of the group's
business in the region.

Hong Kong became a branch at the end of 2010 and the second
booking centre for the group in the region in addition to Singapore under
Benenati.

In Asia, Julius Baer has large operations in Singapore and Hong Kong.
It has plans for a representative office in China after it gets a licence.