(Bloomberg) -- Rothschild & Co. picked Alexandre de Rothschild to replace his father as the investment bank's top executive, a long-planned succession that puts the seventh generation of the family in charge.
The younger Rothschild takes over from his 75-year-old father, David de Rothschild, who will become chairman of the supervisory board at the shareholders' meeting on May 17, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Alexandre will be appointed executive chairman of Rothschild & Co. Gestion, Rothschild & Co.'s managing partner.
Alexandre, 37, joined the family company a decade ago to focus on the merchant-banking division after working at other financial firms. Under his father, the bank changed its corporate structure, combining its French and U.K. units to form Paris Orleans SA, a Paris-traded company that was renamed Rothschild & Co. in 2015. More recently, the lender has sought to expand in the U.S.
“Alexandre, with 15 years of experience, has demonstrated deep knowledge of all our businesses and his ability to build relationships,” David de Rothschild said in the statement. “I believe that those who make our firm so successful are as delighted as I am about the family continuity at the head of the firm.”
Rothschild & Co. rose 3.7 percent at 9:37 a.m. in Paris trading, bringing gains this year to 5.1 percent.
Over the past two years, Rothschild & Co. has sought to expand its footprint in U.S. advisory by hiring senior bankers and opening offices in San Francisco and Chicago. In France, the company last year purchased Cie. Financiere Martin Maurel, a Marseille-based wealth manager, to broaden its private-banking and lending activities for affluent families.
The incoming chairman plans to focus on expanding further in the U.S., where the bank has historically struggled, Alexandre said in an interview with the Financial Times. Areas such as the Midwest and the West Coast have strong potential for growth, he said.
Revenue from advising clients on deals and financing was 1.18 billion euros ($1.46 billion) last year, little changed from a year earlier, the company said in March. Private-banking revenue soared 40 percent, boosted by the acquisition of Martin Maurel.
To contact the reporters on this story: Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at fabiobv@bloomberg.net, Ross Larsen in Rome at rlarsen2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Neil Callanan at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Christian Baumgaertel, Andrew Blackman
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