SEB is set to lose its chief executive officer and president Annika Falkengren, who will step down after 30 years at the Nordic bank.
Falkengren is set to join Swiss wealth and asset manager firm Lombard Odier Group as a managing partner. She will leave SEB at the latest by July 2017.
“I have spent my entire professional life in SEB,” said Falkengren. “After all my years at the helm of SEB, it was not easy to take a decision to pursue a new career and role.
“However, I have come to the conclusion that now is the right moment. With its strong culture and committed people with clear values set on delivering a great customer experience, SEB is well positioned to meet future challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing banking landscape.”
Falkengren’s first contact with SEB was as a summer intern at the bank’s Stockholm branch office. From there she would go onto various positions within the company including global head of trading and head of merchant banking, head of division corporate & institutions and executive vice president of SEB.
She spent 11 years as president and CEO.
“Annika Falkengren has with her longstanding commitment to SEB and its customers,” said Marcus Wallenberg, chairman of the board of directors.
“She successfully navigated SEB through the global financial crisis and set a clear strategy forward on which she and the whole SEB team relentlessly has delivered.”
SEB said it will now initiate the recruitment of a new president and CEO.