Speaker

Dr. Burkhard P. Varnholt

CIO Switzerland, Credit Suisse

Dr. Burkhard P. Varnholt is the Vice-Chairman of the Credit Suisse Global Investment Committee and Chief Investment Officer of the Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., as well as a member of its extended Management Committee. Dr. Varnholt 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. Dr. Varnholt was a member of the executive board and Chief Investment Officer of Bank Julius Bär & Co. Ltd. and equally so of Bank J. Safra Sarasin Co. Ltd. prior to his current role at Credit Suisse. Dr. 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, he 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, he 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, Dr. Varnholt also serves as a member of the Tate's Africa Acquisitions Committee (AAC).