Investcorp appoints former Credit Suisse chairman to advisory board

Urs Rohner also sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline and was a board member at the Institute of International Finance and the European Banking Group

Urs Rohner, former chairman of the Credit Suisse Group, will join Investcorp's advisory board on July 1. Bloomberg

Investcorp, which counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, appointed former Credit Suisse Group chairman Urs Rohner to its international advisory board.

Mr Rohner’s appointment is effective from July 1 and comes after Frances Townsend, a former adviser to President George W Bush, joining the company’s advisory board in January this year.

“Urs brings a wealth of knowledge and experience accumulated throughout a distinguished career at the highest levels of international finance,” said Investcorp's executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi on Monday.

“As we continue on Investcorp’s growth journey … we are continually searching for the best and most strategic advisers from a diverse range of relevant practice areas to support us.”

Mr Rohner has more than 25 years of experience in international financial markets and also served as the chairman of the governance and nominations committee and the Credit Suisse Research Institute from 2011 until his departure from the Swiss lender in 2021.

He also sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline and was a board member at various Swiss and international business associations, including the Institute of International Finance and the European Banking Group.

Investcorp’s advisory board includes Heizo Takenaka, Ute Geipel-Faber, Ms Townsend, Wolfgang Schűssel, Deepak Parekh, Ana Palacio, Frederick Ma Si-Hang, Wolfgang Ischinger, Sir Michael Fallon, Mohamed El-Erian and Ann-Kristin Achleitner.

Established more than four decades ago, Investcorp has grown to become one of the leading alternative asset management companies in the region, investing across assets classes and geographies.

The company has been on an acquisition spree during the pandemic to capitalise on lower asset valuations and is bullish about the prospects of growth for its portfolio, particularly its investments in Asia.

The Bahrain-based asset manager is looking to more than double its assets under management to about $75 billion over the next five to seven years, with Asia accounting for up to 20 per cent of its total portfolio, its co-chief executive Rishi Kapoor told The National earlier this month.

“Since the launch of its global growth journey over five years ago, the firm has built an impressive footprint around the world – both across geographies and asset classes,” said Mr Rohner.

“I look forward to collaborating with the broader international advisory board to help realise the full potential of the growth strategy it has embarked upon.”