Ref. 7274

Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) – Member of the Executive Management

Switzerland has 240 banks, and not one of them has built a credible integrated offering for the segment that drives it: founders, business owners and SMEs. The universal banks treat them as a commodity. The cantonal banks serve them locally but think in silos. The private banks ignore them entirely. And the fintechs — for all their digital polish — lack the balance sheet, the pension infrastructure and the regulatory standing to be taken seriously as a primary banking partner. The result is a CHF-trillion client segment served in fragments by institutions that either cannot or will not assemble the full product stack these clients actually need: corporate banking, occupational pensions, private banking, asset management and capital formation — delivered as one relationship, not five.

Your benefit in talking to us:

  • Salary comparison, current salary to market salary
  • Understanding your career options
  • Identification of development and promotion potential
  • 65% of candidates will be making a career move within the next 12 to 24 months

Would you like more information? Book a 30-minute video call. Select your preferred date from one of the two calendars.

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Our client has recognized this gap and is acting on it. A FINMA-regulated Swiss banking and pension platform with significant assets under management, it is the only institution in the country that combines a banking license, BVG trustee infrastructure with thousands of active employer relationships, institutional asset management and custody capabilities, and capital formation services under a single entity.

The strategic positioning is in place. The technology platform has been fundamentally modernized, with further digital expansion underway across onboarding, treasury and platform capabilities. What is missing is the commercial engine — and the leader to build it. The CCO will own the entire sales agenda across pensions and banking, with the mandate, the authority and the client base to turn a unique market position into measurable revenue growth within a defined and performance-driven time horizon. In a confidential conversation, we will explain why this role deserves your attention.

 

Why this opportunity is attractive for you

Full commercial ownership across pensions and banking

  • You own the full revenue agenda across a platform that combines BVG/PK and banking — covering all sales channels, client segments and product lines. This includes scaling the broker-driven pension business, building a direct sales organization and establishing a banking sales engine targeting SMEs and entrepreneurs. The role goes beyond managing sales teams: you define how the commercial system operates, how channels interact and how growth is generated across the platform.

 

Opportunity to activate an untapped market — not to defend an existing one

  • The structural market gap is established. What has not been established is a player who successfully converts it into a scalable commercial model. Your role is to turn an existing strategic positioning into consistent revenue generation — by translating a complex offering into clear client value propositions and systematically capturing demand. Strong market timing and visible unmet demand create a situation where growth is driven by building a new category, not by competing for share.

 

Direct access to a scalable client ecosystem

  • You operate with immediate access to a large and established base of employer relationships and insured clients through the pension business — complemented by existing distribution partnerships across fiduciaries, payroll and SME ecosystems. This provides direct entry points into decision-makers at SME level and creates a natural foundation for expanding into broader financial services. The focus is not on building access, but on systematically developing and monetizing an existing ecosystem.

 

Build the commercial model of a fully integrated platform

  • The underlying platform — product stack, regulatory setup and infrastructure — is in place. What is not yet fully defined is how this translates into a scalable commercial model across broker, direct and banking channels. You define the go-to-market architecture, shape how the organization presents its offering to clients and establish the operating model for sustainable growth — including clear success metrics such as scalable AUM inflows, mandate growth and a fully operational multi-channel sales engine.

 

Entrepreneurial environment with real execution ownership

  • You operate in a fast-moving, execution-focused environment with short decision paths, direct access to CEO and Board, and full accountability for commercial outcomes.

Function / Setup

  • Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
  • Member of the Executive Management, Direct reporting line to the CEO
  • Location: Zurich / Zug

 

Main focus

 

Driving the commercial development of an existing integrated banking and pension platform, with the mandate to translate an established strategic positioning into a scalable and sustainable revenue model.

The role combines three interdependent sales domains:

  • Development and scaling of the pension business across broker and direct channels, including professionalization of the broker/intermediary model as a core revenue engine
  • Build-up of a structured direct sales engine targeting corporate and institutional clients
  • Build-up of a structured direct sales engine targeting corporate and institutional clients

At the core is the systematic conversion of the existing client base and underlying infrastructure into measurable growth — across AUM inflows, mandate wins and banking revenues. This includes defining how banking and pensions interact commercially, how integrated client propositions are structured, and how the organization moves towards a client-led, multi-product sales model.

 

Rolle & Responsibility

  • End-to-end responsibility for the design, execution and performance steering of the commercial model across products, client segments and sales channels

  • Orchestration and scaling of three parallel sales engines — pension, direct and banking — with clear roles, consistent steering and no channel conflict

  • Design and execution of an integrated go-to-market architecture, including segmentation, value proposition development and structured pipeline management

  • Build and lead a high-performing, KPI-driven sales organization, ensuring accountability, transparency and scalable growth

  • Act as the central commercial counterpart to CEO and Board, translating performance into clear, decision-relevant communication

 

Profile

 

Senior commercial leader with a proven track record in Swiss financial services or adjacent regulated industries

  • Strong experience in building and scaling sales organizations in complex B2B environments with long decision cycles
  • Solid understanding of regulated financial products and the Swiss market context (banking, pensions and/or related areas)
  • Established market access across corporates, intermediaries, institutional clients or comparable ecosystems — or a proven ability to build scalable sales models
  • Ability to structure and execute across multiple sales channels and translate complex offerings into clear client propositions
  • Ability to structure and execute across multiple sales channels and translate complex offerings into clear client propositions
  • Credibility to operate at Executive Management and Board level

Bewerbung & Kontakt

Erik Wirz
Erik Wirz
Managing Partner
wirz phone +41 44 515 02 60 wirz email erik.wirz@w-gruppe.com
Book a meeting
Yvonne Thoma
Yvonne Thoma
Partner
wirz phone +41 44 515 02 60 wirz email yvonne.thoma@w-gruppe.com
Book a meeting
*Recruitment process

In an initial interview, we will give you a detailed insight into the role, the company, the corporate culture and your development opportunities.

After an initial exchange with the partner (headhunter), you will receive further information about the role and our client's expectations. If you are interested, please send us your documents. Wirz & Partners will draw up a longlist, which will be discussed with the client. From this longlist, 4-6 candidates are selected for the shortlist.

Time to feedback: 2-3 weeks

If you make it onto the shortlist, it's on to the next round. In the interview with Wirz & Partners, we get to know you professionally and personally. You will receive further information about the client, the offering, the services, the team and the KPIs. Based on all the interviews and documents, we prepare a complete dossier about you for the client, including an executive summary. These documents form the basis for the structured interview process with the client. We prepare you for the interview.

Duration until the interview with the client: Up to two weeks.

The first meeting with the customer is about getting to know each other as equals and experiencing the gut feeling, the people and the corporate culture. This interview takes place in person at the customer's premises and lasts an average of one hour.

The second interview is about deepening professional expertise and management topics. In this exchange, you get to know the team, the strategy and the operational goals. 

You will then receive a salary proposal and an overview of the entire offer.

Duration until feedback: 1-2 weeks

Following the final meeting, a de-briefing takes place with you and the customer.

We support you in the contract negotiations and clarify further details. The contract is drawn up and we accompany the on-boarding at the customer's premises.

Duration until feedback: Up to one week

*We describe the standard process, which may vary depending on the customer.

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