The Luzerner Kantonalbank (LUKB) named Stefan Studer its new chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2027, succeeding Daniel Salzmann, who is stepping down after twelve years at the helm. The bank announced the appointment Wednesday.
Studer, 50, has led LUKB's private and commercial banking division since 2015. Before joining the bank, he spent seven years at Credit Suisse, where he headed corporate banking for central Switzerland from 2011, and earlier worked at Unilever. He holds a business administration degree from the University of Fribourg and grew up in Lucerne.
Under Salzmann's leadership, the bank reported net profit rose to approximately 300 million Swiss francs from around 180 million francs at the start of his tenure, while broadening its revenue base. Salzmann, 60, has been on LUKB's executive board for 22 years and led the bank since 2014. His successor as head of private and commercial banking has yet to be appointed.
The supervisory board, led by chairman Markus Hongler, conducted a selection process involving external experts and a broad candidate pool before choosing Studer, an internal candidate. Hongler said Studer combines leadership experience with expertise suited to a universal bank and understands both the operations of a major Swiss bank and a large cantonal bank.
At the general shareholders' meeting on April 12, 2027, Studer is expected to assume the supervisory board seat being vacated by Martha Scheiber, who is retiring after twelve years. His election to the board remains pending. In place of Scheiber as vice chairman, Marc Gläser, CEO of Stöckli Swiss Sports and a supervisory board member since 2023, will take over the role.
Studer said he intends to continue the implementation of the bank's "LUKB30" strategy, which he helped shape, and expand LUKB's specialized offerings nationwide while strengthening its regional roots. He added the bank aims to combine the capabilities of a large institution with the accessibility of a cantonal bank and to take a leading position in data and artificial intelligence. During his tenure leading private and commercial banking, Studer oversaw the transformation of branches into customer engagement zones, launched an IT-enabled advisory process, and grew off-balance-sheet business.
