Bitcoin Suisse Appoints Barclay's Arthur Vayloyan as Chief Executive Officer

Bitcoin Suisse announced on Friday that Dr. Dirk Klee, currently CEO Wealth Management & Investments of Barclays UK, will take over as Chief Executive Officer of Bitcoin Suisse as of April 1, 2022. Dr. Arthur Vayloyan will step down from his current role as Chief Executive Officer on March 31, 2022 and will remain a member of the Board of Directors of Bitcoin Suisse.

Luzius Meisser, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bitcoin Suisse, said: “Under the leadership of Arthur Vayloyan since November 2017, Bitcoin Suisse has evolved from a 20-person crypto startup to the leading crypto-financial services provider in Switzerland today, with over 300 employees. Arthur Vayloyan will hand over the company to a successor with an outstanding track record. I am very pleased that Arthur Vayloyan will continue to shape the further development of our company as a significant shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of Bitcoin Suisse and that we will continue to benefit from his extensive expertise and great leadership experience.”

Regarding the appointment of Dr. Dirk Klee, Luzius Meisser added: “Bitcoin Suisse is a major contributor to the crypto ecosystem in Switzerland. Aligning business model, strategy and regulation are critical to our next growth step, as well as international expansion and institutionalization of crypto-financial services. We expect the institutional client segment to generate the greatest growth over the next few years. Dirk Klee has an impressive track record where all these success factors are concerned. This makes him the ideal next Chief Executive Officer for Bitcoin Suisse.”

Dr. Dirk Klee has an extensive track record in developing financial services companies, especially in growth phases, and in implementing innovations in financial products and underlying technologies. In his career to date, he has demonstrated this experience in several leading global organizations.

Dirk Klee started his career at the law firm Freshfields, where he advised international companies in the areas of M&A and capital markets. In 1998, Dirk Klee joined Allianz Global Investors/PIMCO, where he held various positions up to Head of Distribution for Germany and Austria, building the leading fixed income manager in the region for institutional and private clients.

In his subsequent role as CEO of BlackRock Germany, Austria, and Eastern Europe, Dirk Klee reached double-digit annual growth through innovative products such as iShares. From BlackRock, he moved to UBS as Chief Operating Officer Wealth Management, where he was responsible for the operations of the world’s largest wealth manager. Under his leadership, among others the first global wealth management platform was designed and implemented. Currently, Dr. Dirk Klee is CEO Wealth Management & Investments at Barclays in the UK, where he drove the transformation to an integrated digital business model with many innovative services for clients, including external fintech partners.