You just can’t keep Saxo out of the news. One week, the cycling team it sponsors is winning the world’s biggest annual sporting event, and the next it’s announcing that it has carried out an organizational restructuring of its senior management. With this much news flow, I can only assume that the bank is gearing up for an IPO.
The latest development sees joint founders and chief executives Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen stepping aside from running the daily minutiae of the bank. The bank has hired Eric Rylberg and Karsten Poulsen as chief executive director and deputy chief executive director to oversee the bank’s day-to-day operations.
Does this mean that Kim and Lars are heading off into the sunset to count their money, I asked?
“I don’t think so. I am more convinced that they will focus on driving growth and at the same time having Eric and Karsten manage the company and ensure that the growth is always very profitable,” was a spokesman’s reply.
Fournais and Christensen will remain as joint CEOs. “Saxo Bank has reached a point and a size at which it seems natural to recruit two experienced professionals who have been accustomed to running a big international corporation,” the two say, adding: “We have experienced rapid growth from 437 employees by the end of 2005 to almost 1,400 today.