The next generation and talent

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The Geneva financial centre depends on its ability to attract and retain talent. Institutions are looking for experienced managers capable of serving a demanding international clientele, investment specialists, lawyers, compliance and risk experts, IT professionals and data specialists. Competition for these profiles is fierce, in Switzerland and abroad.

At its conference in April 2025, FINMA stressed the need to strengthen skills, as reported in the survey of the Fondation Genève Place Financière.¹ The universities and higher education institutions of Geneva and French-speaking Switzerland offer programmes in finance, law and management, and the professional associations organise certifications. Continuing education has become an obligation for client advisers.

The workforce of the financial centre is highly international. A significant proportion of staff live in neighbouring France or in the canton of Vaud, which makes the financial centre sensitive to the conditions of cross-border mobility and to relations between Switzerland and the European Union. The cost of housing and of living in Geneva is a challenge for recruitment, particularly of younger staff. The taxation of individuals, which the institutions regard as their foremost concern, also influences the attractiveness of the canton for executives.²

Notes

Allnews, 16 October 2025, presenting the economic survey of the Fondation Genève Place Financière. ↩
Allnews, 21 October 2024 and 16 October 2025, presenting the surveys of the Fondation Genève Place Financière. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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The next generation and talent

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?