Torsten de Santos, CEO and Member of the Board
Before Torsten de Santos founded Principalis in 2017, he was the CEO for Rianta Capital, a family office and investment advisory firm based in Zurich and London. The firm specialised in Asset Allocation, Private Equity and Real Estate investments.
Prior to joining Rianta Capital in 2013, Torsten was the CEO of LGT Capital Management, the traditional asset manager of LGT Group. He oversaw CHF 23 billion in AUM and was also responsible for the overall investment strategy for the LGT Group.
Torsten joined LGT in 2007 from Barclays Capital in London, where he was the Director of the Commodity Investor Solutions businesses in Europe and Asia. Before joining Barclays Capital in 2004, he was an Executive Director with Goldman Sachs in London.
He is a Swiss and German citizen, living in the greater Zurich area.
Rolf Kutos, Dr. iur, Member of the Board
Dr. Rolf Kutos is an active member of the Board of Directors of Principalis AG. Rolf has over 30 years of experience in institutional investment management, his career spans over the areas of portfolio management, corporate finance, client relationships, and various risk, legal and compliance interfaces.
Previously, Rolf was a member of the Executive Management Boards of Reichmuth Investment Management AG, Fundamenta Real Estate Management AG and LGT Capital Management AG.
Before LGT, Rolf was the CEO of Winterthur Investment Management AG and Head Investor Relations and member of the Executive Management Board of Vontobel Asset Management AG.
In addition to his activities as a board member of financial service providers, Rolf Kutos is involved in start-ups with a focus on “digitalization of financial services”.
Rolf holds a Bachelor in Mathematics and a doctorate in law of the Karl Franzens University of Graz.
He is a Swiss and Austrian citizen, living in the greater Zurich area, is married and has three children.
Markus Renn, Finance Director
Before joining Principalis, Markus was Investment and Compliance Officer at Rianta Capital, a Zurich and London based family office, where he headed the implementation of a new investment and reporting software tool as well as private equity, controlling and compliance topics.
Prior to Rianta, Markus was a Senior Financial Analyst at Johnson & Johnson where he led investment decision projects for new products as well as controlling and budgeting projects.
Previously, Markus was a Senior Project Manager at ThyssenKrupp, where he led numerous M&A projects worldwide, mainly in the Elevator sector.
Markus started his career at GE Capital, London in the Financial Management Programme.
Markus holds degrees in European business studies from ESB Reutlingen (Dipl. Betriebswirt), Germany and Middlesex University, London, UK as well as a banking degree from the German chamber of commerce (Bankkaufmann).
He is a German citizen, living in the greater Zurich area, is married and has one child.
Aurelia Frick, Dr. iur., Legal Counsel
Aurelia Frick studied law in Fribourg, wrote her doctoral thesis at the University of Basel and passed the bar exam in Zurich.
After her academic education, she worked as a lawyer and consultant in London and Zürich.
Subsequently, Aurelia was elected the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
After more than ten years in politics, she became self-employed and has since worked as a lawyer and independent consultant with offices in Zurich and Liechtenstein. She teaches at the Universities of St. Gallen, Zurich and Bayreuth in the areas of governance, negotiation and strategic and ethical leadership.
Stefan Wittlin, Client Advisor
Before Stefan joined Principalis, he worked for Northern Trust’s Swiss Fund Administration branch in Basel, Switzerland’s biggest Fund Admin Services Provider following the acquisition from UBS in 2017.
At Northern Trust, Stefan started as a Fund Officer for Real Estate and Private Equity Mandates. During later years he helped Northern Trust gaining the regulatory approval as custodian bank and was responsible for Client Onboarding.
Stefan holds a Master’s in Business & Economics from the University of Basel.
He is a Swiss citizen, living in the greater Zurich area.
Viola Gjumshiti, Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Viola completed her apprenticeship as a commercial employee while simultaneously obtaining the Berufsmatura.
After her apprenticeship, she had the opportunity to work at Liberty AG as a securities clerk. She was responsible for booking and controlling of securities and foreign exchange transactions, securities master data as well as liaising with the customer service teams. Furthermore, she was responsible for processing physical incoming mail and posting CA, coupon and dividend transactions. Additionally, she was engaged in various projects.
Afterwards, she joined Marché International AG, where she held the position of Assistant & Office Manager, where she handled a wide range of tasks to ensure daily business running smooth and efficient.
Viola is currently pursuing a Bachelor in business administration, next to her position at Principalis.
She is a Swiss citizen, living in the greater Zurich area.