St. Gallen MBA to Accenture Lead to Elite Boutique
Lorettz shares his career journey across banking and consulting, starting with an international education in economics and strategy (University of Sussex, Stanford exchange, and a Master’s in Strategy & International Management from the University of St. Gallen). He began his career at Credit Suisse in Zurich in wealth management before moving into the bank’s wind-down (bad bank) division, where he spent four years working on complex, legally intensive projects aimed at reducing risk-weighted assets and offboarding unwanted clients and portfolios.
In the wind-down division, his work was highly project-based and investigative, involving regulators, lawyers, and governments to resolve problematic client situations. The role differed significantly from traditional investment banking (M&A, ECM, DCM) in that it focused on risk reduction rather than revenue generation, with more standard compensation and lower bonuses.
After the UBS–Credit Suisse merger announcement, Lorettz moved to Accenture Strategy & Consulting, joining the capital markets advisory practice in Zurich as a senior consultant. There, he worked on a wide range of high-intensity projects, particularly in distress and turnaround situations, including:
- Post-merger integration and target operating models
- Client and asset migration strategies
- Agile transformations
- Large-scale fund integrations
- Crisis recovery and “firefighting” roles on failing projects
Lorettz eventually left Accenture due to rigid promotion structures and internal politics, joining a 10-person boutique firm, RE Consulting (REM Consulting) in Zurich. The firm focuses on turnaround, transformation, and distressed situations in financial services. He emphasizes the benefits of boutique consulting: entrepreneurial culture, strong client exposure, merit-based recognition, and minimal internal politics.
Finally, he discusses AI’s impact on banking and consulting, viewing it as a significant threat to junior consulting roles and repetitive analytical work. While senior, judgment-based roles will remain, AI is likely to shrink team sizes, automate grunt work, and push consulting toward outcome-based pricing rather than hourly billing.
Overall, the episode offers an inside look at non-traditional investment banking roles, consulting under pressure, career trade-offs, and how AI is reshaping professional services.
St. Gallen MBA to Accenture Lead to Elite Boutique
Lorettz shares his career journey across banking and consulting, starting with an international education in economics and strategy (University of Sussex, Stanford exchange, and a Master’s in Strategy & International Management from the University of St. Gallen). He began his career at Credit Suisse in Zurich in wealth management before moving into the bank’s wind-down (bad bank) division, where he spent four years working on complex, legally intensive projects aimed at reducing risk-weighted assets and offboarding unwanted clients and portfolios.
In the wind-down division, his work was highly project-based and investigative, involving regulators, lawyers, and governments to resolve problematic client situations. The role differed significantly from traditional investment banking (M&A, ECM, DCM) in that it focused on risk reduction rather than revenue generation, with more standard compensation and lower bonuses.
After the UBS–Credit Suisse merger announcement, Lorettz moved to Accenture Strategy & Consulting, joining the capital markets advisory practice in Zurich as a senior consultant. There, he worked on a wide range of high-intensity projects, particularly in distress and turnaround situations, including:
- Post-merger integration and target operating models
- Client and asset migration strategies
- Agile transformations
- Large-scale fund integrations
- Crisis recovery and “firefighting” roles on failing projects
Lorettz eventually left Accenture due to rigid promotion structures and internal politics, joining a 10-person boutique firm, RE Consulting (REM Consulting) in Zurich. The firm focuses on turnaround, transformation, and distressed situations in financial services. He emphasizes the benefits of boutique consulting: entrepreneurial culture, strong client exposure, merit-based recognition, and minimal internal politics.
Finally, he discusses AI’s impact on banking and consulting, viewing it as a significant threat to junior consulting roles and repetitive analytical work. While senior, judgment-based roles will remain, AI is likely to shrink team sizes, automate grunt work, and push consulting toward outcome-based pricing rather than hourly billing.
Overall, the episode offers an inside look at non-traditional investment banking roles, consulting under pressure, career trade-offs, and how AI is reshaping professional services.
