Ariane Richter Merz, M Law, LL.M.

CEO

Ariane Richter Merz specializes in developing legal affairs, compliance, risk management, and corporate governance within companies and providing support during regulatory implementation. With over 15 years in leadership positions in Legal & Compliance, she has a proven track record as a member of the executive board and board of directors in leading financial services and manufacturing companies.

Her legal and compliance expertise extends from Switzerland to Eastern European, American, and Asian legal jurisdictions, where she has local experience.

Ariane Richter Merz founded Compliance Group in 2014 with the vision to foster Compliance, Risk Management and Corporate Governance with companies in sectors that are not as strongly regulated as banks. In this sense and in addition to her role as CEO of Compliance Group, she was appointed by the Swiss Federal Council as a non-executive member to the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of a state-owned holding company in 2019 for which she served until 2022.

From 2011 to 2014, before founding Compliance Group, Ariane Richter Merz was Head of Legal & Compliance, Wealth Management and Trust at Bank Rothschild and responsible for the management and implementation of diverse regulatory projects.

During her tenure on the executive board and as Group Chief Compliance Officer at Jet Aviation from 2007 to 2010, Ariane Richter Merz developed and implemented a global compliance organization and a custom compliance management system for an initial public offering under consideration.

From 1998 to 2007, she was Head of Compliance for independent private banks in the Credit Suisse Group and from 1994 to 1997 she worked at a corporate law firm in Zug.

After her legal studies at the University of Fribourg, Ariane Richter Merz completed the following additional qualifications and courses:

  • LL.M. in Banking and Insurance Law (University of Zurich)
  • CAS in Financial Leadership and Controlling (University of St. Gallen)
  • Managing Ethics in Organizations (Bentley University Waltham/Boston, USA)
  • Investment Controlling (University of Zurich)

Key Expertise

  • Development of compliance management systems and risk management systems
  • Corporate governance
  • Compliance in case of M&A situations, integrations, and divestments
  • FINMA licenses and SRO registrations
  • Financial market law and FINMA regulations
  • Fintech compliance
  • Data protection compliance
  • Anti-corruption and anti-money laundering

Languages

German, English, French, Italian, Czech, Russian

© Compliance Group 2024