Saxo Bank Appoints Søren Kyhl as Deputy CEO, Damian Bunce as CCO

Change is afoot at Danish investment bank and retail broker Saxo Bank. On Monday, the company released a statement indicating that it has appointed Søren Kyhl as Deputy CEO and Damian Bunce as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).

Bunce is himself fairly new to Saxo Bank. The ex-Goldman Sachs man spent five years in Moscow as Sberbank’s Global Head of Electronic Markets before joining the Danish investment bank in January of this year as Chief Client Officer.

Alongside his appointment as CCO, he will join Saxo Bank’s Board of Management. That board now includes Kyhl and Bunce - as well as CEO Kim Fournais and Chief Financial and Risk Officer Steen Blaafalk.

Despite his new job title, Khyl will also maintain his old position as Chief Operating Officer. Saxo Bank’s statement does indicate, however, that he will be aiding the company in its broader strategic plans.

Søren Kyhl for CEO

Some long-term business planning may also have gone into the company’s decision to appoint Khyl as Deputy CEO. In its statement, the Danish Investment bank said that:

“Søren [Khyl] is the natural and logical interim successor to Kim Fournais should that become necessary.”

There has been no indication from Saxo Bank that this will become necessary in the near future. Nonetheless, it appears we should expect Khyl to be the next Saxo Bank CEO if and when that position becomes available.

The new Deputy CEO has only been with the firm for a couple of years, having joined in January of 2016. Prior to that, he spent over a decade with Danish banking giant Danske bank.

“I am proud and satisfied that Søren has been appointed Deputy CEO and that Damian will join our Board of Management,” said Fournais. “The appointments reflect their excellent skills, knowledge, attitude, motivation and high importance to the Bank and our future growth journey.”