NOVEMBER 2018
The Swiss Finance Council (SFC) announced today the appointment of Matthias Heer as the new Managing Director of its Brussels office.
Following a successful career at the Swiss Finance Ministry, the Mission of Switzerland to the EU, and most recently at SIX Securities & Exchanges, Matthias Heer will start into his new role on 1 March 2019. He will be focusing on further strengthening the SFC's dialogue with EU decision makers as well as fostering the discussion on EU-Swiss relations in Switzerland.
Before joining SIX as Head of International Regulatory Affairs in 2016, Matthias Heer spent over three years as the Counsellor for Economics and Finance in Switzerland’s Permanent Mission to the EU. In this role, he was responsible for representing Swiss interests within Europe with a particular focus on areas such as financial regulation. From 2010 to 2013, Matthias Heer served as Senior Economist in the department for Financial Market Policy of the Swiss State Secretariat for International Financial Matters (SIF), where he specialized in areas including financial market access. He began his career in the insurance sector after graduating from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in Economics.
Commenting on the appointment, Alexandre Zeller, Chairman of the SFC, said: "Matthias Heer has extensive knowledge of financial regulation and broad experience of working in both the public and private sectors. With his proven track record and strong network in Switzerland and the EU, he is ideally qualified to lead the Swiss Finance Council and further strengthen its operations in Brussels."
Five years after its foundation in 2013, the SFC has established itself as a broad platform for dialogue and information on EU developments in an international perspective. The discussions on the future development of the European Financial market, including topics such as the digitalization in financial services and ways to enhance international regulatory consistency and coordination between Switzerland and the European Union are at the core of the SFC's mandate.