Urs Wietlisbach (born August 25, 1961) is a Swiss

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...

and businessman. He is a co-founder of

Partners Group Partners Group Holding AG is a Swiss-based global private equity firm with US$152 billion in assets under management in private equity, private infrastructure, private real estate and private debt. The firm manages a broad range of funds, struct ...

, one of the largest private equity funds in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Education

Wietlisbach was educated at the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

, where he received a master's degree in business administration.

Career

Following his graduation Wietlisbach worked at

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...

, before he became a broker at

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

. While at Goldman he established the firm's sales department in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and also met

Alfred Gantner Alfred Gantner also known as Fredy Gantner (born 1968) is a Swiss billionaire, businessman and political activist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Partners Group, a global private equity firm, with $135 billion in assets under managem ...

and Marcel Erni. Together the three of them co-founded

in 1996. In 2015, Wietlisbach co-founded Blue Earth Capital, a global impact

investment firm An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under th ...

. Blue Earth's investment focus is environmental and social challenges. It is fully-owned by Blue Earth Foundation, a

-based NGO focused on philanthropic activities. Wietlisbach serves as Chairman of both. During the same year, he was appointed as a member of the

's HSG Advisory Board. In 2016, he became a member of the board of trustees of the HSG Foundation. As of 2023, he remains on both boards. In 2020, Wietlisbach reduced his shareholding in

to 5.01%. Wietlisbach and the other co-founders of

established the Allianz Kompass Europa in 2020. It was created as a network of business leaders who oppose the proposed EU-Switzerland framework agreement on trade. The network proposed rejecting the framework, instead opting to continue with the current arrangement with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In May 2021, the Swiss government ended talks with the EU following public pressure in Switzerland. In 2021, The Ursimone Wietlisbach Foundation was also a major benefactor to the

for the construction of its new SQUARE building. In recent years, Wietlisbach has frequently spoken about the importance of investing in companies which focus on important future trends, such as decarbonisation and automation. Both

and Blue Earth include these markets in their investment strategies, with PG investing in companies such as Climeworks. In April 2022, Blue Earth was the lead investor in Sense's Series C funding round. Sense specialises in monitoring energy consumption in a home. Blue Earth has also invested in

vertical farming Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically and horizontally stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics ...

startup, 80 Arces Farms. In May 2022, Wietlisbach announced that he was acquiring the 5-star Swiss hotel, Arosa Kulm. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Swiss asset manager Entrepreneur Partners. He currently serves as the President of Sporthilfe and the “Passion Schneesport” Foundation. His background in both Foundations means Wietlisbach also plays an active role in supporting promising young athletes.

Personal life

Wietlisbach featured on the 2021 Swiss billionaires list, and has also featured on similar rich lists focused on

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

. He and his wife signed up to

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

in 2022, committing the majority of their collective wealth to

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Part of this commitment is via the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, The Ursimone Wietlisbach Foundation.

References

{{reflist, 2 Swiss businesspeople Living people Swiss investors 1961 births