Andrea Orcel's wife had the perfect job for a banking spouse
If you work in banking and are trying to encourage your spouse to bring in a bit of extra money to compensate for falling compensation, you could follow the example of Andrea Orcel, the chief executive of UBS investment bank.
Orcel's wife, Clara Batalim-Orcel has been running an upmarket interior design company, 'Orcel Kieffer Design,' from a studio space near Chelsea Harbour. The company's website says it specialises in luxury bespoke interior design for high-end residential and commercial commissions.
UBS investment bankers intending to attract the boss's attention could do worse than hiring his wife to restyle their homes. Clara's commissions have included a 'sophisticated' Kensington pied-à-terre, a five bedroom Holland Park townhouse, a contemporary five bedroom family house in Fulham and a 'luxurious Porto-Montenegro 3 bedroom holiday home.'
Orcel married Clara in 2009 after dating her for 16 years. It's unclear whether she always worked in interior design - her bio also describes' 15 years experience interfacing within customers in the airline industry.'
We tried to call Clara Orcel to ask about Orcel Kieffer, but unfortunately it appears that the company may no longer be in operation. We were informed that the company vacated the premises several months ago, and emails sent to Orcel Kieffer's email address bounced back.
Not all wives of senior bankers work. Lloyd Blankfein's wife, Laura is an ex-lawyer who reportedly does charity work nowadays. James Gorman's wife, Penny, is a former investment banker who no longer appears to be in the industry, Jamie Dimon's wife was once a trainee at Shearson American Express, but no longer appears to work either. Brady Dougan's ex-wife is a Japanese language instructor in New York.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that UBS has been reconsidering the future of its investment bank (something UBS denies). However, the Orcels are hardly in need of money. Andrea received a £25m bonus from Merrill Lynch in 2009 and a £17m bonus when he joined UBS in 2012.
