The Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui. Below, the team of the film "The Insult" by Ziad Doueiri. Illustration L'Orient-Le Jour/ Moussa Maalouf
Zurich, Sept. 25, 2024. It was still early when Antoun Sehnaoui arrived from Paris in Zurich’s upscale Seefeld district. His destination was 17 Bellerive-Strasse, home to Kaleido Privatbank, the latest acquisition of Compagnie Financière Richelieu (CFR), which he had owned since 2018. Impeccably dressed, his tie perfectly knotted, the new boss looked every bit the banker. No one else, however, seemed to have gotten the memo. Kaleido’s executives had traded their suits for decidedly casual attire. With the UCI Road World Championships in full swing across the city, no clients were expected that day. Taken aback, Sehnaoui made little effort to conceal his irritation: “But we are bankers!” “A banker should look the part — it shows in the way you dress, wherever you go,” he snapped at the stunned Swiss executives. The anecdote, reported by...
Zurich, Sept. 25, 2024. It was still early when Antoun Sehnaoui arrived from Paris in Zurich’s upscale Seefeld district. His destination was 17 Bellerive-Strasse, home to Kaleido Privatbank, the latest acquisition of Compagnie Financière Richelieu (CFR), which he had owned since 2018. Impeccably dressed, his tie perfectly knotted, the new boss looked every bit the banker. No one else, however, seemed to have gotten the memo. Kaleido’s executives had traded their suits for decidedly casual attire. With the UCI Road World Championships in full swing across the city, no clients were expected that day. Taken aback, Sehnaoui made little effort to conceal his irritation: “But we are bankers!” “A banker should look the part — it shows in the way you dress, wherever you go,” he snapped at the stunned Swiss executives. The...
