Insights from Anne Soulard, HR Director at Edmond de Rothschild Monaco, and Audrey Buiatti, HR Director at Société Générale Private Banking Monaco
On 6 February, the AMAF will take part in the ‘Monaco pour l’Emploi’ forum. With Monaco’s financial sector undergoing major changes, human resources are more than ever a strategic lever for competitiveness. Attracting talent, retaining staff, developing skills, meeting the expectations of new generations, gender equality and managerial culture: in a joint interview, Anne Soulard, HR Director at Edmond de Rothschild Monaco (right), and Audrey Buiatti, HR Director at Société Générale Private Banking Monaco (left), offer a demanding and complementary analysis of the human challenges at the heart of private banking. Two visions, one conclusion: sustainable performance now depends on people.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
I am what you might call a pure product of human resources. My initial training in human resources and labour law gave me a dual perspective, both legal and human, which is essential in our profession.
I arrived in Monaco in 2007 to join a private bank. In 2019, I joined Edmond de Rothschild Monaco as an HR Business Partner, with a role focused on supporting managers and teams, before being appointed HR Director in October 2024.
Audrey Buiatti – Société Générale Private Banking Monaco
I started my career in finance after obtaining a Master’s degree in financial engineering. During my time as an auditor, I quickly specialised in banking, initially in French banking. In 2007, I moved to Monaco and entered the world of private banking by joining the Société Générale group in the Finance department. I then moved to the Human Resources department for seven years to support the entity in recruitment, training and career development. This experience was a real revelation about the world of HR and its strategic importance within an organisation. I then moved into credit structuring before returning to human resources in 2023 to oversee payroll and personnel administration. At the end of 2024, I took over as head of the Human Resources department.
This career path is a good illustration of the support we offer our employees: rich internal mobility, continuous development and a detailed understanding of private banking professions.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
Yes, although they are not exclusive to banking. Monegasque labour law creates a specific framework. Furthermore, Monaco is an international financial centre with a high level of expertise and a demanding clientele. This combination – local regulations and specialised skills – shapes our HR practices and recruitment needs.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
Monaco has many advantages: a solid economic environment, an attractive working environment, an exceptional quality of life, competitive remuneration levels and a more favourable social security contribution regime than in many neighbouring countries. Added to this are the constant efforts of the Prince’s Government to enhance the attractiveness of the market, particularly in terms of transport, infrastructure, modernisation of labour law and teleworking.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
We are looking for profiles that combine technical skills, the ability to work in a team and a sense of customer service. In the context of Monaco, with a clientele that has very high standards, we naturally favour expert profiles with a keen sense of confidentiality. There is no typical profile, especially as diversity in backgrounds and experience brings innovation and enriches collective skills.
Finance professions are evolving very rapidly. We are seeing strong growth in positions related to compliance and risk management as a whole, but also in professions related to data and artificial intelligence.
Digitalisation is transforming operational functions, and our professions are evolving and will continue to evolve significantly in the coming years. Finally, banking and expert professions remain key, with skills combining technical expertise and wealth analysis.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
Certain professions are clearly under pressure. This is particularly the case for roles related to compliance, risk management, asset management, as well as professions related to new technologies and cybersecurity. This situation is accentuated by the extremely dynamic and international nature of the Monegasque financial centre, which imposes high standards in terms of skills.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
Monaco’s private banks combine managerial proximity with competitive remuneration, which creates a sense of belonging and loyalty among employees.
At Edmond de Rothschild Monaco, we add to this the strength of an independent, long-established investment house with female family shareholders, deeply rooted in the real economy and focused on the long term, as well as a high degree of agility. Within our firm, it is not the job that defines the person, but the person who defines the job. We strongly encourage internal mobility and promotion, both in Monaco and within the Group internationally.
This combination enables us to retain our talent over the long term and create an environment in which everyone can express themselves, develop and pursue a long-term career path.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
For several years now, Société Générale Private Banking Monaco has been implementing measures dedicated to supporting our ‘talents’. We offer clear career paths, continuous skills development and personalised programmes. Identifying and supporting talent goes hand in hand with anticipating our succession plans. This strong link allows us to offer clear prospects for strategic positions while anticipating them through long-term support.
It should also be noted that in Monaco, our turnover rate is historically low – and continues to decline. We have no retention issues. Our employees are committed and plan for the long term with us, which is the result of the support and development measures we have put in place.
Our attractiveness is based on several factors. First, the quality of our offering and the recognition of our expertise in the market. Second, the attention we pay to work-life balance, as well as our career development and support measures.
Monaco is a small place: everyone knows the strengths of the different institutions. What candidates most often tell us is that they appreciate the quality of the working environment and the strength of our positioning and expertise.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
Young people are shaking up traditional models, and that’s a good thing: it pushes us to adapt and evolve our practices. They are accelerating changes that are already underway. They express strong expectations in terms of values, managerial consistency, inclusion and work-life balance. However, the fundamentals remain the same: high standards, performance and long-term commitment.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
The younger generations are a real force. They bring a lot to the company, particularly because they want to find meaning in their work and because they are sensitive to quality of life and consistency between stated values and management practices.
Our entrepreneurial culture, our long-term vision and our human-scale organisation respond precisely to these expectations. Young employees are quickly exposed to rich and varied assignments, take initiatives, gain visibility and participate fully in value creation.
They are part of the mission that the company has set itself: to do useful work. This is not an abstract concept, but a founding principle that guides our decisions and gives meaning to our professional commitment.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
Training is a strategic lever of HR policy that supports performance and quality of customer service. We are committed to supporting the evolution of professions and developing key skills in a demanding banking environment. It is also a tool for risk management and compliance, which is central to our responsibilities as a banking employer.
In addition to training, forward planning is also essential. We work on our succession plans well in advance: identifying key positions, mentoring, local or Group development programmes, immersion in other departments, etc.
These programmes enable us to develop skills, soft skills and the ability to commit to a medium- and long-term career path. It is a major factor in employee engagement and career development.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
Training is an essential pillar. Of course, regulatory training is a must in our sector. But we also develop training programmes designed to support employees throughout their careers, including beyond their strict job scope.
We organise short training courses, job presentations and knowledge-sharing sessions, as well as sessions dedicated to well-being, health and work-life balance.
The aim is to pass on knowledge, provide opportunities for development, share information, foster a sense of community and a common culture, and strengthen belonging and commitment.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
We pay particular attention to all forms of diversity: diversity of backgrounds, generations, profiles and, of course, gender equality.
Our Group is owned and managed by a woman, Ariane de Rothschild, and many women hold key positions within our firm, in a sector historically marked by male over-representation among candidates. We carry out targeted actions, particularly among female students, through campus management initiatives, in order to encourage the recruitment of young women.
Audrey Buiatti – SGPB Monaco
Gender equality is a strategic issue for Société Générale Private Banking Monaco. It is not just an indicator: it is a factor in performance and cohesion. We closely monitor every stage of the employee cycle: recruitment, career development, training and remuneration. This is to ensure fairness.
In particular, we strive to promote women’s access to management positions, integrate them into our succession plans and support them at key moments in their careers. This is reflected, for example, in the roll-out of various development and mentoring programmes dedicated to women. Our ambition is to ensure balanced representation at all levels of the organisation. We now have 42% women on our Executive Committee and 44% women in management positions, reflecting our ongoing efforts to combat inequality and encourage the promotion of women to positions of responsibility. This is a strong commitment and a strategic focus for Société Générale Private Banking Monaco.
Anne Soulard – Edmond de Rothschild Monaco
The management model, culture and working environment are the three pillars of sustainable performance.
We are keen to continue working together in the same place and will soon be moving into very modern premises, designed as genuine living spaces that encourage teamwork, informal exchanges and extra-professional activities. In Monaco, where land is scarce, this is a major asset. This new building embodies our desire to offer a working environment that is efficient, people-oriented and unifying.
Our management model, ‘Faire du Edmond’ (Doing Edmond), activates the levers of commitment: inspiring desire, creating a sense of belonging, generating performance and value, and taking pride in and promoting the name.
Our fundamentals are based on collaboration, proximity, high standards and fairness. This spirit is driven by management and embodied at all levels of the organisation.
It is a virtuous circle that enables both collective performance and team loyalty.
