* Chairman Urs Widmer to retire
* CEO Herbert Scheidt set to take over as chairman
* Will look at internal, external candidates for CEO
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ZURICH, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Vontobel is looking for a new chief executive after proposing the incumbent Herbert Scheidt takes over from its retiring chairman next spring.
Vontobel, which competes with EFG International and Sarasin , said it hoped Scheidt, who holds both Swiss and German citizenship, would be elected chairman at its annual general meeting on May 3, 2011.
The family-owned wealth manager, one of Switzerland's leading players in structured products, said chairman Urs Widmer, in the role since 2005, was retiring.
Scheidt, 58, has been at the Vontobel helm since 2002, pursuing a three-columned strategy of focusing on investment banking and asset management, as well as private banking to shepherd the group through the financial crisis.
Vontobel will consider external and internal candidates in its search for a new CEO, a company spokesman said.
Scheidt, who previously ran Deutsche Bank's arm in Switzerland, oversaw the creation of a special arm to try and win wealthy U.S. clients after top Swiss wealth manager UBS faced a damaging tax dispute with the U.S. government.
Switzerland, the world's leading offshore banking centre, came under pressure to relax its cherished bank secrecy from cash-strapped governments seeking to recoup tax revenues during the financial crisis.
Its private banks are seeking new business models as traditional bank secrecy is eroded. (Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Dan Lalor)