Credit Suisse hired him to take the bank into a digital future. He has now decided to join a rival company.

The departure of Holger Spielberg is a loss that will hurt Credit Suisse (CS). The head of innovation at the Digital Private Bank has announced that he will leave the institute.

Spielberg has signed a contract as group technology officer at Aareal Bank in Wiesbaden, Germany and will take up his job on July 1, 2016, the company said on Tuesday. The manager will coordinate the IT strategy of the bank and develop the innovation management.

Disruptive Thinking

The 48-year-old German joined CS two years ago as managing director of Digital Private Banking and head of innovation. He had previously worked for Paypal, the Internet payment service provider.

Spielberg had ambitious plans for CS. He wanted to build innovation laboratories in Zurich and Silicon Valley, from where disruptive thinking and impulses would alter the way banks are operating.