Swiss Academy

Urs Stirnimann is the chairman of Swiss Academy DMCC in Dubai.

Urs worked more than 30 years in various countries of the Middle East and Latin America with different responsibilities in the financial and legal field. Before coming to the UAE, he was leading on behalf of the Swiss Foreign Ministry a special mission in the Middle East working as legal advisor and head of staff and giving lectures in international law to members of different foreign ministries. For several years, Urs was the CEO of VP Bank in Switzerland and before that CEO of VP Bank in the Caribbean, where he also was the founder and president of the BVI Bank Association and advisor to the BVI government. In the 90s he was for Credit Suisse in Bahrain and covered Saudi Arabia and Qatar as private banker. In the 80s he worked several years for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and was legal delegate in Lebanon and dissemination delegate in El Salvador.
Since 2004, Urs was working again as lawyer and became the managing partner of Swiss International Legal Consultants in Dubai, the first law firm in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). In 2011, Urs moved to the Swiss Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. He advised also in the creation of Islamic products and structures and real estate issues. In the meantime, he also established a law firm in Abu Dhabi.

In 2020, he sold Swiss ILC Services DMCC and Swiss International Legal Consultants to a Swiss investor. Because of his large background in the financial and legal sector he is often asked to provide advice for complicated company structures and in compliance matters. Urs had plenty of honorary positions like for 18 years Vice President of the Swiss Business Council Dubai and Chairman of the Swiss Financial Group, where 20 Swiss banks and insurance companies are represented. In addition, he was the Executive Director of the Emirati Swiss Friendship Forum under the leadership of HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and HE Pascal Couchepin former president of Switzerland. For many years he represents the Swiss in the UAE at the Council for Swiss Living Abroad.

Urs studied economics and law at the University of Zurich, where he graduated as lic. iur. Urs is fluent in German, English, Spanish and French and has a basic knowledge of Italian and Arabic.