Robert Leitz, Founder & Managing Director
The Team

Robert
Leitz.

Founder & Managing Director · iolite Capital Management AG
Switzerland & Cayman

Robert Leitz founded iolite Capital in 2008 with his own capital, no institutional backing, and no rich uncle, during the worst financial crisis in a generation. That combination of measured entrepreneurial risk, long-term thinking, and genuine accountability continues to shape every decision the firm makes.

Intelligence, passion and integrity are what we look for in others —
and what you can demand of, and receive from, us.

— Robert Leitz, Founder

Robert holds an MSc from the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and wrote his master's thesis under Prof. Eli Noam at Columbia University, New York. Beyond iolite, he sits on the board of Opterion Health AG — advancing the treatment of end-stage kidney disease — and served as Finance Chair of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) Zurich. His judgement was formed in the hardest corners of finance, where mistakes are expensive and the difference between a good business and a good price is learned first-hand.

Because iolite is run by a single accountable decision-maker, there is never a question of who is responsible for a result. Robert invests substantial personal capital alongside clients — the same positions, the same terms. Robert does not win unless they do.

What sets Robert apart

Three things compound over a career, and Robert treats them as the firm's operating standard. They are what iolite looks for in the people, founders and businesses it backs — and, just as importantly, what clients can demand of, and receive from, iolite in return.

IntelligenceClarity
Original, first-principles work — reading the filings others skim, valuing the business rather than the ticker, and waiting for a price that makes sense. Conviction is earned through analysis, not borrowed from consensus.
PassionOwnership
iolite is a craft pursued with intensity, not an asset-gathering machine. Robert engages as an owner — in the research, in the boardroom, and where necessary in public — because real conviction shows up as real work.
IntegrityAlignment
Personal capital invested side by side with clients. No side letters, no soft-dollar arrangements, no incentive to gather assets for their own sake. Plain dealing, candid letters, decisions made as if every franc were Robert's own — because much of it is.
Conviction

The lighthouse holds its course through the storm — so does the capital entrusted to us.

Track record

Since inception in 2008, the portfolio has compounded at approximately 15% per annum — through the global financial crisis, the European sovereign-debt crisis, the pandemic shock and the inflationary regime shift of 2022. Each cycle has sharpened the same emphasis: balance-sheet resilience, downside discipline, and the willingness to act against consensus when the facts are clear. In less than two decades, iolite has grown from roughly $200K to some $200m in assets — a compound annual growth rate of about 54%.

The opportunities take many forms. iolite has backed compounders early — and again when they fell out of favour (Jumbo Interactive, Shine Justice); identified hidden value in restructurings and businesses investing for growth not yet reflected in reported earnings (Digital River, Bakkafrost, International Petroleum); backed companies shunned for political or ideological reasons despite their importance to the functioning of society, including oil and gas; and, where governance was the missing piece, engaged directly, as with its approximately 10% stake in Dynacor Group.

Every investment is underwritten with a private-equity mindset, focused on cash flow, governance, capital allocation, and long-term compounding.

Core skills & attributes

The competencies, formed across two decades in the hardest corners of finance, that define how Robert finds and protects value.

Special situations & deep value

Finding mispricing where others stop looking — spin-offs, post-crisis recoveries, neglected small-caps and out-of-favour industries.

Distressed debt & restructuring

Reading broken balance sheets and complex capital structures, and understanding where value sits when a business is under stress.

Fundamental underwriting

Private-equity-style diligence on owner-earnings, governance quality and downside — valuing the business, not the ticker.

Engaged & activist ownership

Pressing for governance, transparency and capital discipline from the boardroom to the public record when it protects shareholders.

Capital allocation discipline

Concentrating into the best ideas, sizing by conviction and downside, and the patience to let great businesses compound.

Global, cross-border perspective

A worldwide mandate with no benchmark or sector constraint — sourcing ideas across geographies, languages and market structures.

At a glance
Prior Experience
Glencore; TPG Credit (now Castlelake); Goldman Sachs — European Special Situations; KPMG Corporate Restructuring.
Education
MSc, University of St. Gallen (HSG); master's thesis under Prof. Eli Noam, Columbia University.
Beyond iolite
Board member, Opterion Health AG; former Finance Chair, EO Zurich.
Community
VALUEx Klosters, MOI Global, The Intellectual Investor Conference, Nordic Value, FatAlpha, Good Investing.
A deliberate structure

iolite is run by a single accountable decision-maker — no investment committees, no asset-gathering mandate. It is a deliberate design choice: it concentrates conviction, enables decisive action across cycles, and aligns the firm's economics with performance rather than assets. Continuity is provided for through a named successor and an institutional operating framework — an independent administrator, a Tier-one custodian, an independent auditor and independent directors. Conviction is the strategy; this structure is what makes it investable.

Invest in people first.

New partnerships are rare. If iolite's approach resonates, Robert responds personally.

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