Robert Leitz, Founder & Managing Director

Robert
Leitz.

Founder & Managing Director

Robert founded iolite Capital in 2008, in the middle of the Global Financial Crisis, with his own capital, no institutional backing and no rich uncle. He has led it through every cycle since.

His career spans consulting, banking, corporate and entrepreneurial roles, with deep experience investing across the capital structure and in special situations. That entrepreneurial mindset and breadth of experience shape the firm's approach: disciplined risk taking, intellectual rigor and personal accountability.

Open Mindedness,
Sound Judgment &
Accountability.

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

Robert does the work, makes the call, and owns the outcome, good or bad. The structure around him is institutional: an independent board, a dedicated operations team, and a fund with independent directors, administrator, auditor, custodian and legal counsel. Robert invests substantial personal capital alongside investors, on identical terms.

Prior Experience
Glencore
TPG Credit (now Castlelake)
Goldman Sachs European Special Situations Group
KPMG Corporate Restructuring
Education
MSc, University of St. Gallen (HSG)
Master's thesis under Prof. Eli Noam, Columbia University
Beyond iolite
Former board member, Opterion Health AG
Former Finance Chair, EO Zurich
Community
VALUEx Klosters · MOI Global · The Intellectual Investor Conference · Nordic Value · FatAlpha · Good Investing

Expertise.

The competencies, built over two decades in the hardest corners of finance, that define how iolite finds and protects value.

Special situations & deep value

Finding mispricing where others stop looking: spinoffs, post crisis recoveries, neglected small caps and out of favor industries.

Distressed debt & restructuring

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

Fundamental underwriting

Diligence on owner earnings, governance quality and downside, done as if buying the whole company.

Engaged & activist ownership

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

Capital allocation discipline

Concentrating capital in the best ideas, sizing by conviction and downside, and having 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.

Light breaking through a sliver of cordierite, the gem known as iolite

What Sets
iolite Apart.

Three qualities compound over a career, and Robert holds the firm to them as its operating standard. They are what iolite looks for in the people, founders and businesses it backs and, just as importantly, what investors can demand of iolite and expect in return.

01
Intelligence
Clarity

Original, first principles work: reading the filings others skim, valuing the business rather than the ticker, and waiting for a price that makes sense. Views are earned through analysis, not borrowed from consensus.

02
Passion
Ownership

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.

03
Integrity
Alignment

No side letters, no soft dollar arrangements, no fees earned simply for growing assets. Plain dealing, candid letters, and decisions made as if every franc were Robert's own, because much of it is.

The iolite Team.

Investment manager
iolite Capital Management AG
Pfäffikon SZ, Switzerland
Board of Directors
Sabine HugiChair, independent
Thomas SchnellmannMember, independent
Robert LeitzMember, executive
Management
Robert LeitzCEO & CIO
Dehua ZhuInvestments
Trushna JhaveriCOO
Andrea Biro-BarnaOperations, Risk & Compliance
Fund
iolite Partners Ltd.
Cayman Islands
Independent directors
Walter Reich
Robert Thomas
Service providers
AdministratorNAV Fund Administration Group
AuditorBDO
Prime broker & custodianInteractive Brokers
BankBMO Harris
Legal counselHarney Westwood & Riegels