UBS Announces its Game Plan and Leadership Team

The legal integration of UBS and Credit Suisse will close in the next few weeks. The team to manage the new venture has also been announced. Ulrich Koerner resurfaces.

Following UBS’s government-imposed takeover of Credit Suisse on March 19, there has been much speculation about who would lead the new entity and what it would look like. UBS Group AG will manage the two parent companies of UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG, each with its subsidiaries and branches, to serve its clients and deal with counterparties, according to a statement from UBS Tuesday.

Overall responsibility falls to the UBS Group board of directors and the UBS executive board. Until the two entities integrate further, Credit Suisse will rely on its established governance and risk control frameworks, with some new policies added so that UBS can effectively oversee it.

This is a pivotal moment for UBS, Credit Suisse, and the entire banking industry. Together we will solidify and represent the Swiss model for finance worldwide, one that is capital-light, less reliant on taking risks, and anchored by stability and high-touch service. This transaction will allow us to offer attractive returns to our shareholders and give us the capacity to further invest and grow, said UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti.

The overall structure will comprise five business divisions, encompassing seven functions and four regions, with each represented by an executive board member of the group, all reporting to Ermotti. In addition, Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner becomes a member of the UBS Group’s executive board. The new divisions are as follows:

• Iqbal Khan remains President of Global Wealth Management
• Rob Karofsky remains President Investment Bank
• Sabine Keller-Busse remains President of Personal & Corporate Banking and President of Switzerland
• Suni Harford remains President of Asset Management and Lead for Sustainability & Impact
• Beatriz Martin Jimenez becomes Head Non-Core and Legacy and President EMEA. She remains UBS’s Chief Executive for the UK and continues in her role as Group Treasurer until a successor is named.

As previously announced, UBS will continue to evaluate all options for the Swiss business of Credit Suisse, which is considered the crown jewel of  Credit Suisse. It will «communicate further on this matter in the coming months,» according to the statement.

Within the functional structure, UBS announced that Sarah Youngwood will be departing.

• Todd Tuckner is appointed Group Chief Financial Officer. He will become a member of the Group Executive Board with immediate effect and take on the role of CFO at the close of the acquisition. He will succeed Sarah Youngwood, who has decided to leave the firm after the transaction closes.
• Michelle Bereaux will be Group Integration Officer. She has spent nearly 23 years at UBS and has held various leadership roles across the firm.
• Mike Dargan will be Group Chief Operations and Technology Officer
• Stefan Seiler will be the Group Head of Human Resources and Corporate Services.
• Christian Bluhm will remain Group Chief Risk Officer
• Barbara Levi will remain Group General Counsel
• Markus Ronner will remain Group Chief Compliance and Governance Officer

Tuckner, Martin Jimenez, Bereaux and Seiler also become members of the executive board at the close of the transaction.