UBS Private Bank Shuffles Top Executives

The operating chief of UBS’ flagship wealth unit is leaving the job. His replacements will split oversight of the U.S. and rest of the world.

Reto Wangler, operating chief to private bank co-heads Iqbal Khan and Tom Naratil, is leaving for a roughly year-long sabbatical from UBS, from February 1, according to a memo.

He returns to the Swiss bank in a new role next year, the memo said. Wangler advanced to the job in 2018 through a mega-merger of its U.S.-based brokerage and wider, international private bank for the wealthy. A spokesman for UBS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

He will be replaced by Kate Newcomb as well as Wiwi Gutmannsbauer at the $2.6 trillion unit, effective February 1, according to the memo. Newcomb, who currently oversees operations at the U.S. wealth unit, will continue to do so.

Meanwhile, Gutmannsbauer, who UBS seconded to Asia nearly three years ago to oversee operations for its regional wealth activities, will take on Switzerland and international. Gutmannsbauer will relocate to Zurich from Singapore in the second quarter of 2020.

Both he and Newcomb have spent much of their career in operations: she began at Paine Webber, a predecessor brokerage, as an accountant in 1984 and moved to operations just before the financial crisis.

Gutmannsbauer has held various operations roles in the private bank. With their successful track records, they are ideally suited to further strengthen our digital capabilities and front-to-back efficiency, private bank co-heads Khan and Naratil wrote in the memo to staff.