The UBS board, in bringing again Sergio Ermotti as chief govt, has gone for somebody who is aware of the financial institution effectively. Ermotti held the position from 2011 to 2020 and gained plaudits for main its restoration from the monetary disaster.
The Swiss-born 62-year-old is a profession banker, having accomplished stints at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and UniCredit earlier than shifting to UBS. As chief govt, his predominant activity was to solidify the financial institution after a SFr6bn ($6.52bn) bailout by the Swiss authorities in the course of the monetary disaster and a $2.3bn rogue buying and selling scandal. He scaled again the funding financial institution — though didn’t shut it altogether regardless of some requires him to take action — and constructed up the core wealth administration operation.
“My greatest determination was to not observe consensus . . . I’m positive I wouldn’t be the CEO immediately if I had finished it,” he instructed the Monetary Instances in an interview in 2020. “As a frontrunner, your first intuition is normally the appropriate one.”
The share value was at about the identical stage when he left the job because it was when he began, however that compares favourably with a drop of just about 60 per cent within the worth of Credit score Suisse over the identical interval.
Ermotti stood down in 2020, with the phrases: “After almost a decade as CEO, now’s the appropriate time to write down my subsequent chapter. UBS is in nice form, enjoys most strategic flexibility and is effectively positioned for sustainable progress.”
Ralph Hamers took over from Ermotti in 2020 and can stand apart now because the Swiss banker takes again the reins.
Since stepping away from UBS, Ermotti has stored himself busy with board seats at style group Ermenegildo Zegna and at Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation company. He has additionally been chair of reinsurance group Swiss Re, though his time there has not been with out controversy. Final 12 months, proxy adviser ISS beneficial that traders vote towards Ermotti’s re-election due to an absence of gender variety on the board.
Regardless of these distractions, he’s relishing his return to the highest job at UBS. “The duty at hand is an pressing and difficult one,” he stated in an announcement on Wednesday, promising to ship “the very best consequence for our purchasers, our workers, our shareholders and the Swiss authorities”.
Sergio Ermotti CV
Born in 1960
1978 — 2004 Merrill Lynch
2005 — 2007 Head of markets and funding banking at UniCredit
2007 — 2011 Deputy chief govt of UniCredit
2011 — 2020 Chief govt of UBS
2021 Turns into chair of Swiss Re and a board member at Ermenegildo Zegna
2023 Joins board of Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation company
2023 Reappointed CEO of UBS
