SecondFor months, people have been enthusiastically guessing who will succeed Axel Weber.His term as chairman of the board of directors of major Swiss banks UBS The period is ten years and ends in April 2022. The names of various candidates appear in the bulletin, and they may be considered for this high-paying, highest-paying job, or they may position themselves as the same job. On Saturday, UBS lifted the veil: Colm Kelleher will be elected as the new chairman by the General Assembly on April 6. This is a big surprise. The 64-year-old Irishman has not yet been considered.
Kelleher served as the president of this major U.S. bank until June 2019 Morgan StanleyThere, he led the global securities business and important asset management business for institutional clients. He is a Morgan Stanley factory: Kelleher joined the bank in 1989 as a securities dealer in London and has been the chief financial officer ever since. In this position, he made important contributions to guiding the bank through the 2008 financial crisis. Kelleher holds a master’s degree in modern history from Oxford University and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA).
With the Irish, UBS’s top management will become more international. In the end, the operation and management of Switzerland’s largest bank was in charge of the Dutchman Ralph Hamers. The former ING boss took over as CEO from Sergio Ermotti a year ago. As a native of the Canton of Ticino, Ermotti represents the Swiss DNA in corporate management. In order not to let the Zurich headquarters completely lose this point, the board of directors considered another personal initiative: Lukas Gähwiler will become the vice chairman of the board. The 56-year-old Swiss was a member of the UBS Executive Committee from 2010 to 2016 and is currently the chairman of the board of directors of the UBS Swiss branch, which is a universal bank in his home country. In his new position, Gähwiler will represent UBS in the most important Swiss associations and industry organizations and become a political contact point.
No connection with Switzerland
In a press release issued by UBS on the personnel list, praised Axel Weber 30 years of management experience of its designated successor. He also emphasized its excellent network. According to Kelleher’s own admission, for Kelleher, “it is a great honor to be able to help shape the bank’s future.”
Compared with the members of the German supervisory board, the board of directors of Swiss companies, especially their presidents, are more involved and face more challenges. You not only control, but to a large extent determine the strategy. Therefore, these positions are also very unique. Weber earned 5.2 million francs last year.
Kelleher has worked in London and New York. There is no mention of Switzerland in his resume. According to the bank, he will now move to Zurich. UBS is one of the largest asset management companies in the world, and its recent business has been very good. In the third quarter alone, it achieved a net profit of US$2.3 billion. Therefore, Kelleher is not expected to change direction strategically. Instead, it should continue its growth process, focusing mainly on the United States and Asia.
A year ago, Kelleher was also traded as a candidate for chairman of the Deutsche Bank Supervisory Board. The Dutchman Alexander Wynaendts will succeed this position. The former CEO of Dutch insurance company Aegon will succeed Paul Achleitner in May 2022. Deutsche Bank announced the news on Friday evening.
