The UBS board of directors has appointed Sergio Ermotti Group Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, effective April 5, 2023, the group said in a statement. Ermotti will succeed a Ralph Hamers “which he agreed to resign to serve the interests of the new group post merger, of the Swiss financial sector and the country". Hamers will however remain at UBS and “will work alongside Sergio Ermotti as consultant during a transition period to ensure a successful closure of the transition and a smooth handover”. The Council took the decision in the light of the new challenges and priorities that UBS faces following the announcement of the Credit Suisse takeover.
Ermotti, currently president of Swiss RE, he has already been CEO of UBS for 9 years – recalls the Swiss Banking Institute – “and has successfully repositioned UBS following the serious challenges deriving from the global financial crisis”, says the note.
“The task to be faced is urgent and challenging” commented Ermotti. “To carry out the task sustainably and successfully, and in the interest of all stakeholders involved, we must carefully and systematically evaluate all options".
Rounds of armchairs
Hammers he had been Ermotti's successor in November 2020 and "will still be available as a consultant during the transition phase," the statement said. The board made the decision in the light of "the new challenges and priorities that UBS will have to face after the announcement of the acquisition" of Credit Suisse.
Sergio Ermotti led UBS as CEO from 2011 to 2020, following the 2008 financial crisis and financial scandals involving a trader. He then assumed the presidency of reinsurer Swiss Re. Ermotti also led as president Spac Investindustrial Acquisition Corp, founded by Andrea Bonomi, which brought Zegna to the Stock Exchange. He currently sits on the board of Zegna.
Who is Sergio Ermotti. The transition to Unicredit
Sergio Pietro Ermotti is a Swiss banker and manager, from April 2021 president of Swiss Re and from September 2011 to October 2020 chief executive officer of Ubs. He was the longest serving bank manager. At the helm of Ubs, he denounced it scandal of dishonest traders of 2011, implementing stringent corporate policies governing community standards and initiated a major restructuring of the bank around private banking and limited its sales operations.
Born in 1960 in Lugano, Switzerland, Ermotti left school at the age of 15 because he wanted to be a footballer, later deciding, at the age of 18, to be an apprentice (to "get up to speed with accounting, finance and so on". ) at Cornèr Banca in Lugano, the branch where his father worked. After completing his apprenticeship as a stockbroker, he is promoted to commercial agent within the same bank, obtains the Federal Certificate of Banking Expert (Swiss Certified Banking Expert) and follows a three-week training course (Advanced Management Programme) at the 'University of Oxford.
In 1985 he returned to Switzerland, settling in Zurich where he worked for two years at the Citigroup branch, dealing with structured bonds and holding the role of Resident Vice President.
After working for Citigroup, Ermotti moved in 1987 to Merrill Lynch & Co., first at the Zurich office, where he manages the Swiss franc business on the domestic market and since 1993 in London as Head of the European Equity Derivatives Department. From 1994 to 1999 he was responsible for Merrill Lynch's equity linked products and in 1999 headed the Equity Markets Department for EMEA. In 2001, he became executive director of global equity markets and joined the Executive Management Committee for Global Markets and Investment. In 2005 Ermotti left Merrill Lynch after 16 years for Unicredit, in Milan, holding the position of executive of stock markets and investments. Two years later he was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Group, responsible for corporate business strategy and corporate and private investment areas, a position he will hold until 2010.
At the helm of Swiss Re appointed Jacques de Vaucleroy
Following the appointment of Sergio Ermotti as CEO of UBS, and in view of the shareholders' meeting of 12 April 2023, the board of directors of Swisse Re has decided to manage the transition with the appointment of Jacques de Vaucleroy as new vice president and lead independent director, provided that he is re-elected by the shareholders as a member of the board of directors, with effect after the general meeting.
Ermotti will resign after the meeting and a short transition period, the board will immediately start looking for a successor. In the meantime, Jacques de Vaucleroy will preside over the board until the election of a new president by the extraordinary shareholders' meeting. “In response to these extraordinary circumstances, we will ensure the highest standards of good governance, as well as stability and continuity in the management of this transition” said Ermotti as president of Swiss Re. “I am convinced that the procedures now proposed are in the best interests of our shareholders and I am confident that the transition under the leadership of Jacques de Vaucleroy will be well managed. Swiss Re has very clear strategic objectives and is well positioned to achieve all of its objectives”.
