Change at the top of Ubs, the Swiss giant that just took over Crédit Suisse after the collapse. The Board of Directors has appointed Sergio Ermotti as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Group, effective April 5, 2023. Ermotti, who previously led UBS, has stepped down as Chairman of Swiss Re. He succeeds Ralph Hamers, who has agreed to step down. «for the interests of the new combination, the Swiss financial sector and the country». The share on the Zurich stock exchange on the morning of March 29 immediately after the announcement opened up more than 2 percent.

The Swiss banker

Sergio Ermotti is a Swiss banker and manager, President of Swiss Re since April 2021. For Ermotti it is a return: in the difficult years after the financial crisis that broke out at the end of 2008, she was already CEO of Ubs and took over the reins of the bank as Chief Executive Officer from September 2011 to October 2020. At the helm of UBS, he exposed the rogue trade scandal of 2011, implementing strict corporate policies governing EU standards and initiated a major restructuring of the bank around private banking and limited its sales activities.

The new challenges

“I am very honored to initiate this transition such an important moment, both for shareholders and for the financial community,” Ermotti stated at the press conference for his appointment to lead UBS. “These have been challenging years and we have an urgent task to tackle thanks to the work that has been done at UBS over the past two years, under the leadership of Ralph (Hamers, ed)”. Ermotti – he added – that I am «aware of the challenges that await me and of the expectations that exist and that we will have to work hard. I give you my word and my commitment and my team, we will do everything we can to make this transaction a success. We will strike a balance for all stakeholders involved, from employees to shareholders to customers.” The immediate challenges include a restructuring of the new financial entity, including headcount cuts, and that of the Credit Suisse investment bank, but most importantly restore confidence in Swiss banks and Scrooge McDuck that UBS is still the best place to keep their money safe.

He wanted to become a football player

Born in 1960 in Lugano, Switzerland, Ermotti at 3 p.mhe leaves school because he wants to become a football player later, at the age of 18, he decides to become an apprentice (to “get in line with accounting, finance, etc.”) at Cornèr Banca in Lugano, the branch where his father worked. After completing his apprenticeship as a stockbroker, he is promoted to commercial agent in the same bank, obtains the Swiss Certified Banking Expert certificate and undergoes a three-week training (Advanced Management Program) at the University of Oxford.

The start at Citigroup

In 1985 he returned to Switzerland, where he settled in Zurich, where he worked for two years at the Citigroup branch, which deals with structured bonds and serves as Resident Vice President. After working for Citigroup, Ermotti moved to Merrill Lynch in 1987, first in the Zurich office, where he manages the domestic Swiss franc business, 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 division for EMEA. In 2001, he became Executive Director of Global Equity Markets and joined the Executive Management Committee for Global Markets and Investment.

The arrival at Unicredit in Milan

In 2005 Ermotti leaves after 16 years Merrill Lynch for Unicredit, in Milan, where he held the position of Director of Equity Markets and Investments. Two years later, he was appointed deputy general manager of the group, responsible for corporate strategy and corporate and private investments, a position he will hold until 2010. In April 2011, he was named president and chief executive officer of UBS for EMEA and member of the group’s steering committee. On September 24, 2011, following the scandal-related resignation of Oswald Grübel, Ermotti was appointed CEO ad interim of Ubs, position confirmed by the board of directors on November 15, 2011 and reconfirmed in 2014 by the parent company Ubs Group. The Sunday Schweiz am Sonntag has named Ermotti Manager of the Year 2015. In 2015, Ermotti was also the highest paid manager in Switzerland, with 14 million francs. In April 2021, he was appointed president of the insurance group Swiss Re.

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