John Fraser, who has been Chairman and CEO Global Asset Management since 2001, has decided to retire from his CEO role and as a member of UBS’s Group Executive Board, effective 31 December 2013.
This follows a long and distinguished career at UBS and in finance which began in the Australian Treasury and has spanned five decades. His time at UBS began at Swiss Bank Corporation in Australia in 1993. Under his leadership, Global Asset Management has developed from a localized organization into a focused large-scale asset manager with a diversified mix across regions, capabilities and distribution channels. He will assist in the transition and retain his position as Chairman of Global Asset Management.
lrich Koerner, currently Group Chief Operating Officer (COO), will become CEO Global Asset Management, effective 1 January 2014 in addition to his role as CEO Europe Middle East and Africa. As Group COO, he has played an instrumental role in a number of key strategic initiatives. These include the realignment of the Corporate Center, the design and set-up of the firm’s Industrialization Program and UBS’s cost reduction efforts which have delivered several billion Swiss francs in efficiencies since 2009.
Tom Naratil, currently Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), will also become Group Chief Operating Officer, effective 1 January 2014. The COO function will include Group Technology, Group Operations, Corporate Services and the firm’s Industrialization Program. In addition, the Corporate Development function will move to the CFO area. Tom Naratil has transformed UBS’s Finance organization since taking over in 2011 and has successfully driven UBS’s efforts to strengthen its capital, balance sheet and funding positions.
In addition, also effective 1 January 2014, UBS is making several other changes to its Corporate Center organization. Group Human Resources, Communications & Branding and Group Regulatory Relations & Strategic Initiatives (GRR&SI) will report directly to Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer. In order to manage UBS’s compliance, conduct and operational risks in a more integrated and effective way, Compliance and Operational Risk Control will be merged to form a new function reporting to Philip Lofts, Group Chief Risk Officer. The new function will continue to work closely with Legal, led by General Counsel Markus Diethelm, given the complementary mandates of both organizations. In addition, UBS’s Group Security Services function will also move to the Group Chief Risk Officer area.
Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer commented, “I would like to thank John Fraser for the lasting contribution he has made as a leader, an executive board member and a colleague over the last 20 years. As we enter the next phase of our strategic transformation, I know I can draw on the proven leadership of my colleagues on the Group Executive Board to continue effectively executing on our plans.”
Por Funds Society, Madrid