UBS picks former Morgan Stanley president Kelleher as chairman
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Colm Kelleher.
Pete Marovich | Bloomberg | Getty Images
UBSNamed ex- Morgan StanleyAs its surprise choice, President Colm Kelher will succeed Axel Weber to the chair of the World’s Largest Wealth Manager when his term ends in April.
Kelleher, an Irishman hailing from County Cork, left Morgan Stanley in 2019, after having served three decades as U.S. investment bank director, as well as as as finance chief during the global financial crisis. However, he stayed as special advisor.
UBS is keen to recruit a former ING chief executive Ralph Hamers to help improve the bank’s digital services. Ralph Hamers was appointed last year as Switzerland’s largest bank CEO and has previously worked primarily in retail banking.
Weber stated that UBS is happy to present a Board member, and possibly a future chairman who understands the international banking landscape. Colm’s 30+ year experience as a leader in the banking industry and his excellent international relationships make him an ideal choice for UBS.
The bank had hoped to appoint a new chair by the end the year. Now, shareholders will need to approve Kelleher’s appointment during their annual meeting.
Kelleher dramatically reduced Morgan Stanley’s balance sheet during the financial crisis and transformed it into a traditional banking holding company to be able to access financing from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Kelleher also negotiated a $9 million investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
UBS stated that Lukas Gaehwiler would be its vice-chairman.
The outsiders are in
Kelleher’s and Gaehwiler’s selections come at a time when many of Europe’s largest banks choose outsiders to run their businesses.
Credit Suisse, a cross-town rival to Lloyds Bank, brought Antonio Horta Osorio (ex-President of Lloyds Bank) as its chairman in order to guide it through a major overhaul following a series of scandals that cost the bank billions.
Deutsche Bank said Friday it will nominate Alexander Wynaendts (a Dutch businessman) to its new supervisory board. The nomination comes following an extremely turbulent decade for Germany’s largest bank.
Some banks, whose leadership and identity are closely tied to their homelands, have taken surprise measures in naming nominees. UBS made this move with Weber’s selection in 2012. Weber is a German national who previously held the position of president of the central bank of Germany.
Three people told Reuters that UBS had selected Jean-Pierre Mustier, former UniCredit chief executive, to its board.
However, Mustier’s source said that the Frenchman, 60, had no plans to quit the Pegasus Europe special-purpose acquisition vehicle, which he established and invested in following his departure from UniCredit last year.
Kelleher, if confirmed, will assume the reins at a Swiss bank that has healthy accounts.
UBS reported its largest quarterly profit in 11 years with UBS trading from the ultra-rich. This led to a 23% increase in fees income.
UBS’s board addition of Gaehwiler means that UBS will be restoring the role of its second highest non-executive officer to a Swiss national. He will succeed Jeremy Anderson. Anderson will still remain an independent director.
Gaehwiler is currently the chairman of UBS Switzerland AG, which the bank says will be representing UBS before the nation’s major associations, financial sector organizations, and political interaction.
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