UBS Group AG revamped the leadership of its Middle East wealth unit and named new management for its Latin America businesses as the Swiss lender integrates its once-rival Credit Suisse.
Credit Suisse’s Bruno Daher will become Christl Novakovic’s deputy for the Middle East region, among multiple management changes announced in memos to staff. Ali Janoudi, who previously ran UBS’s wealth business for the Middle East and Africa, will become executive chairman in Ben Cavalli’s strategic-clients unit.
The bank also named Sylvia Coutinho Brazil country head and the regional leader for Latin America businesses. All the changes take effect July 17th.
“I’m confident that each of these teams has the right leaders to move our business forward,” Iqbal Khan, who runs UBS’s wealth unit, said in one of the memos.
The appointments are part of the third round of management changes made in the wake of the Credit Suisse takeover, after UBS reorganized the top two leadership layers in May and June. While thousands of Credit Suisse staff are expected to lose their jobs in the integration, particularly in the investment bank, wealth bankers are in a more comfortable position, with UBS trying to retain many of them along with the client relationships they oversee, particularly in Asia.
Employees in Credit Suisse’s wealth unit have been told to dust off their resumes to be considered for potential management roles once the third round of appointments is completed, Bloomberg has reported.
As part of the latest changes, UBS also announced that it is taking over Credit Suisse’s shipping finance business and will merge it with its aircraft financing business. The businesses, which help wealthy clients finance their jets and yachts, will form the global lending unit, to be led by Ruben Mangold.
Among other announcements:
- Marcello Chilov, Credit Suisse’s former chief executive officer in Brazil and head of wealth management for Latin America, will run UBS global wealth management in Latin America. Formally, Chilov will remain CEO of Credit Suisse in Brazil as well as its head of investment banking in the country until that entity is dissolved.
- Andreea Grob will run a new market region for Turkey, Israel, Greece and Africa.
- Puneet Matta, based in India, will be head of global wealth management for India and non-resident Indians.
- Michael Marr will run global wealth management for Australia.
Most appointments made across UBS’s top leadership ranks have been filled by existing management board members or long-term UBS senior leaders. The executive board contains only one Credit Suisse holdover, Ulrich Koerner, who remains CEO of the acquired bank. In the wealth management unit, just five of the more than two dozen leadership appointments made last month came from Credit Suisse.
--With assistance from Denise Wee.
(Updates with shipping unit in seventh paragraph.)
Author: Myriam Balezou, Marion Halftermeyer and Cristiane Lucchesi
