UBS said it has appointed Todd Tuckner as group chief financial officer, effective when the Swiss bank completes its takeover of Credit Suisse. He will replace Sarah Youngwood, who has decided to leave the bank when the deal closes.
Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner will become a member of the UBS executive board once the deal closes. UBS said he will be responsible for ensuring Credit Suisse’s operational continuity, while supporting the integration, as he knows both banks well. Koerner rejoined Credit Suisse in March 2021 after 12 years at UBS, after previously spending 11 years at Credit Suisse.
UBS said on Tuesday it expects the legal close of the takeover to take place "in the next few weeks". It said the integration will be carried out in a phased approach and UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG will continue "for the foreseeable future" to have their own subsidiaries and branches, clients and counterparties.
UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse on March 19 for SFr3bn (US$3.36bn) in a shotgun rescue backed by Swiss authorities. It said on Tuesday the combined firm will operate across five business divisions, seven functions and four regions, in addition to Credit Suisse AG, and it set out the structure and leadership team for the combined group.
Tuckner joined UBS in 2004 and is currently finance chief and head of business performance and risk management for wealth management, and previously held top finance roles in the US and Switzerland.
Youngwood only joined UBS in March 2022. She joined from JP Morgan, where she had been CFO of its consumer and community division since 2016, and previously ran investor relations after a 14-year spell in the financial institutions group in the investment bank.
UBS announced several other changes: Beatriz Martin Jimenez will become head of non-core and legacy and president of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. She will remain chief executive for the UK and stay as group treasurer until a successor is named. That will give Martin Jimenez a major role – in charge of selling or running down all the Credit Suisse assets that are not wanted.
Michelle Bereaux will be group integration officer. Bereaux has spent 23 years at UBS and was most recently chief operating officer and UK country head of the asset management business. Previous roles have included COO and head of human resources for the investment bank.
Stefan Seiler will head human resources and corporate services. Seiler joined joined UBS in 2011 and has headed human resources since 2018.
UBS said Koerner, Tuckner, Martin Jimenez, Bereaux and Seiler will all be on the executive board.
Rob Karofsky will remain president of the investment bank and other top executives will keep their roles: Iqbal Khan will remain president of global wealth management; Sabine Keller-Busse is president of personal and corporate banking and the Swiss business; and Suni Harford is president of asset management.
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said the new leadership team and structure will set UBS up to build on its existing strength. "Together, we will solidify and represent the Swiss model for finance around the world, one that is capital-light, less reliant on taking risk and anchored by stability and high-touch service," Ermotti said in a statement.
Updated story: Adds details on changes