UBS Also Considering External CEO Candidates, Ermotti Says

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG will also consider external candidates to replace Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti, signaling the race is broadening beyond the current roster of internal contestants.

“My job is to prepare and to present to the board as many candidates possible internally,” Ermotti said in a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday when asked about his succession. “The role of the board is to also evaluate external candidates and find the best solution for the future.”

Ermotti previously signaled his intention to step down in roughly a year, once the integration of Credit Suisse is complete. Top lieutenants including asset management head Aleksandar Ivanovic, wealth co-heads Iqbal Khan and Rob Karofsky as well as Chief Operating Officer Beatriz Martin have been seen so far as vying for the role.

UBS is currently migrating Credit Suisse clients onto its own IT and it will subsequently switch off the erstwhile rival’s systems in a bid to save costs. That move will result in job cuts, which UBS has estimated at about 3,000 in its home market.

Any new CEO will have to navigate UBS through several challenges including planned bank reforms in Switzerland that may end up imposing hefty new capital requirements. The lender is also seeking to strengthen its US operations and it’s pursuing growth in many regions across the globe.

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher has floated the idea of Ermotti taking over from him at some point. Ermotti declined to say during the interview on Tuesday if he’s interested in Kelleher’s role.

Ermotti, 65, previously led UBS as CEO from 2010 until 2021 and subsequently became chairman of Swiss Re AG. He returned to UBS in early 2023 to lead the firm through the integration of Credit Suisse.

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