UBS to Put First Female CEO of Major Australian Bank on Board

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG will nominate Gail Kelly, who in 2008 became the first female chief executive officer of a major Australian bank, for its board of directors, it said Friday.

Kelly was CEO at Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s second biggest lender, for seven years until 2015. Profits at the bank more than doubled during her tenure and so did the lender’s market capitalization. 

“As one of the most influential voices in the Asia Pacific financial industry and an acknowledged leader, Gail has an outstanding reputation,” UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said in the statement. He also highlighted Kelly’s experience in a merger situation.

UBS last year agreed to take over competitor Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue engineered by the Swiss government. The current year will likely be the most difficult in the process of absorbing the acquisition due to the sticky costs involved, Kelleher said in November.

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After her Westpac role, Kelly served as a senior global advisor to the UBS CEO and its group executive board from 2016 to 2023, according to the statement. She is now expected to succeed Dieter Wemmer, the longest serving UBS board member, who isn’t standing for re-election. 

The board will nominate Kelly, a 35-year banking veteran, at the UBS’s annual general meeting on April 24, the bank said.

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