Nothing is currently more important to UBS than the successful integration of Credit Suisse. The major bank is now bringing one of its most high-profile bankers from Switzerland for this task, as finews.asia has learned. This move is triggering a reshuffle domestically.
Simone Westerfeld was already promoted within UBS Switzerland in September, she then took over the significant retail banking business in the Swiss division of the major bank (Personal & Corporate Banking, P&C).
Vacancy at the Integration Office
As of July 1, she will become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Group Integration Office, which is responsible for integrating Credit Suisse (CS) at the group level. This information comes from an internal announcement from the major bank on Thursday, which finews.asia has obtained. UBS confirmed upon request the transfer of Westerfeld, who holds Swiss and German citizenship.
As finews.asia also reported, there was a recent departure from the Integration Office led by UBS veteran Michelle Bereaux: The former COO Penny Tunbridge, who once headed the office of former CS Chairman Axel Lehmann, has left the company.
Bereaux was urgently searching for a replacement, as nothing is currently more crucial at UBS than the successful and timely integration of CS.
Swiss COO Takes Over Retail Banking Business
Westerfeld's reassignment, who was briefly considered a potential new head of the state bank Postfinance, is causing further changes at UBS Switzerland.
Swiss CEO Sabine Keller-Busse is moving her former right-hand woman, Swiss COO Sabine Magri (pictured below), to the top of the retail banking business (Personal Banking). This area will now also include the consumer credit business of BANK-now and the card business (UBS Card Center), increasing the importance of the position.
Sabine Magri (Image: UBS)
With this shift, Magri, who also worked on the digital initiative Key4, will hand over the pending integration of CS's Swiss business.
New Area Created
Andreas Künzler will now take over from her, assuming the role of Swiss COO and leading the integration for the Swiss region. Künzler is a UBS banker by background and recently led the operational merger of CS and UBS Switzerland alongside CEO Keller-Busse. Therefore, he is already familiar with his upcoming task.
Kaja Bertoli, for her part, will lead the newly created Products, Channels & Marketing area. As the previous head of Client Solutions Switzerland (CSS) – UBS's customer contact center – she has repositioned this area.
Bertoli and Künzler will also join the management team of the Swiss P&C division and the regional management from July; Künzler will also join the executive board of UBS Switzerland, subject to regulatory approval.
