UBS' new CEO Ralph Hamers began his new job with much the same informal tone as he ran Dutch lender ING for seven years.
«Hi, I'm Ralph, I'm excited and very honored to be your CEO,» UBS new CEO Ralph Hamers told employees in a video posted to Linkedin on his first day on the job. The Dutch banker formally took over from long-standing CEO Sergio Ermotti on Sunday.
Tieless and speaking from a living space in tasteful, muted green tones, Hamers (pictured below) said his priorities are to get UBS through the pandemic in operational health, and ensuring he can maintain the Swiss bank's momentum following a favorable third-quarter showing.
«How can we actually say agile, because one thing is for sure: there is going to be a lot of change from the outside, coming at us anyway, because that's the only constant,» Hamers said.
The 54-year-old is an adherent of technology in banking and is expected to kickstart innovation at the $2.6 trillion wealth manager. Hamers was a lifer at ING until joining UBS just two months ago.
«Options For The Future»
What can his employees expect from working with him? «I always trust people from the start so you can only lose my trust,» Hamers said, adding he likes to work in teams, empower staff, and delegate. He asked UBS' 71,230 staff to continue focusing on clients.
Hamers gave little indication of his future plans, beyond general words like flexibility, agility, and solidity. «The foundation is there. We have a very solid performance, and that gives us all the options for the future,» he said.
