(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG named investment banking chief Rob Karofsky to run its U.S. business and jointly oversee wealth with Iqbal Khan, in a management shakeup that paves the way for a race to succeed the CEO Executive Sergio Ermotti.
Khan, who previously had sole responsibility for the main wealth unit, will now also become president of the Asia Pacific region, the Zurich-based bank said in a statement on Thursday. Khan will relocate to Asia later this summer, the bank said.
UBS is revamping its executive board as it prepares to complete its legal merger with Credit Suisse and focus its strategy on key markets in the Americas and Asia. Karofsky's elevation helps implement Ermotti's goal of expanding in the U.S., while Khan's role enables him to focus on high-growth regions.
“With these changes, Iqbal and Rob are the main candidates for the UBS CEO post after Sergio Ermotti retires, likely in a few years,” said Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Vontobel.
Part of the rationale for the changes was to ensure that Khan and Karofsky have more rounded experience running different areas of the bank to strengthen their bid in a potential CEO race, according to a person familiar with the matter. matter.
The split also gives them distinct areas in which to prove themselves – UBS's challenge to grow in the US is a tall order, while the wealth business is a key focus for the bank, said the person, who asked not to be named. discussing private details. . That ensures both executives will be highly motivated, the person said.
Bloomberg previously reported Karofsky's promotion. UBS shares were little changed in Zurich trading and are up about 8% this year.
Read more: UBS is considering the US CEO role for Karofsky in the Strategic Restructuring
UBS remains focused on completing the integration of its former rival and has pushed back the expected date for Ermotti to step down from his second term leading the bank to early 2027. The chief executive is seeking to steer the bank for growth beyond the merger . and has said it is working to build its presence in the US, where the bank has long been underdogs compared to Wall Street peers.
Read more: UBS's Ermotti says his tenure as CEO could last until 2027
Other names potentially in the mix for the top spot are Beatriz Martin, who heads the critical unit that is closing Credit Suisse's assets, and Sabine Keller-Busse, who heads UBS's Swiss business.
UBS named Karofsky, 57, sole head of its investment banking unit in 2021, drawing on his background in trading. He joined UBS in 2014, helping with a digital transformation of the markets unit. The investment bank helped support a firm-wide return to profitability last quarter, delivering a particularly strong performance in the Americas while completing the integration of its counterpart Credit Suisse.
Khan, 48, who helped lead Credit Suisse's international wealth business for several years before moving to UBS in 2019, was then made sole head of global wealth. UBS is the world's largest asset manager outside the US.
Former Credit Suisse chief executive Ulrich Koerner will step down and leave the combined bank later this year, according to the statement.
In other appointments, George Athanasopoulos and Marco Valla will become co-presidents of the investment bank and join the executive board. Damian Vogel will succeed Christian Bluhm as Group Chief Risk Officer. Edmund Koh, the current president of Asia-Pacific, will become the regional chairman.
Naureen Hassan, who previously served as head of the Americas, will retire from the bank.