Ermotti to Step Down as Swiss Re Chair to Take UBS Role; Interim Chair Named

Sergio P. Ermotti is stepping down as the chairman of Swiss Re, following his appointment as the new CEO of UBS.

Swiss Re’s Board of Directors will immediately start the search to find a successor. In the interim, board member Jacques de Vaucleroy will chair the Board of Directors until a new chairperson is elected by an Extraordinary Meeting of shareholders.

To fully concentrate on his role at UBS, Ermotti will step down after the Swiss Re’s April 12 annual general meeting and a short handover period, although he is assuming the UBS role on April 5.

In order to facilitate the transition, the Swiss Re board has nominated de Vaucleroy as vice chairman and lead independent director, subject to his re-election as board member by shareholders, effective post AGM.

Ermotti returns to UBS where he was group chief executive officer from 2011 to 2020, when he “successfully repositioned UBS following the severe challenges arising from the global financial crisis,” UBS said on March 29. Ermotti will lead the bank’s planned acquisition of the troubled Credit Suisse.

“In response to these extraordinary circumstances, we will ensure the highest standards of good governance as well as stability and continuity in managing this transition,” said Ermotti, who was elected to Swiss Re’s Board of Directors in 2020 and has been chairman of the board since April 2021.

“I am convinced the proceedings now proposed are in the best interest of our shareholders, and I am confident that the transition under the leadership of Jacques de Vaucleroy will be well managed. Swiss Re has very clear strategic goals and is well positioned to deliver on all its targets,” he added.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Sergio for his significant contributions to Swiss Re and his dedicated leadership as chairman over the last two years,” said Renato Fassbind, current vice chairman. “We are grateful for his continued support during the transition period and wish him all the very best for the new challenges and opportunities ahead.”

de Vaucleroy was elected to the Board of Directors of Swiss Re in 2017. He chairs the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Governance and Nomination Committee and the Investment Committee. He is also chairman of Swiss Re Europe S.A. and Swiss Re International SE.

He was a member of the Management Committee of AXA Group from 2010 to 2016, serving as chief executive officer for North, Central and Eastern Europe and CEO of Global Life & Savings. de Vaucleroy also held a number of positions in boards of directors and supervisory boards of AXA companies. Before that, he spent 24 years at ING, where he held senior roles in banking, asset management and insurance. He was a member of the Executive Board of ING Group from 2006 to 2009, in charge of insurance and asset management in Europe.

Source: Swiss Re and UBS

Topics Swiss Re