UBS CEO Set to Become Swiss Re Chairman, Reuters Reports

(Bloomberg) -- Sergio Ermotti, the chief executive officer of UBS Group AG, will become chairman of Swiss Re AG next year after he steps down from Switzerland’s biggest bank, Reuters reported.

Swiss Re’s current chairman, Walter Kielholz, will stand for re-election at next month’s annual shareholder meeting, and would then step down in time for Ermotti to take his place as of the 2021 meeting, Reuters said, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the matter.

A Swiss Re spokesperson had no immediate comment. A spokesperson for UBS declined to comment.

UBS last month named ING Groep NV’s Ralph Hamers as its next chief executive officer to succeed Ermotti, one of the longest-serving European bank CEOs. Ermotti, who became UBS’s CEO in 2011, cemented his legacy early in his tenure, responding to the financial crisis by making deep cuts to trading and increasing the focus on managing money for the rich.

Ermotti’s final year leading UBS -- his ninth year at the helm of the Swiss bank -- was marred by huge legal fines, questions about succession planning and a deepening slump in the share price. Hamers will succeed Ermotti effective Nov. 1.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Winters in Zurich at pwinters3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam

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