Corporate Center

The Corporate Center partners with the business divisions to ensure that UBS operates as an effective and agile firm, responding effectively to trends in the financial industry according to a common vision and set of values.

Aims and objectives

The Corporate Center assists UBS in managing its businesses through provision of Group-level control in the areas of finance, risk, legal and compliance. It strives to maintain an appropriate balance between risk and return in the firm's businesses while establishing and controlling UBS's corporate governance processes, including compliance with relevant regulations. Each functional head in the Corporate Center has authority across UBS's businesses for his or her area of responsibility, including the authority to issue Group-wide policies for that area, and is directly reported to by his or her business division counterpart.

The Corporate Center is responsible for the following activities in UBS: financial, tax and capital management; risk control, legal and compliance activities; communicating with all UBS stakeholders; branding; and positioning the firm as an employer of choice. In addition, the Corporate Center also assumes operational responsibility for certain business units that provide shared services to the business divisions - among them the information technology infrastructure and offshoring units (including the service centers in India and Poland).

Organizational structure

The Corporate Center consists of operational functions plus the information technology infrastructure and Group offshoring units. It is led by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Corporate Center and its operational functions are managed by the Corporate Center executive committee.

Chief Operating Officer of the Corporate Center

The COO of the Corporate Center is responsible for its business planning and forecasting, as well as its human resources core processes. The holder of this position is responsible for information technology infrastructure, group offshoring activities and the corporate real estate portfolio for UBS's own use.

Group Chief Financial Officer

The Group Chief Financial Officer (Group CFO) is responsible for ensuring transparency within the reporting of financial results for both the Group and its businesses. The role also entails responsibility for the Group's financial reporting, planning, forecasting and controlling processes, as well as the provision of advice on financial aspects of strategic plans and mergers and acquisitions transactions. Further responsibilities include overseeing UBS's tax and treasury functions. In coordination with the Group General Counsel, the Group CFO defines the standards for accounting, reporting and disclosure and, together with the Chief Executive Officer, provides external certifications under sections 302 and 404 of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These duties are in addition to managing relations with investors and coordination of working relationships with internal and external auditors.

Group Chief Risk Officer

The Group Chief Risk Officer (Group CRO) is responsible for the development and implementation of UBS's risk management and control principles, including the development of appropriate control frameworks for market, credit and operational risks throughout the Group. The Group and business division risk functions work together to manage the following: formulating and implementing risk policies and control processes; developing risk quantification methods; monitoring associated limits and controls; ensuring that risks are completely and consistently recorded and aggregated; and ensuring that exposures are continuously monitored, controlled and remain within approved risk profiles. Each risk officer exercises specific risk control authorities.

Group General Counsel

The Group General Counsel, supported by the head of Group Compliance, has Group-wide responsibility for legal and compliance matters and for legal and compliance policies and processes. The position is responsible for defining the strategy, goals and organizational structure of the legal function, in addition to setting and monitoring the Group-wide quality standards for handling the legal affairs of the Group. Supported by the head of Group Compliance, the Group General Counsel is responsible for ensuring that UBS meets relevant regulatory and professional standards in the conduct of its business. Other responsibilities include supervision of the General Counsels of the business divisions and working closely with the Group CRO with regard to the operational risk aspects of legal and liability risk. Furthermore, the Group General Counsel represents UBS's interests to policy-makers and, in close cooperation with the Group CRO and Group CFO as appropriate, establishes Group-wide management and control processes for the Group's relationship with regulators.

Group Treasurer

The Group Treasurer is responsible for the management of UBS's financial resources and financial infrastructure. The position is responsible for Group-level governance of treasury processes and transactions relating to UBS's corporate legal structure, regulatory capital, balance sheet, funding and liquidity, and non-trading currency and interest rate risk. Additional responsibilities include the issuance of policies to ensure proper management and efficient co-ordination of treasury processes on a Group-wide basis. The Group Treasurer manages the Group's equity, taking into account financial ratios and regulatory capital requirements, with a view to maintaining strategic flexibility and adequate capitalization and ratings levels. The position manages UBS's holdings of its own shares and recommends corporate actions to the Group Executive Board (GEB) and the Board of Directors (BoD).

Head of Group Controlling & Accounting

The Head of Group Controlling & Accounting has UBS-wide responsibility for financial control. The position is responsible for the production and analysis of accurate and objective regulatory, financial and management accounts and reports. The Head of Group Controlling & Accounting communicates relevant financial and regulatory information to the BoD, the GEB, the audit committee, internal and external auditors and the CFOs of the business divisions. The position is also responsible for operating the UBS-wide quarterly and annual SOX 302-certification process and supports the Group CFO in the Group's planning and forecasting process.

Head of Group Tax

The Head of Group Tax is responsible for managing the bank's corporate income tax affairs, in such a manner that UBS achieves sustainable tax efficiency whilst acting in compliance with all applicable tax laws, regulations and other requirements. Group Tax also provides tax advice to the business divisions in relation to their business activities, and acts as a control function in the review of new business initiatives and transactions requiring pre-approval.

Head of Group Accounting Policy

The Head of Group Accounting Policy establishes Group-wide financial accounting policies and supports the business divisions and the Corporate Center in their responsibility to implement and enforce the Group accounting policy framework. The position manages relations with external auditors and accounting standards bodies.

Chief Communication Officer

The Chief Communication Officer is responsible for managing UBS's communications with its various stakeholders. Another key responsibility is the development of the strategy, content and positioning of communications of corporate importance, emphasizing transparency, consistency, speed and integrity. The Chief Communication Officer presents UBS and its businesses to the media, enhancing and protecting the firm's reputation. To employees, the position promotes understanding of the firm's strategies, performance and culture. The Chief Communication Officer also coordinates UBS's approach to corporate responsibility.

Head of Group Strategic Advisory & Financial Communication

The Head of Group Strategic Advisory & Financial Communication provides independent advice to the GEB (collectively and individually) and the BoD on strategic matters and supports the business divisions in the execution of their strategies. The position coordinates cross-business division strategic initiatives, drives the implementation of challenging Group strategic targets and measures progress towards goals. Additionally, it monitors the competitive environment and assesses the impact of opportunities and threats on Group strategy. The Head of Group Strategic Advisory & Financial Communication also communicates with investors, analysts and rating agencies about developments at UBS and is responsible for preparing and publishing quarterly and annual reports.

Group Head Human Resources

The Group Head Human Resources has Group-wide responsibility for the management of human resources, the development of the relevant human capital strategies as well as the governance over their effective implementation. This includes shaping a meritocratic culture of ambition and performance, building UBS's capacity to attract and retain high-quality, diverse and mobile talent, as well as creating an attractive and flexible work environment. The position is ultimately and directly responsible for the management of talent and development of leadership within UBS's senior management group. Additionally, Group Human Resources is mandated to design, develop and administer global compensation programs, to oversee regional and local benefit strategies, and to establish innovative and competitive incentive frameworks on a firm-wide basis.

Chief Technology Officer

The Chief Technology Officer is the head of the information technology infrastructure unit (ITI). This unit encompasses all information technology infrastructure teams across UBS, covering management of data networks, telephone and other communications systems, IT security, distributed computing and servers, mainframes and data centers, market data services, user services and desktop computing. The unit focuses on serving all UBS's businesses in a client-driven and cost-efficient way, as well as building towards a consistent technical architecture across UBS through the execution of the information technology infrastructure strategy.

Head of Group Offshoring

The Head of Group Offshoring is responsible for delivering offshoring services to the business divisions at appropriate and competitive prices. The service centers, which are operated by UBS staff in India and Poland, ensure that physical and technical features meet UBS risk and quality standards and comply with the operational risk framework.