Martin Blessing to join Group Executive Board of UBS

Blessing to assume role as President Personal & Corporate Banking and President UBS Switzerland from Lukas Gaehwiler
Gaehwiler to assume new role as Chairman of the Region Switzerland
Changes effective 1 September 2016

Zurich, 11 May 2016 – Martin Blessing will succeed Lukas Gaehwiler as President Personal & Corporate Banking and President UBS Switzerland in the Group Executive Board (GEB) of UBS, effective 1 September 2016. Blessing was CEO of Commerzbank AG until the end of April this year. During his 15 years on the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank, half of which as its Chairman, Blessing significantly shaped the firm. He managed the successful integration of Dresdner Bank and led the bank back to stability and a robust business model following the financial crisis. Today, Commerzbank is active in more than 50 countries, finances 30 percent of Germany’s foreign trade and is the undisputed leader in financing German SMEs. The firm serves around 15 million clients with over 50,000 employees. Prior to Commerzbank, Blessing was at Dresdner Bank and the consultancy McKinsey. He studied in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Frankfurt am Main, Germany, following a bank apprenticeship.

Also effective 1 September 2016, Lukas Gaehwiler will take on a new strategic role as Chairman of the Region Switzerland, focusing on clients and other selected mandates. At the same time and at his own request, he will step down from his current operative roles as President UBS Switzerland and President Personal & Corporate Banking (P&C), as well as from the GEB. For more than six years, Gaehwiler has run the business of UBS in Switzerland very successfully. In that time, UBS regained its position as the unquestioned market-leading universal bank in its home market. He oversaw a sustained increase in profitability during challenging market conditions, with significant new client growth, as well as the successful digitalization of the business, continuous improvement in customer satisfaction, and the effective implementation of a new legal structure for UBS in Switzerland.

Group Chief Executive Officer Sergio P. Ermotti: “I thank Lukas Gaehwiler for his excellent work and am personally pleased that he will continue to remain close to UBS in his new role. With Martin Blessing we gain a professional with a proven track record and significant experience in all areas of the business for UBS. I am certain he will further advance our business in Switzerland and beyond.”

UBS Group AG

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