Who’s likely to run UBS in the US?
Oswald Grubel, chief executive of UBS, allegedly plans to shake-up top management of the bank’s struggling brokerage business in the US, which might include replacing the current head Marten Hoekstra.
But Grubel will have a difficult task convincing a suitable candidate to take over from Hoekstra. The UBS brand in the US has been severely tarnished by the fallout from an ongoing American tax investigation on the bank’s offshore accounts. The business is also losing money – latest results show a loss of SFr35m in the first quarter.
UBS was not prepared to comment on any management shake-up of its US wealth unit, but just in case Grubel is looking to replace Hoekstra, WealthBulletin looks at some possible candidates for one of the toughest jobs in finance.
Peter Scaturro, former global head of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs
Scaturro resigned from the top wealth job at Goldman Sachs late last year and might be looking for a new challenge. He’s certainly has plenty of management experience to offer UBS. Before joining Goldman’s Scaturro ran US Trust, the up-market wealth unit of Bank of America, and before that he ran Citi Private Bank.
But UBS might be a bit concerned about Scaturro’s time at Citi, where he ultimately took the blame for a scandal involving the bank’s wealth unit in Japan and was forced to resign.
Robert McCann, the former head of Merrill Lynch Global Private Clients
McCann left Merrill after Bank of America completed its acquisition of America’s biggest brokerage in January and is known to be looking for a new challenge.
McCann has plenty of experience, having worked at Merrill for 26 years. But UBS might question his managerial expertise given his inability to stay on in a senior position after Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill.
Frances Aldrich Sevilla-Sacasa, the former president of US Trust
Sevilla-Sacasa, one of the best-known female wealth advisers in the US, resigned as president of US Trust last December.
At the time, Sevilla-Sacasa said she had no plans to immediately re-enter the wealth business, but six months on she might be looking for a new challenge.
Sevilla-Sacasa worked under Scaturro at Citi and is extremely well connected in US wealth management circles. Nevertheless, UBS might question her ability to manage the rough and tumble world of a US brokerage house given her experience at running businesses dealing predominately with American blue blood individuals and families.
James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley
The dream appointment for UBS, Gorman ran Merrill Lynch’s global wealth business as was considered so good at the job that he was brought over to run the equivalent business at Morgan Stanley by John Mack, chief executive of the Wall Street investment bank.
Since promoted to co-president, Gorman is viewed as one of the most powerful Wall Street bankers and is unlikely to move to anything but one of the best jobs in banking.
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