Switzerland-based UBS has appointed JP Morgan Chase executive Sarah Youngwood as its group chief financial officer.
Youngwood, who ran JP Morgan’s consumer business, will succeed Kirt Gardner as Group Chief Financial Officer in May 2022. Gardner will spend two months supporting Youngwood through a transition, UBS’s announcement said.
Sarah Youngwood spent more than two decades in JP Morgan and was Chief Financial Officer its Consumer & Community Banking line of business since 2016. Since 2020, she was also responsible for leading finance for the firm’s global technology unit, as well as the diversity & inclusion team.
She previously served as JPMorgan’s head of investor relations and had also worked in its investment bank and before that spent 14 years in different roles in the Financial Institutions Group within JPM’s Investment Bank in Paris, London and New York.
Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers, commented:
I’m also excited to welcome Sarah Youngwood to the UBS team in her role as Group CFO and Group Executive Board member. With her strong track record, in-depth finance expertise, and experience across various banking areas, Sarah is ideally suited to lead our finance function into the future.
Earlier this year, the European Central Bank said that it wanted more diversity in executive positions and on the boards of banks after it reported that only 8% of chief executives of European credit and investment institutions were held by women.
Gardner has been Group Chief Financial Officer since 2013 and a member of the UBS Group Executive Board since 2016. He has also served as CFO for UBS Wealth Management, helping navigate the company through many fundamental changes in the industry.
Hamers said:
I want to personally thank Kirt for his leadership, commitment and important contributions to UBS over the past nine years. He was instrumental in managing and maintaining the firm’s strong financial position and safeguarding client and investor trust through different market environments – and for being a role model for our culture. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
