Stephanie Eckermann appointed as member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG announced that Stephanie Eckermann has been appointed a new member of the Executive Board. She will be leading the newly formed Post-Trading division, which comprises the Securities Services and Fund Services businesses with the post-trading service provider Clearstream.
Eckermann has been managing director at Deutsche Börse Group since 2020. She is currently responsible for Strategy & Controls Post-Trading in the division of the designated CEO Stephan Leithner. In addition, Eckermann has been a member of the Executive Board of Clearstream Holding AG since 2020 and CEO of the Executive Board of Clearstream Banking AG since 2023. Prior to joining Deutsche Börse Group, she was a partner at McKinsey & Company and a member of the global leadership team in Corporate and Investment Banking.
Martin Jetter, chair of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG, said in a statement: “She has played a decisive role in shaping Clearstream’s business in recent years. We are convinced that Stephanie Eckermann will successfully develop the Group’s post-trading businesses.”
Theodor Weimer, CEO of Deutsche Börse, said in a statement: “In the last four years she has played a vital role in shaping Clearstream’s agenda and was responsible for the major business transformation into the two new entities, Clearstream Securities Services and Clearstream Fund Services. With her background and expertise, Stephanie Eckermann is excellently positioned to further drive our important post-trading business both strategically and operationally.”
ISLA appoints Krystyna Beck as advisor for Regulatory Affairs
The International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) announced that Krystyna Beck has recently joined ISLA to support the Association’s work on digital regulations and the broader UK regulatory landscape, with a particular focus on the Edinburgh reforms.
Beck brings over 25 years of experience in the securities finance industry to ISLA. A qualified lawyer, with a focus on regulatory issues impacting securities finance, repo, and collateral, she possesses a deep understanding of the legal and regulatory landscape across the entire securities finance value chain.
Before joining ISLA, Beck was a Regulatory Specialist at BNP Paribas Securities Services. Prior to BNP Paribas, she built experience across financial services, working at some of the largest global financial institutions including State Street, Deutsche Bank, and Lehman Brothers.
Adrian Dale, head of Regulation & Markets, said in a statement: “This appointment highlights not only our continued focus around key advocacy and regulatory streams across Europe with our members, regulators, and policymakers, but also reflects the ever evolving and growing regulatory environment underpinning the securities lending and financing sector. Krystyna’s deep knowledge and experience will be integral to the organisation’s long-term success.”
IOSCO Board re-elects CFTC chair Behnam
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has re-elected CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam as a vice chair for the term 2024-2026, a role to which he was originally elected in October 2022. Behnam helps guide IOSCO’s policy development and overall management.
“Serving as vice chair since 2022 has been an honor and a privilege, given IOSCO’s vital role as the international standard setting body in financial markets regulation,” said chair Behnam, in a statement. “I am grateful for the support and trust of my fellow Board members, and I look forward to further collaboration with the board leadership team as IOSCO continues its important work of protecting investors, maintaining fair, efficient, and transparent markets, and addressing systemic risk.”
In addition to steering the CFTC’s engagement in an array of policy work within IOSCO, Behnam has co-led IOSCO’s Financial Stability Engagement Group and currently co-chairs the Carbon Markets Workstream within IOSCO’s Sustainable Finance Task Force.
UBS announces changes to Group Executive Board
- Iqbal Khan named President UBS Asia-Pacific in addition to Co-President Global Wealth Management (GWM)
- Rob Karofsky named President UBS Americas and Co-President GWM
- George Athanasopoulos and Marco Valla become Co-Presidents of the Investment Bank and join UBS Group Executive Board (GEB)
- Damian Vogel to succeed Christian Bluhm as Group Chief Risk Officer and join GEB
- Stefan Seiler, Head Group Human Resources and Corporate Services, to expand remit to include Group Communications and Branding
- Edmund Koh to become Regional Chair Asia-Pacific
- Naureen Hassan and Ulrich Körner to retire from UBS
UBS announced changes to its Group Executive Board (GEB) taking effect in July as part of its execution on short- and long-term priorities.
Iqbal Khan will assume the role of president UBS Asia-Pacific, effective 1 September 2024, and become Co-President GWM. He will relocate to Asia later this summer together with his family. This is the first time that a divisional president will be based in Asia-Pacific. Rob Karofsky will become president UBS Americas and co-president GWM after having successfully led the UBS Investment Bank as co-president since 2018 and as President since 2021.
Khan and Karofsky will jointly manage GWM across all regions to ensure an unparalleled global offering for UBS’ wealth management client franchise. In addition, in their new regional roles, Iqbal and Rob will further leverage the capabilities of the integrated firm across all business divisions.
George Athanasopoulos and Marco Valla will join the GEB as co-presidents of the Investment Bank. Athanasopoulos joined UBS in 2010 and held various senior roles across the Investment Bank including head of Global Markets since 2020. In addition, he has been head of Global Family and Institutional Wealth since 2022. Valla, who joined the firm in 2023 as co-head of Global Banking, has held increasingly senior managerial roles and advised on approximately 300 completed transactions across various industries.
Damian Vogel will be appointed chief risk officer for the Group and become a member of the GEB, succeeding Christian Bluhm, who agreed to delay his retirement last year to support the firm in the first phase of the integration. Since joining UBS in 2010, Vogel has held various risk-related leadership roles across GWM, Personal & Corporate Banking and region Switzerland before being appointed chief risk officer for Credit Suisse and Group Risk Control head of Integration in 2023. Bluhm will remain with the firm in an advisory capacity.
In addition:
- Stefan Seiler, head of Group Human Resources and Corporate Services, will expand his responsibility to include Group Communications and Branding led by Marsha Askins, who will newly report into him.
- Ulrich Körner, CEO of Credit Suisse AG, will step down from the GEB at the end of June following the merger of the parent banks UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG. He will retire from UBS later this year.
- Edmund Koh, president UBS Asia-Pacific, will step-down from the GEB effective 1 September 2024. He will remain at UBS as Regional chair Asia-Pacific, continuing to support our clients and businesses in the region.
- Naureen Hassan, Regional president of UBS Americas, has decided to retire from UBS, effective 1 July 2024. Since joining the firm in 2022, Naureen has played an instrumental role in positioning our business for growth, including preparation for the transition to a single US Intermediate Holding Company.
UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti said in a statement: “Since acquiring Credit Suisse last year, we have continued to deliver on our integration priorities while staying close to our clients, positioning us well for future growth. I would like to thank Christian Bluhm, Edmund Koh, Ulrich Körner and Naureen Hassan for their exceptional contributions to the firm over the years, especially during this period of change. The appointments to the Group Executive Board we are announcing today will allow us to continue to progress on our integration journey and realize the expected synergies and efficiencies, while putting even more emphasis on our long-term priorities and growth prospects, particularly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.”
The investment bank also highlighted the merger of UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG, which takes place on 31 May 2024, and the move to a single Intermediate Holding Company in the United States is set for June.
“Their completion is another critical step in our integration journey and enables us to further harness the power of the combined organization. As we progress on pursuing our long-term ambitions, it is crucial that we increase our focus on sustainable, strategic growth, especially in the Americas and Asia-Pacific,” according to a company statement.