UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti inspires and challenges at the launch of MBA 2024.
Skills, interest, courage, luck – and the humility to recognise just how many of your achievements may be down to luck: these were the key ingredients for career success that UBS CEO Sergio P. Ermotti shared with MBA students at Oxford Saïd on 23 September 2024.
In this first Distinguished Speaker Seminar of the academic year, Ermotti was interviewed by Oxford MBA alumna Tatiana Fullick, now an executive director at UBS. She had previously been employed by Credit Suisse, which was acquired by UBS in early 2023. Their conversation irresistibly veered towards the challenges of leading a merger or acquisition and issues facing the banking sector in Europe.
MBA careers
Students who want to move into finance cannot hope to close the gap of 10 years’ experience on day one of their MBA, but ‘you can catch up if you are talented and motivated,’ said Ermotti. He emphasised the importance of courage, particularly in making decisions that ‘take you out of your comfort zone’, observing that choosing to pursue a fulltime MBA was already one such decision.
Enjoying what you do is crucial. He said that students should not be afraid to change their minds or stop if they discover that they are not enjoying a particular job or sector: careers and lives are getting longer, and you should not allow yourself to be stuck on a path you dislike for 40 years.
Leading mergers and acquisitions
UBS agreed to acquire Credit Suisse in March 2023, and Ermotti was asked to return as CEO (he had stood down in 2020) to lead the transition. For Credit Suisse employees, Fullick said, this was the start of a ‘six-month panic attack’, but Ermotti pointed out that there was discomfort on the other side too, as UBS employees feared ‘losing power’. He described focusing on people throughout the process, believing it was ‘important that employees understood how complementary the two businesses were; there was good talent and people willing to reset could flourish.’ He made it a priority to align the HR processes so that, within six months, all employees were working to the same salary, appraisal, and promotion systems. By that time, 20% to 30% of key positions in the top tiers of leadership were taken by former Credit Suisse employees.
The future of banking
The acquisition by UBS allowed Credit Suisse to be ‘rescued’ without cost to taxpayers. However, Ermotti believes that it puts the liquidity requirements of banks under further scrutiny. Digitisation means that it takes ‘a nanosecond’ to withdraw money, creating the potential for fast and invisible runs on banks.
The banking regulatory structures need to be rethought in the light of new technologies, he said. ‘Disintermediation has created value but also created hidden risks’. He also suggested that there would be further consolidation of banks in Europe, in order to compete globally.
