SINGAPORE - Swiss bank UBS announced that its board of directors will nominate former DBS chief financial officer Jeanette Wong and former New York Federal Reserve chief William Dudley for election to the board.
The election to the board of UBS Group is set to take place at an annual general meeting (AGM) for shareholders on May 2, it said on Tuesday (Feb 26).
The Business Times understands that a nomination generally results in a seat on the board. Past nominees who have made it to the board include former senior adviser in private equity Julie Richardson in 2017, and Joseph Yam, previously the chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, in 2010.
Until March 2019, Ms Wong was the group executive responsible for the institutional banking business at DBS Group. Previously, she also served as DBS Group's chief financial officer between 2003 and 2008.
She has spent more than 30 years working in different senior management roles within the financial industry in Singapore. She started her career in 1982 with positions at Banque Paribas and Citibank, before going on to JPMorgan, where she spent 16 years in its Asia and emerging markets business.
For Mr Dudley, he was chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York between 2009 and 2018. In that capacity, he also served as the vice-chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Of the nominees, UBS chairman Axel Weber said: "With their outstanding careers in leading financial services firms and central banks, they will further strengthen the UBS board with their excellent know-how upon their election at the upcoming AGM."
He added that it is "essential for the board that its members reflect the strategic and geographical core businesses of the group" and said he was "particularly happy" to strengthen the board's competencies in Asia-Pacific and the US, two of UBS's key growth markets.
UBS also announced that two members on the board of UBS Group, Ann Godbehere and Michel Demaré, are not standing for re-election. Instead, they will be retiring as they have served since 2009 and are reaching their 10-year term limit.
