UBS shuffled its management ranks in three divisions, realigning branches and reassigning some managers, according to memos seen by On Wall Street.
The changes follow a challenging first quarter for the firm’s wealth management operations. The executive shuffle also comes following
In Chicago, Market Head Dennis Drescher is retiring. He had been with the company for 16 of his 44 years in the business, according to FINRA BrokerCheck.
In the wake of Drescher's departure, UBS is combining two units in its Midwest division — Chicago Tower and Metro Chicago Markets — into a single entity to be led by Greg Achten. He’ll oversee operations in Chicago and nearby communities such as Oak Brook and Naperville, Illinois, as well as Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, according to a memo.
CEO Ron Kruszewski received praise for leading the firm's wealth management unit to a record for revenue, despite costly legal setbacks.
As Vice President, Underwriting Research and Development, Jackie Waas is involved in investigating and developing underwriting innovations, with an emphasis on concept development, research, presenting new ideas, and participating in concept validation activities.
She started her career with RGA in 2018 as Director of Underwriting Services, where she supported direct-to-consumer accelerated offerings, including assisting with the auditing of the e-underwriting program and helping develop digital health scores while supporting the Digital Health Data team.
Prior to joining RGA, Jackie was an Underwriting Business Consultant and automated underwriting systems subject matter expert with Legal & General America for four years after working in an underwriting capacity with the company for nine years. She also had five years of underwriting experience with AXA Equitable and formerly worked as a marketing manager for Steele Rubber Products.
Jackie received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in communications and a minor in psychology from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. She is a Certified Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute. She is also an Associate, Reinsurance Administration; Associate, Insurance Agency Administration; and an Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance. Jackie also holds the Professional, Customer Service Institute designation, and she is a member of the Association of Home Office Underwriters.
Guizhou Hu is Vice President, VP, Head of Risk Analytics at RGA, where he supports global RGA underwriting initiatives and produces internal and external thought leadership pieces based on RGA's in-depth risk analytics. Before joining RGA in 2018, Guizhou served as Vice President, Chief Decision Analytics, for Gen Re and as a Senior Vice President for BioSignia Inc. Guizhou holds a medical degree from Beijing Medical University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cornell University.
Craig Tomasino, the manager who oversaw the Metro Chicago Market, will serve as branch manager in Oak Brook.
In Ohio, UBS is reducing its operational structure from three units to two (the firm dubs these units markets). These units will be led by Peter Kaldis and Jon Ramey.
UBS is also folding its Tulsa and Oklahoma City branches into its Midwest market, overseen by manager Mike Mimick.
With that change, UBS plans to dissolve its North Texas-Oklahoma market. The firm will realign some Texas branch offices into a new Texas market comprised of Midland, Tyler, San Angelo and Bryan, Texas. UBS executive Ben Tarantino will oversee operations.
UBS branches in Corpus Christi and San Antonio will fold into the Houston market, led by Scott Skinner.
Sam Parker, who oversaw the Central Texas Market, will serve as branch manager in Austin.
UBS is also making operational changes further west. Branches in San Francisco and Marin County are being folded into the firm’s Northern California market led by Erin Borger. Two UBS branches in Fresno and Merced, California, plus one in Honolulu, are being added to the company’s Silicon Valley market headed by Rob Giordano.
Mike Williams, who oversaw the San Francisco Hawaii Market, will now serve as branch manager in San Francisco office, according to the memo.
The changes come after UBS Wealth Management Americas reported pretax profit fell 6% year-over-year to $328 million.
While the company has the most productive advisors when compared to its wirehouse competitors, ts brokerage force has shrunk somewhat. Headcount fell to 6,790 advisors from 6,956 for the year-ago period.
