Richard Wohanka joins UBP as CEO of Asset Management and Alternative Investments

Today, Union Bancaire Privée announced that they have hired Richard Wohanka, former CEO of Fortis Investment Management, as the new CEO of the Bank’s Asset Management and Alternative Investments division. Mr Wohanka, who is a finance specialist of international renown, also becomes a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. “We are pleased that Richard Wohanka is joining UBP”, said Guy de Picciotto, CEO of UBP. “His global vision, his management skills and his long experience in international finance and asset management are a major advantage for our development strategy.” By recruiting Mr Wohanka, UBP is confirming its strategy of developing a global asset-management platform, concentrating on the creation and distribution of products, marketing, the quest for performance and service quality for private and institutional clients. UBP Asset Management now has four activities: institutional asset management, the sale and distribution of products, alternative asset management and long-only funds. These changes are in line with the new international economic and financial environment and the Bank’s strategic development, which demands greater integration of its global activities. Richard Wohanka sees UBP as “a leader in the industry and a pioneer in hedge-fund investments. I am pleased to associate myself with the development of an institution that is as dynamic and innovative as UBP, whose corporate culture is so strong.” He will report directly to Guy de Picciotto. Richard Wohanka has more than twenty-five years of experience in asset-management, during which time he had many successes in growing the establishments that he ran, as CEO of Fortis Investment Management from 2001 to 2009 and as CEO of WestLB Asset Management from 1997 to 2001. Previously, he worked for thirteen years at Paribas, three of which as CEO of Asset Management. Richard Wohanka, 56 years old and multilingual, is an economic history graduate of both Harvard and Cambridge. Christophe Bernard, UBP’s Chief Investment Officer and André Gigon, Head of Institutional Clients and Product Distribution, will report directly to Richard Wohanka. Mr Wohanka’s arrival is UBP’s sixth major appointment this year, following on from those of Richard Katz as a Member of the Board of Directors, Sara Sprung as the Chief Investment Officer of Alternative Investments, Matt Auriemma as Co-Head of Structural Risk Analysis, Jonathan Morgan as Head of Research of Alternative Investments and Daniel Kelly as Chief Risk Officer of Alternative Investments.

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