Peter Wuffli
Peter A. Wuffli | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 26, 1957 Switzerland |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, former CEO of UBS AG |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | CEO of UBS AG |
Peter A. Wuffli (born 26 October 1957) is a Swiss entrepreneur who assumed the roles of president and CEO at UBS AG in December 2001, following his tenure as chief financial officer and head of UBS Asset Management.
Education and personal life
A native Swiss, Wuffli completed his studies at the University of St. Gallen in 1981 and obtained a doctoral degree in 1984. He further enhanced his executive education by attending the Advanced Management Program at Wharton School. He is married to Susanna, and together they have three children.
His father, Heinz R. Wuffli, served as general director of Credit Suisse between 1967 and 1977, stepping down amid the controversy known as the Chiasso affair.
Career
Beginning his professional journey in 1984, Wuffli joined McKinsey & Co as a management consultant and advanced to partner within McKinsey Switzerland’s leadership by 1990. Between 1994 and 1998, he held the position of CFO at SBC and was part of its group executive board. After SBC merged with UBS AG in 1998, he was named president of the Group Executive Board in 2001 and elevated to CEO in 2003.
In May 2006, under his leadership, UBS acquired Brazilian Banco Pactual, marking a strategic move to penetrate Latin America’s expanding financial markets.
Wuffli stepped down from his CEO role at UBS on 6 July 2007, declining exit payments estimated around $10 million. His resignation, decided during a board meeting in Valencia, was associated by industry analysts with declining profits, hedge fund setbacks, and underwhelming stock performance. This transition also indicated UBS’s realignment toward wealth management and investment services.
It became public in February 2009 that substantial multi-billion dollar write-downs had contributed to Wuffli’s abrupt departure.
In November 2018, Wuffli took on an advisory role at fintech company Sygnum and was appointed to its board of directors in July 2019.
Other engagements
Together with his wife, Wuffli established The Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization in December 2006.
He currently chairs the board of Partners Group Holding, holds a board membership at the Zurich Opera House, and leads the board of IMD (International Institute for Management Development) located in Lausanne.
Additionally, Wuffli served as president of Freunde der FDP (Friends of the FDP), an organization founded in 2004 to support Switzerland’s FDP political party.
Publications
- Liberale Ethik. Orientierungsversuch im Zeitalter der Globalisierung. Stämpfli Verlag, Bern 2010,
- Inclusive Leadership, A Framework for the Global Era. Springer 2016,