Marcel Ospel
Marcel Louis Ospel | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 26, 2020 | (aged 70)
Nationality | Swiss |
Occupation | Banker |
Known for | Former CEO and Chairman of UBS |
Marcel Louis Ospel (8 February 1950 – 26 April 2020) was a Swiss banker and the longtime head of the multinational investment bank UBS.
Career
Ospel started his banking career as an apprentice at a small Swiss bank in 1965 with a monthly salary of CHF 110. He pursued further education in Switzerland and abroad, and joined the marketing and planning division of the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC) in 1977.[1] He rose to become the bank's head and the architect of its 1998 merger with the Union Bank of Switzerland to what is now UBS.[2] The new bank, of which he became CEO, was then the second-largest bank in the world.[3]
Ospel stepped down as CEO in 2001 to become chairman of the board of directors, but retained tight operational control over UBS.[2] In this role, he refused to continue financing the ailing national airline Swissair and was considered by many to share responsibility for its collapse in 2001.[1][3] His annual salary of up to CHF 26 million – exceptional in Switzerland but less so in international banking – was another topic of frequent controversy during his tenure as chairman.[1]
In the 2000s, Ospel pursued an aggressive growth strategy in investment banking and
Personal life
Ospel was born to a middle-class family in Basel. He later lived in Wollerau, Canton of Schwyz.[1]
Ospel died on 26 April 2020 of cancer at his home in Wollerau.[4][3][5][6] He is survived by his third wife Adriana Bodmer and his six children.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Baches, Zoé. "Marcel Ospel ist tot". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "Ex-UBS Chairman Marcel Ospel Dies". finews.asia. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Jones, Sam (27 April 2020). "Former UBS chairman Marcel Ospel dies at 70". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- New York Times, 22. Mai 2020.
- ^ Revill, John (27 April 2020). "Swiss banker Marcel Ospel, who helped create UBS, dies at 70". Nasdaq.
- ^ "Swiss banker Marcel Ospel, who helped create UBS, dies at 70". Malay Mail. 27 April 2020.