Swiss multinational major UBS Group is relocating its senior executives within the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) wealth business set-ups to bolster operations in the Gulf region.
Christl Novakovic, currently heading the EMEA wealth business, will move to the Middle East in late 2026. Niels Zilkens, regional head of wealth management, will relocate to Doha, as per an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.
“The Middle East is central to our growth ambitions, offering significant long-term opportunities for both our business and our clients,” said UBS global co-head of wealth management Iqbal Khan and Middle East president Beatriz Martin Jimenez in the memo.
Christl Novakovic, also known as Christine Novakovic, chairs UBS Global Wealth Management EMEA, the UBS Art Board and the philanthropic UBS Optimus Foundation Europe. After serving the Swiss major between 1992 and 1996, she rejoined it in 2011 as Head of Corporate and Institutional Clients and took on additional responsibility as Head of Investment Bank Switzerland in 2014.
Apart from serving the UBS, she also had a brief stint at HypoVereinsbank AG, where she served as a member of the Group Executive Committee, handling leadership roles in the group’s private banking, retail banking and asset management divisions.
Novakovic’s rich profile also includes being the chair of the CEO of Citibank’s consumer and retail bank in Germany. During her eight years with the American firm, donned several regional and global roles within the corporate and investment bank in Frankfurt and Hong Kong.
Zilkens, another UBS veteran, possesses over two decades of leadership experience in the banking and financial sector, apart from being a recognised expert in wealth management, private banking, and global markets. As Head of Wealth Management Middle East at UBS (since 2023), he currently leads a team dedicated to delivering tailored financial solutions to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), family offices, and institutional clients based in the region.
Zilkens, through his leadership capability and industry expertise, has helped UBS to extend its presence and provide world-class investment strategies and wealth planning across the multiple financial hubs in the Gulf region, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Before being elevated as the head of Wealth Management Middle East, Niels held several senior leadership positions at UBS, Credit Suisse and Clariden Leu, covering European and Middle Eastern clients.
Toby Vogel will lead WM Europe Domestic, SE, Monaco, Spain & Portugal, UK, Jersey & Guernsey. He will also continue in the role as CEO of UBS Europe SE (a major German-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS Group).
Carl von Wrede will head GFIW EMEA (Global Family Office and Institutional Wealth Solutions), covering both international and European domestic.
Vogel, who joined UBS in 2004, went on to handle leadership responsibilities across departments like Equity Sales and Sales Trading, International Cash Equities Distribution Europe, EMEA Equities Distribution, EMEA Equities and EMEA Equities Distribution, EMEA Equities and Equities Distribution, Global Wealth Management Germany, Investment Bank, Global Wealth Management Germany, Italy and France, Asset Management Europe SE and Wealth Management Europe SE, before becoming the CEO of UBS Europe SE in 2024.
Along with Vogel, Gianluca Gera, another UBS veteran, will now be handling the combined WM Europe International division, bringing together the Northern and Southern regions. Gera, who previously served JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Nomura, joined UBS in 2010, following which he handled leadership responsibilities within the Swiss giant’s wealth management verticals.
WM Eastern Europe, Israel, Africa & Overseas will be headed by Katya Lehmann.
The leadership moves follow recent high-profile departures of senior Gulf wealth bankers, including some hired not more than two years ago. The departures included bankers Rana Al Imam and Ali Khonji, hired from HSBC in 2024. The bank had hired Al Imam to expand its business in Abu Dhabi, while Khonji had been tasked with running its wealth unit in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
In response, UBS recently appointed Borja Martinez-Laredo to lead its Abu Dhabi office, immediately after announcing the opening of a new branch there. The bank maintains additional Gulf operations in Dubai, Riyadh, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Novakovic, a UBS veteran for over 15 years, stated that the EMEA wealth business will be organised into five coverage sectors from 1st June, allowing her to focus on supporting the Middle East team’s growth initiatives.