Desmond Kuek, UBS Global Wealth Management
Based in Singapore, Kuek will report to Joe Stadler, head of ultra high net worth and to Edmund Koh, UBS president for Asia-Pacific, according to an internal UBS note.
Kuek is an addition to the team and is not replacing anyone, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman noted. UBS Wealth has another vice chairman in Singapore, Tracey Woon, who joined in 2016 from Citigroup.
Before UBS, Kuek was the president and group CEO at the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) Corporation from 2012-2018, according to a statement from the firm.
Before that, he held government roles as permanent secretary at Singapore’s minister of environment and water resources, chief of army and chief of defense force.
Kuek’s appointment comes after recent changes to UBS Wealth’s leadership team.
In December, the firm appointed Amy Lo and August Hatecke as co-heads for Asia-Pacific. They replaced Koh, who became UBS’ Asia-Pacific president in October when Kathy Shih decided to retire.
As co-heads, Lo will focus on the firm’s North Asia businesses, while Hatecke will look after Southeast Asia.
Separately, UBS Asset Management also appointed Raymond Yin as its new APAC head last week, replacing Rene Buehlmann, who decided to take a sabbatical.
