The Banker Board – April 27, 2023

Christian Bluhm – group chief risk officer, UBS

UBS has announced that Christian Bluhm will retain his position as group chief risk officer for the foreseeable future to help with the bank’s acquisition of Credit Suisse. This will delay the appointment of Damien Vogel to the role, which was originally planned for the beginning of May. 

In the newly created role of group risk control integration, Mr Vogel will, instead, be tasked with identifying the optimal structure for the combined company’s integrated group risk control function.

UBS’s CEO Sergio Ermotti said in a press statement: “Having both senior risk leaders actively engaged will help ensure that we’re well prepared and appropriately set up in an area that is crucial for our future success. I want to thank Christian for his readiness to continue in his role as group chief risk officer and Damian for his significant efforts in leading our integration efforts and designing our future risk function.”

Mr Bluhm announced his resignation from UBS last November to become a full-time professional photographer and pursue academic opportunities.

Gaston Gelos – deputy head of the monetary and economic department, Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has named Gaston Gelos as the new deputy head of its monetary and economic department (MED). He will join BIS in September from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he currently serves as assistant director for its western hemisphere department and mission chief for Mexico. 

Mr Gelos brings more than 30 years of experience within the industry, of which 24 have been spent with the IMF, which he joined in 1998. He was previously the head of its monetary and macroprudential policies division, in addition to leading its global financial analysis division, where he oversaw work for the IMF’s Global Financial Stability Report. He will succeed Stijn Claessens, who has been deputy head of the MED since 2018 and is due to retire.