Ralph Hamers

Ralph Hamers
Hamers in 2015
Born	Ralph Adrianus Joseph Gerardus Hamers[1] (1966-05-25) 25 May 1966 (age 58)[2] Simpelveld, Netherlands[2]
Education	Master of Science (MS)Business Econometrics/Operations Research
Alma mater	Tilburg University
Children	2

Ralph Adrianus Joseph Gerardus Hamers (born 25 May 1966) is a Dutch businessman who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of UBS Group from September 2020^[3] to April 2023.^[4] He was the CEO of Dutch bank ING Group from October 2013 until June 2020.^[1]

Early life

Ralph Hamers was born on 25 May 1966.^[2][5] He holds a master of science (MS) in business econometrics/operations research from Tilburg University.^[5][1]

Career

Hamers joined UBS in September 2020 as a member of the group executive board and became group CEO on 1 November 2020, replacing Sergio Ermotti.^[3][6][7][8]

Prior to UBS, Hamers spent 29 years at Dutch bank ING Group.^[5]

Hamers joined ING in 1991 and was the CEO of ING from 1 October 2013 to June 2020.^[9][10] During his time as CEO, he steered the bank to profitability while repaying the Dutch government money it received during the financial crisis. Also under his leadership, ING invested heavily in its digital transformation, relying far more on its online offering and less on its branch network than most rivals, leading to the bank having one of the lowest cost-to-revenue ratios in Europe at the time.^[11]

In 2018, there was an uproar in the Netherlands following a proposal to raise Hamers' yearly salary from 1.6 million euro to 3 million euro.^[12] Following the uproar, the Board withdrew the offer, leaving his salary unchanged.

In December 2020, a Dutch court ordered the public prosecutor to open a probe into Hamers' involvement in his previous role as CEO of ING in the company's failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations in 2018. Although the investigation was settled in 2018 with a €775 million fine paid by ING and, according to Bloomberg News, the public prosecutor stated that "it didn’t find enough evidence for criminal accusations against individuals at ING, including the top management",^[13] Hamers' investigation could continue into 2022 at the earliest.^[14][15]

Shortly after the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS in March 2023, Hamers stepped down as CEO with Sergio Ermotti returning as CEO. Hamers would take on a role as an advisor during a transition period.^[16][17][18]

Other activities

• Institute of International Finance (IIF), Member of the Board.^[19]

Personal life

Hamers is married, with twins.^[20]

References

1. "Ralph Adrianus Joseph Gerardus HAMERS - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
2. Ron Kosterman, As CEO, you need to show your vulnerable side too, Elsevier 21/28 December 2013
3. "UBS appoints Ralph Hamers as Group Chief Executive Officer". ubs.com. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
4. UBS-Generalversammlung: Darum geht es. In: SRF.ch, 5. April 2023.
5. "R.A.J.G. (Ralph) Hahmers". ING. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
6. Morris, Stephen; Megaw, Nicholas; Smith, Robert. "UBS names ING's Ralph Hamers as next chief executive". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
7. "Ralph Hamers to leave ING". ING.com. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
8. Patrick, Margot (20 February 2020). "UBS Puts Digital First With New Tech-Savvy CEO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
9. "Executive Profile* Ralph A. J. G. Hamers". Bloomberg. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
10. Straight Talk with Ralph Hamers, CEO ING Group. ING (News and Politics). 1 October 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
11. Michael Shields and Bart H. Meijer (February 19, 2020), Switzerland's UBS starts new chapter with Dutch tech innovator as chief Reuters.
12. Increase salary Dutch ING CEO, Dutch news, March 8, 2018.
13. "UBS CEO Probed Over ING Money Laundering Issues". Bloomberg.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
14. Sterling, Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, Toby (9 December 2020). "Dutch prosecutors to investigate UBS chief over ING money laundering case". Reuters. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
15. Colchester, Margot Patrick and Max (4 September 2018). "Europe Goes Harder on Money Laundering With Record ING Fine". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
16. "Sergio Ermotti returns as UBS CEO to oversee Credit Suisse takeover". CNBC. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
17. "The Board of Directors of UBS Group AG (UBS) announces today that it has named Sergio P. Ermotti as its new Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 5 April 2023 | UBS Globale Themen". global (in German). Retrieved 30 March 2023.
18. Ziady, Michelle Toh,Hanna (29 March 2023). "UBS brings back Sergio Ermotti as CEO to oversee Credit Suisse rescue | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
19. "The Institute of International Finance > About Us > Board". www.iif.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
20. ING.com (30 December 2013). "CEO Ralph Hamers featured in Elsevier". Archived from the original on 10 March 2018.

External links

Media related to Ralph Hamers at Wikimedia Commons