President
“Thrive not survive” — that’s the mantra Suni Harford, the president of UBS Asset Management, adopted as her organization weathered the changes brought on by the pandemic.
Harford was quick to decide that UBS would not just tolerate the flexible work arrangements made necessary by the pandemic, but would embrace them as the dawn of a new era in how financial institutions do business.
And thrive her company did. In 2020, UBS Asset Management reported a return on attributed equity of 74.2%, up from 29.7% in 2019, even with its employees working remotely.
“Many companies are setting their goal at allowing remote work and ensuring that employees are not penalized for flexible work arrangements,” Harford says. “What we need is a much more ambitious goal of helping our employees ... thrive through our newly discovered, tech-driven flexibility.”
“We are at the edge of a paradigm shift in attracting and retaining talent,” she continued. “I hope to capture the opportunity presented by our investment in work-from-home technology and access.”
Harford felt the benefits of remote work very personally, recapturing the three hours per day she had previously spent commuting to and from New York. She invested some of that time back into UBS, but reserved part of it for herself, taking up painting as a new hobby during pandemic lockdowns.
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She recognized the increased productivity that flexible working arrangements and a broader focus on employee wellness brought to UBS, and says she expects that eventually those benefits will be recognized industrywide.
“Though it has been an extremely difficult 18 months, I think all companies and individuals will learn some lessons here that will be intentionally maintained going forward,” she said. “The pandemic has ... put a much-needed spotlight on employee well-being. Continuing to focus on the health and safety of our staff around the globe is something that will continue long after we’re back to the ‘new normal.’ ”
