Christian Leitz

Head, Corporate Responsibility Management, UBS AG

Biography

NAME: Dr LEITZ, Christian Markus

Date of Birth:                         28 October 1963, Bruchsal (Germany)
Marital Status:                        Married, two children (18 and 21)
Nationality:                             German (Switzerland residency permit C, New Zealand permanent residency)

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: [Tertiary only]
1994 Oxford University (St. Antony's College) - DPhil Modern European History
1989 University of the West of England, Bristol - BA (Hons) Humanities

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS:

1991-1993 Wolfson College, Oxford, UK - Junior Research Fellow
1993-1996 University of the West of England, Bristol, UK – Lecturer
1996-2003 University of Auckland, New Zealand - Associate Professor
2003- date UBS AG, Zurich, Switzerland – Executive Director

Summary of responsibilities at UBS

  • Head of Corporate Responsibility Management, and Group Historian (Communications & Branding functions)
  • Secretary of the Corporate Responsibility Committee and Head of Historical Archives (Company Secretary functions)
    Global coordinator and manager of UBS-internal network of corporate responsibility experts
  • Organizer of peer network of corporate responsibility experts
  • Organizer of peer initiative on banking & human rights ("Thun Group of banks")
  • Coordinator of UBS corporate responsibility reporting (in Annual Report and on website, see www.ubs.com/responsibility), including UBS Sustainability Disclosure Assurance Audit
  • Responsible for analyzing financial sector-relevant NGO activities and communications with NGOs
  • Responsible for communications with ESG / sustainability rating agencies and analysts and for supporting client-facing UBS staff with input on UBS's sustainability performance
  • Liaison for corporate responsibility commitments of UBS (e.g. UN Global Compact)
  • "Competence center" for all issues and questions pertaining to the history of UBS (see www.ubs.com/history)

Key roles and achievements

  • As Secretary of the Corporate Responsibility Committee I advise the Board of Directors on corporate responsibility developments and issues. I assist the Committee's Chair (Axel Weber) in setting the agenda for the committee, prepare the accompanying documentation and coordinate or support the implementation and completion of the Committee's and its Advisory Panel's actions. Periodically, I am also tasked with putting together papers on key corporate responsibility topics for the committee.
  • As Head of Corporate Responsibility Management I am tasked with the monitoring and analysis of the expectations and concerns of UBS's stakeholders relating to corporate responsibility. To support me with this task, I maintain a wide UBS-internal and external network of contacts to relevant units and colleagues. I have contributed to the development of various UBS CR strategies, including on climate change, human rights, controversial activities, and values-based investing. On various topics, e.g. human rights, nuclear power, climate change, controversial weapons, food "speculation", I have developed the firm’s communications platforms and also communicate on these topics with UBS stakeholders (and regularly present on corporate responsibility and associated topics to internal and external audiences. I co-coordinate UBS's repeatedly successful efforts to gain a top performance result for the external assurance of its CR/sustainability reporting.
  • As Group Historian I initiated the discussions to celebrate 150 years of UBS and authored the history brochures "UBS – 150 years of banking tradition" (2012), "UBS in Deutschland. Gestern, heute, morgen" (2006), "The making of UBS" (2005), and drafted histories of UBS in the UK and of UBS in the 1960s, and of a range of history articles on the UBS intranet.

Previous academic responsibilities (select)

  • Teaching responsibilities:
    • Undergraduate and postgraduate courses in 20th century history
    • MA and PhD supervision
  • Administrative responsibilities (University of Auckland):
    • Associate Dean (International), Faculty of Arts
    • Chair of Faculty of Arts International Committee
    • Chair of Faculty of Arts scholarships working group
    • Member of Faculty of Arts Budget Committee
    • Member of Faculty of Arts Planning and Resources Committee
    • Member of Faculty of Arts Staffing Committee
    • Member of University International Committee
    • Member of University Work and Family Policy review committee
    • Member of Department of History Undergraduate Studies Committee
  • Research and publications:
    • Author or editor of six books, author of ten sections in books, and of twelve refereed journal articles (on the international history of the 1930s and 1940s)

Languages

German            - native speaker
English              - near-native speaker
Spanish             - reading excellent, writing and speaking good French - reading very good
Portuguese       - reading good

Leisure-time activities

Spending time with my family and walking our dogs Developing our garden
Exploring the history of our (17th century) house Reading a wide range of books
Playing and watching football

An Interview with Christian Leitz (Head, Corporate Responsibility Management, UBS AG)

The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2014
A World without Walls; Opportunities for Peace Building in a Time of Global Insecurity
(Berlin; November 7th - 10th, 2014 - Held Parallel to the Berlin Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall")

"From Non-Governmental to Governmental in Sustainability … in Banking"

A Lecture by Christian Leitz (Head, Corporate Responsibility Management, UBS AG)
The Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy 2014
Berlin Economic Forum 2014-24: Sustainable Economies, Sustainable Technologies, Sustainable Industries
(Berlin; November 8th - 12th, 2014 - Held Parallel to the Berlin Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall)