In his new role, Friedman will be charged with overseeing global investment strategy and policy while working closely with other wealth management functions, as well as global asset management, and the investment bank.
Joining Friedman in key roles will be Mona Sutphen, the former White House deputy chief of staff for policy to US President Barack Obama, who will lead macro analysis, and Mark Haefele, an alternative asset manager, who will lead investment analysis.
The chief investment officer function will focus on wealth protection and optimized financial returns consistent with client objectives.
Friedman and his team will also be responsible for defining and proposing appropriate investment allocations and strategies and for communicating them across the platform.
Friedman will report to Jurg Zeltner, CEO of wealth management at UBS.
Friedman is the former CFO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
After leaving the Gates Foundation in March 2010, Friedman managed a private investment vehicle, Asymmetry. He has also been a senior advisor to Lazard, an investment bank, and a senior advisor to the board of directors of Actis.
Prior to the Gates Foundation, from 2002 until 2007, Friedman worked as an investment banker with Lazard. He also served as a White House Fellow and an assistant to the US Secretary of Defense for special projects in the Clinton Administration.
