Tom Naratil and Iqbal Khan are sitting in a conference room in UBS’s Weehawken office overlooking the Hudson River when Euromoney arrives to interview them.
Naratil, an American history buff, is sharing the story of Alexander Hamilton’s death by duel – close to UBS’s office and memorialized in a statue outside – leading Khan, born in Pakistan and relocated to his mother’s native Switzerland as a child, to joke that his new role is an education in America.
It’s surprising to see the two side by side and so at ease. A year ago the idea that they would be working together seemed ridiculous. Back then, Naratil’s right hand man was Martin Blessing, who had taken up his co-head role of UBS Global Wealth Management in February 2018.
Khan, on the other hand, was running the international wealth management (IWM) business very successfully at Swiss rival Credit Suisse.