UBS CIO Ashton-Rigby leaves for J.P. Morgan after less than a year

Mark Ashton-Rigby, the current chief information officer (CIO) for UBS’s investment bank, is leaving for J.P. Morgan after less than a year in the job.

Ashton-Rigby is set to take the role of head of banking technology at J.P. Morgan in New York in August, according to sources. He joined UBS in May 2012 after 14 years at Deutsche Bank, where he held a number of senior technology roles in both its investment bank and transaction services division, but is set to exit after less than a year.

The last 12 months have been a tumultuous time for UBS’s technology division, as the bank attempts to shrink its IT budget from CHF3.6bn to CHF2.4bn. Over 2,000 tech jobs were cut in October, as UBS made greater use of outsourcing and offshoring roles to cheaper locations. We were told at the time that Ashton-Rigby was drafted in with a remit to cut costs at the Swiss bank.

UBS’s tech shake-ups were led by global CIO, Michele Trogni, who retired from banking in April after 25 years at the bank. Oliver Bussmann, the former global chief information officer at SAP, will take the role of global CIO at UBS on 1 June.

UBS has been hit by a number of key employee departures over the past two months. Roland Phillips, head of European consumer and retail investment banking, left for Centerview Partners in April, while Karl Knapp, its head of industrial investment banking, exited for Blackstone Group in the same month. Mark Zanoli, its head of U.S. technology investment banking, also departed in March.

Its MENA CEO Anthony Iliya also left to “pursue other interests” in March along with Matthew Odgers, the head of its investment bank in the region.

J.P. Morgan declined to comment. UBS didn't return requests for comment.