About

Christoph Kurth began his legal career in private practice in Switzerland and the US in the area of litigation and arbitration, including class action litigation, working through large disputes in a number of areas, including banking. He joined the Swiss offices of UBS in 2006 where eventually he was put in charge of the Global Wealth Management’s business litigation and investigations portfolio. During and in the aftermath of the global financial crisis he managed large scale criminal and regulatory investigations involving courts, governments and regulators across the North America, Europe, Asia and Switzerland, setting up the first fully equipped in-house eDiscovery team in the industry. Kurth also helped the senior leadership to transform UBS from a bank that had the image of a harbour for tax cheats to the most successful and highly regarded wealth manager it today is. He moved to UBS’s Singapore office in 2011 and in 2014 he became general counsel for the Wealth Management business for the entire Asia Pacific region. As a distinguished financial lawyer and leader in a successful global business Kurth’s area of expertise touches on all areas of laws and regulations relevant for his industry. His multi-jurisdictional experiences at the forefront of industry and regulatory developments have given him a deep understanding of global and local regulatory change agendas and trends. In his capacity as head of litigation he advised on high stakes litigation and complex regulatory investigations across the US, Europe and Asia. ‘I transformed the mindset of team members from being an expert in laws and regulation, which they still are, to being a catalyst of change and an enabler of sustainable business’, says Kurth. ‘That also means that my people do think more strategically, helping the firm to navigate rapid change and increased complexity with foresight, identifying opportunities for competitive advantages. We are not asking “why” but “how” with the business realising that the legal function is not merely a cost center but an important partner in any success story’.