UBS has appointed two women for nomination to election to its board of directors, replacing two other members, as the latest management overhaul announced by the embattled Swiss bank.

Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Isabelle Romy are to be nominated for election to the board of the Zurich-based lender at the annual general meeting on 3 May 2012. They replace Bruno Gehrig and Kaspar Villiger, who will not stand for reelection.

The move will be noted at a time when the wealth management industry has traditionally been a male-dominated profession. There have even been some reverses: Last year, Sallie Krawcheck, the boss of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's wealth management business, left the firm.

Di Mauro has been a professor of economics, economic policy and international macroeconomics at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz since 2001. Between 1994 and 1997 she was an economist for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, and since 2010 she has been a member of the European Advisory Group of the IMF. Di Mauro was also the first woman to become a member of the German Council of Economic Experts.

Romy is a partner at the Swiss law firm Niederer Kraft & Frey, which is based in Zurich and active internationally. Since 2002 she has been a member of the Sanction Commission of the SIX Swiss Exchange and has been its vice-chairman since 2008.

"I thank Bruno Gehrig for his commitment to, and the valuable expertise he displayed while serving on, the UBS board. At the same time I am pleased to propose to shareholders two internationally recognised personalities for election to the board. I am convinced that the valuable experience they have gained in the economic and legal spheres will enrich the board and prove advantageous to UBS," said UBS board chairman Villiger.

Former Bundesbank president Axel Weber, who supports both nominations,  is expected to take over as chairman as was already reported last November, after Villiger's retirement in 2013. His nomination is also subject to the election in May.

Female board quota

The two women will join the only other women on UBS’ board of 11, Ann Godbehere. This brings the female ratio up to 27 per cent – more than double the current European average of 11.7 per cent and more in line with the UK government’s recommendation of 25 per cent by 2015.

According to the European Professional Women’s Network, the number of women on boards grew to 11.7 per cent at the top 3001 European companies in 2010, up from 9.7 per cent in 2008 and 8.5 per cent in 2006, the best progress since the think tank first started recording the ratios. Of a total 4,875 board seats in Europe, women occupy 571.