UBS loses US activism defense staff to BofA, Wells Fargo

UBS Group AG has lost members of its activism defense team in the US to rival banks, people with knowledge of the matter said.

New York-based managing director Jonathan Lurvey is going to Bank of America Corp. to focus on mergers and acquisition in the energy sector, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. 

Eric Wiley, also based in New York, is joining the mergers and acquisition group at Wells Fargo & Co., the people said.

The pair will join their new firms after a period of leave, the people said. Representatives for Bank of America and Wells Fargo declined to comment. A spokesperson for UBS didn’t respond to a request for comment.

New campaigns by shareholder activists reached record levels globally in the first six months of the year, data from Lazard Inc. show. While the pickup in was largely concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, North America also saw an increase. In all, the number of new activists campaigns totaled 147, up 7% from 138 during the same period in 2023 and 29% above the five-year average, Lazard said.

Both Lurvey and Wiley worked at Credit Suisse before the bank was taken over by Swiss rival UBS last year. Earlier in his career, Lurvey worked at private equity firm Blackstone Inc., his LinkedIn profile shows. Wiley has in the past held roles at Gordon Haskett Research Advisors and Morgan Stanley, his profile shows.