A top human resources executive who joined UBS just three years ago is leaving the Swiss bank, finews.com has learned. 

Donna Burns, a managing director at Zurich-based UBS, is leaving the bank, a source familiar with her exit told finews.com. Burns is the worldwide head of human resources for the Swiss bank's 23,618-employee wealth management arm.

Burns is a high-flyer in her field, having spent nine years at Goldman Sachs, where was also an MD, and at British bank Coutts. She didn't respond to a request for comment from finews.com. A spokesman for UBS confirmed her exit. Marc Montanaro, a U.S.-based HR executive, will replace her temporarily, the spokesman said.

Series of Exits

Burns had been supplanted last year by American executive Dana Ritzcovan, who won the unit's top HR job when UBS' private bank merged with its U.S. brokerage. Ritzcovan, who was promoted to group managing director as part of the megamerger, left for News Corp. just five months later. Burns then stepped into Ritzcovan's shoes at the wealth unit last June. 

She is among several top executives to leave the wealth unit in the last 18 months, as finews.com reportedLast year, UBS poached top J.P. Morgan HR executive Cicilia Wan as group-wide head of employee relations at the Swiss bank. Wan's hire came against the backdrop of a rape accusation made by a former graduate employee against her then-superior at UBS' investment banking arm.