The circle of candidates to replace outgoing UBS chairman Axel Weber is reportedly drawing tighter, as at least one key candidate drops off the shortlist.
The Zurich-based bank is shortlisting ex-Unicredit bank CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier (pictured below) as a candidate for UBS' chairman position, «Reuters» reported on Friday, citing sources familiar. For months the bank has been preparing its succession and has now set itself till year-end to select a replacement for Chairman Axel Weber.
Weber, will not seek to extend his mandate which ends next year, as finews.com reported in September. Shareholders will vote on the candidate at the bank’s annual general meeting next April. 
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The former head of the Swiss central bank Philipp Hildebrand, who joined BlackRock in 2012, is no longer on the list, «Reuters» says, citing sources. The likelihood of outgoing Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann succeeding Weber are also slim, as he is subject to a one-year cooling-off period on his departure from the central bank, the outlet says.
UBS considered Christoph Franz, the chairman of Roche, the frontrunner, but he turned the bank down, as finews.com reported. Mustier, a 60-year-old French national, has been managing a special purpose acquisition vehicle he set up after stepping down at Unicredit last year.
