Anita M. Sands

Anita M. Sands

Chief Operating Officer, UBS Wealth Management Americas

Age: 34

Place of Birth: Drogheda, Co. Louth

Where you live: New York, New York

First Job: Executive Director, Software Industry Center, Carnegie Mellon University

What it taught me: The importance of asking the right question” and stepping back to ‘think about your own thinking’ in order to get to the right solution.

Status: Single

Family:

Three things people would be surprised to know about me:

1. I am a former all-Ireland public speaking champion

2. I have a diploma in piano from the London School of Music

3. I co-authored a report on the Global Irish Diaspora with Kingsley Aikins in 2009

Best advice you could give someone starting out: Never underestimate the value of having great mentors and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Taking constructive criticism on board may be hard at first, but it’s a great way to become self aware and to improve as a leader.

Anita Sands is Group Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of UBS Wealth Management Americas and is responsible for technology, operations and corporate shared services, along with designing and executing the organization’s transformational strategy.

Previously, she was Managing Director, Head of Transformational Management for Global Operations and Technology at Citigroup and before moving to the US, Anita was SVP of Innovation and Process design at Royal Bank of Canada.

Anita’s background outside Financial Services includes a PhD. in Atomic and Molecular Physics and a First Class Honors degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics from Queen’s University of Belfast.

Having received a Fulbright and O’Reilly Foundation scholarship, she attended Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated with highest distinction with a Masters in Public Policy and Management.

She is former board member of a number of Irish organizations including the Ireland Fund of Canada and attended the Global Irish Economic Forum at Farmleigh.