John Savercool

John Savercool serves as Managing Director and Head of the UBS U.S. Office of Public Policy. This office covers all of the primary business units within UBS, including the Investment Bank, Wealth Management and Global AM. In this capacity, John directs the firm’s lobbying, political and policy advocacy efforts at the federal level. He manages a staff of five in Washington in support of this mission.
John is a veteran of Washington of 34 years. He began his career with U.S. Congressman Mike Oxley of Ohio and former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. John then embarked on a 17-year career with Texas Senator Phil Gramm, the former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. John also served as chief of staff for Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in 1993. In his long Senate career, John focused on a broad range of legislative and policy issues.
John left the Senate in 1999 for a career in the private sector. He was tapped to be the vice president for federal affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA) in 1999 and served in that capacity until 2003. While at the AIA, John spearheaded the insurance industry’s efforts in passing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002. He also led the industry’s efforts to open new markets for U.S. property and casualty insurance products abroad, specifically in China and India.
In 2003, he was selected by UBS to become the firm’s first full-time, senior lobbyist to direct the firm’s advocacy activities in Washington. John’s lobbying targets to date have included all major banking and securities issues, regulatory reform in financial services and tax legislation, among others. John also directs the firm’s political action committee and manages the firm’s political relationships in Washington. Within UBS, John serves on a number of high-level operations, cross-business coordination and risk management committees that drive business and operating activities in the U.S., Canada and Latin/South America.
John was born in Endicott, New York and is a graduate of Frostburg State University (Maryland). He has spent most of his life in the Washington, D.C. suburbs where he currently lives with his wife Mary K. John and Mary K. have two grown daughters and a grown son.