Maria Luisa Barja
About Maria Luisa Barja
Maria Luisa Barja is an Executive Director at UBS, where she has worked since 2005, focusing on internal audit quality assurance. She holds advanced degrees in Computer Science and Knowledge Based Systems from Universidad del País Vasco and Heriot-Watt University.
Work at UBS
Maria Luisa Barja has held multiple roles at UBS, starting as an IT R&D Manager from 1996 to 2000. She then transitioned to the position of IT Project Manager from 2002 to 2004. Since 2012, she has served as an Executive Director in Zurich, a role she has maintained for over a decade. Additionally, she has been with UBS in the Executive Director capacity since 2005, totaling 19 years of service. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Quality Assurance function within UBS Group Internal Audit in Switzerland, focusing on maintaining and enhancing audit standards.
Education and Expertise
Maria Luisa Barja studied Computer Science at Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, where she earned her M.Sc. She furthered her education at Heriot-Watt University, achieving both an M.Sc. in Knowledge Based Systems and a Ph.D. Her academic background provides a strong foundation for her extensive experience in IT and quality assurance processes within the financial sector.
Background
Before joining UBS, Maria Luisa Barja worked at Swiss International Air Lines as the Head of the IT Project Management Office for 11 months in 2001. She began her career at CERN as an IT Specialist from 1995 to 1996. These roles contributed to her development in IT management and project oversight, which she later applied in her positions at UBS.
Achievements
Maria Luisa Barja has been involved in internal audit quality assurance at UBS, where she focuses on maintaining and enhancing audit standards. Her extensive experience in managing quality assurance processes within a major financial institution underscores her contributions to the field. She has played a significant role in ensuring that UBS adheres to high standards of internal audit quality.