In 1977 he joined SG Warburg & Co. Ltd, (now part of UBS Investment Bank), in the Corporate Finance department. He moved into management to help implement Warburgs' "Big Bang" merger with three Stock Exchange firms in 1986. In 1994, Richard became Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Equities business. Following Swiss Bank Corporation's acquisition of S.G. Warburg in 1995 (he was responsible for much of its logistical implementation), Richard continued as Equities COO through SBC's merger in 1997 with the Union Bank of Switzerland which created UBS, and UBS's acquisition of Paine Webber in the U.S.A.