07 February 2020
•
Tidjane Thiam took over at Credit Suisse in mid-2015
Credit Suisse's chief executive Tidjane Thiam has resigned amid a power struggle which followed a spying scandal at the bank.
Thomas Gottstein, the head of Credit Suisse's domestic business, will take over as chief executive and be the first Swiss national to head the bank since Lukas Mühlemann stepped down in 2002.
In a statement Friday morning, the board of directors said it had unanimously accepted Thiam's resignation, following the presentation of the Swiss lender's fourth-quarter and full-year results. Chairman Urs Rohner said Thiam has made an "enormous contribution" to the bank since he joined in 2015. He will step down on Feb. 14.
It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt"
"Under Tidjane's leadership, Credit Suisse simultaneously repurposed our strategy, restored our capital, reduced our costs, de-risked our business, promoted diversity and engendered an exceptional level of co-operation between various divisions," he said.
"It is to his credit that Credit Suisse is standing on a very solid foundation and has returned successfully to profit."
The spying scandal began in September when former international wealth management head Iqbal Khan spotted and confronted an investigator following him in Zurich, sparking international headlines and a police investigation. The Credit Suisse board hired an outside law firm to review Khan's surveillance, and on Oct. 1 said it had been ordered by its chief operating officer, who resigned. The law firm said it found no evidence Thiam knew about the surveillance.
Thiam had earlier this week appeared to have the upper hand in Rohner's bid to oust him, gaining the backing of a number of Credit Suisse's top shareholders.
Top shareholders including Harris Associates, Silchester International Investors and Eminence Capital had warned the board of directors ahead of this week's meeting that they shouldn't take action against the CEO. Instead, they urged Rohner to back Thiam or step down himself, in an unusual public display of support for the CEO. Demands that Credit Suisse's board ignored.
"I have agreed with the Board that I will step down from my role as chief executive," Thiam said on Friday. "I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place."
Credit Suisse later admitted its former human resources head Peter Goerke had also been tailed, prompting an investigation by Swiss financial watchdog FINMA.
Gottstein is CEO of Credit Suisse Switzerland and has been in the banking industry for 30 years, including more than 20 at Credit Suisse. His experience includes 13 years spent in investment banking in London, as well as in private banking.
Subscribe to International Investment's free, twice-daily, newsletter
