Credit Suisse: CEO Tidjane Thiam ousted

(CercleFinance.com) - On Friday Credit Suisse announced that Tidjane Thiam will leave his position as CEO, with him set to be replaced by Thomas Gottstein, the current head of Credit Suisse's home business in Switzerland.


Of Ivorian origin, a graduate of INSEAD and a former student of Polytechnique Paris, Tidjane Thiam, 58 years old today, is considered to be the real architect behind the Swiss investment bank's recovery, which he took charge of in 2015.

Under Tidjane's authority, Credit Suisse has reshaped its strategy, reconstituted its capital, reduced its costs and reduced the risk level of its activities, while stimulating diversity and generating an exceptional level of cooperation between the divisions, Urs Rohner, board chairman, acknowledged.

However, increasing antagonism seemed to divide the men, in particular, fuelled by an opaque affair of executive espionage, a showdown which ended up in favour of Urs Rohner, former CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media.

The Board of Directors has therefore agreed to keep Urs Rohner in office as Chairman until the end of his term in April 2021.

The fact that Tidjane Thiam's replacement, Thomas Gottstein, has over 30 years' experience working in the banking sector, including 13 years spent in London, did not seem to completely reassure the markets.
Credit Suisse shares are down over 3.5% on the Zurich Stock Exchange on Friday morning.


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