Credit Suisse veteran Timothy O’Hara has stepped down as CEO of Global Markets. His successor comes from within the Swiss bank. Asset Management chief Eric Varvel gets an additional promotion.
Credit Suisse announced on Wednesday that Tim O’Hara (pictured below) will be succeeded by Brian Chin, currently Co-Head of Credit, as CEO of Global Markets.
Chin will join the Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group. The bank also announced that Eric Varvel is appointed President and CEO of Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), in addition to his current responsibilities as Global Head of Asset Management.
These changes come abruptly, but are not really surprising. In Tim O'Hara’s area significant depreciations occurred, which greatly harmed the strategy of CEO Tidjane Thiam. As a result, even more high-level CS-investment bankers on Wall Street had rebelled against Thiam.
Therefore the position of O'Hara had become untenable, and he could not see any realistic option to continue working for CS. The consequences are showing up now, even if the parting of the ways is now punctuated with unctuous words.
«Tim O’Hara has been instrumental in driving the successful restructuring of the Global Markets division in a challenging market and regulatory environment. We greatly appreciate Tim’s excellent contribution to the firm during his long tenure at Credit Suisse,» Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner said.
Since joining the bank in 1986, Tim O'Hara has excelled in a number of senior roles across Fixed Income and Equities. He has contributed enormously to the development of our Global Markets franchise, establishing market leading positions in many of our core products and services which he managed,» Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam added.
And: «Since joining the bank in 2003, Brian Chin (pictured above) has been one of our strongest risk managers and has been an integral part in developing the strength of our Global Markets franchise. In addition, he is an exceptional leader and culture carrier for the firm. He is well positioned to take Global Markets to the next stage in its development,» Thiam said.
According to the press release sent on Wednesday, Eric Varvel (pictured below) will provide critical continuity at Credit Suisse Holdings (USA), with his extensive background in investment banking and his proven leadership skills in various key roles as a former member of the Executive Board.
He will continue to lead the Global Asset Management activities in addition to this new role.
