Credit Suisse afforded its CEO Tidjane Thiam the privilege of resigning – while Chairman Urs Rohner clarified what genuinely happened.
«There isn't a larger reason in that sense» for replacing Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, bank Chairman Urs Rohner told Swiss broadcaster «SRF» on Friday. Rohner was commenting on the departure of the CEO of nearly five years following a power struggle in the C-suite.
Ultimately, Rohner argued, replacing Thiam was a matter of protecting Credit Suisse's reputation, which had taken a dent with clients, employees, and regulators. In the four months since a corporate spying scandal surfaced, the Swiss bank was forced to admit it had covertly spied on at least two top executives.
CEO «Ultimately Understood»
When the second incident surfaced in December, the board responded by commencing the steps necessary for the «solution» – Thiam's exit – disclosed on Friday, Rohner said. «At a certain point, we simply had to establish that there was no way out of this situation without a change. Tidjane Thiam ultimately understood this as well.»
Asked why Credit Suisse's 14-person board didn't act back in September when the first spy case roiled Paradeplatz, Rohner said the bank had no indication that CEO Thiam had acted improperly – and thus sacking him would have been wrong. «You can't just replace a successful CEO,» said Rohner, who in an apparent backroom deal is also leaving, in 14 months.
The week leading up to Thiam's resignation-dismissal laid bare a power struggle between the CEO and his board. While Thiam won support from Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, Rohner said he had other, silent stakeholders behind him.
