Embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse's CEO snapped up a former regional banker as his new chief of staff in the latest in a series of changes in C-suite support.
Zurich-based Credit Suisse is hiring Christian Egli Kehrle as chief of staff to CEO Thomas Gottstein, according to LinkedIn. The appointment of Kehrle, who was finance chief of Neue Aargauer Bank for just 18 months before Credit Suisse folded it in a savings drive last August, was first reported by banking portal «efinancialcareers» on Wednesday.
Kehrle replaces Joachim Oechslin, who took over the job last May from Juerg Kaeppeli. An ex-McKinsey consultant, Kaeppeli had worked as previous CEO Tidjane Thiam's chief of staff and left seven months after his boss departed in the wake of a corporate spying scandal.
Gottstein has had a torrid 2021: in March, Credit Suisse pulled the plug on a $10.1 billion line of funds managed by supply-chain finance company Greensill Capital. Shortly after, the bank revealed roughly $5 billion in losses on dealings with hedge fund Archegos.
Swath Of Changes
The dual events have led to several top executive departures, including risk and compliance chief Lara Warner as well as top investment banker Brian Chin. New Chairman António Horta-Osório, who has promised a review by year-end, appointed risk veteran Janet Hotz as his chief of staff in May.
Oechslin is standing in for Warner as risk chief until a new hire from Goldman Sachs, David Wildermuth, arrives early next year. Oechslin, a board member at Swiss Re, is poised to then return to a job as senior adviser to Gottstein, the CEO – though not before making a series of key changes.
