The Swiss bank's powerful deputy chairman is vague on his future following the abrupt departure of António Horta-Osório.
Severin Schwan isn't sure whether he will stand for reelection at Credit Suisse after five years as vice-chairman first to Urs Rohner, then António Horta-Osório, and now Axel Lehmann. The CEO of Roche, Schwan has been at the center of several key events for Credit Suisse.
«I haven't decided yet whether I will stand for reelection or not,» the Austrian native told Swiss daily newspaper «Tages-Anzeiger» (behind paywall, in German) on Thursday. Schwan noted that Credit Suisse needed to be stabilized and that he would support Lehmann in doing so.
Plurality Of Roles
His role as CEO of a Swiss blue-chip has raised questions of whether Schwan has enough time to devote to stabilizing Credit Suisse. Schwan became CEO of Roche in 2013, joined the Swiss bank's board one year later, and became deputy chairman in 2017.
Schwan's record at Credit Suisse is mixed: he spearheaded the search which culminated 13 months ago in hiring Horta-Osório, and was also instrumental in his ouster, as finews.com reported. He was also part of a board whose oversight was blasted as «asleep at the wheel» by Credit Suisse's biggest shareholder.
