BERLIN (AP) – Credit Suisse chief executive Brady W. Dougan is leaving his post after eight years and will be replaced by the current head of British insurer Prudential, Tidjane Thiam, the Swiss bank said Tuesday.
Dougan, who joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1990, will step down at the end of June.
The Swiss bank’s chairman, Urs Rohner, said in a statement that Dougan had kept Credit Suisse “on track in recent years despite a complex environment and considerable headwinds in the global financial services industry”.
The American successfully steered Credit Suisse through the 2008 financial crisis but failed to prevent it from paying billions in fines for helping foreign clients evade taxes.
Thiam, who was born in Ivory Coast and also holds French citizenship, comes to Credit Suisse with a strong track record at Prudential, where he successfully expanded into emerging markets, said Rohner.
The bank said Thiam speaks English, French and German – an asset in Switzerland, where the bank still has a large retail business and many employees.
Thiam said he looked forward to maintaining “the strong momentum of the franchise and (serving) our clients in Switzerland and around the world”.
