Three Credit Suisse board members won't stand for re-election in April. Among them: the representative of Qatar, the second-largest shareholder in the Swiss bank.
Noreen Doyle and Jean Lanier, upon reaching tenure limits, and Jassim Bin Hamad J.J. Al Thani will not stand for re-election, Credit Suisse said on Tuesday.
Chairman Urs Rohner, who has been criticized by finews.com and others, and the other members of the Board of Directors will stand for a further one-year term.
Instead, Credit Suisse is proposing two new members: Alexandre Zeller – the Swiss bank unit's chairman, as previously announced – as well as Andreas Gottschling (pictured below).
Sailing and Ski Bum
German-born Gottschling, who is 49, was Erste Bank's risk chief until December 2016, and prior to that, held roles as a senior advisor at McKinsey in Zurich and as an MD at Deutsche Bank in London and Frankfurt.
Gottschling, who currently lists his occupation as «sailing and ski bum» on LinkedIn, studied math and economics and holds a PhD from the University of California.
While Doyle and Lanier have reached tenure limits, Al Thani turns 35 this year. Credit Suisse didn't give a reason for the departure of the Qatari representative, who reportedly made few waves on the board save for regular cigarette breaks.
Surprising Resignation
Qatar holds a 4.9 stake in Credit Suisse, making it surprising that Al Thani is vacating the board seat.
At Deutsche Bank, where Qatar holds a similar stake as in Credit Suisse, Qatar is also represented with Stefan Simon, a German lawyer with ties to the wealthy emirate.
To be sure, Credit Suisse still has time to propose a new representative from Qatar before the April shareholder meeting.
Doyle, who had been vice-chairman, will continue to serve as chairwoman of the bank's UK subsidiaries.
