CS CEO Tidjane Thiam made his career in London before moving to Switzerland. A rekindled passion of his may now prompt him to spend more time in the U.K. capital again.
Times have been worse for Tidjane Thiam: last week, he published the best set of quarterly results during his tenure as boss of Credit Suisse. He has been in charge as CEO of Switzerland’s second-largest lender since 2015.
Strong Emotions
And now – more trivial perhaps for a banker of his standing – follows the end of an era with repercussion on his spare time: Arsène Wenger, the manager of Arsenal Football Club for the past 22 years, has resigned. The Frenchman reportedly was the main reason why Thiam went to see hardly any matches of his beloved football club for the past seven years, according to the «Financial Times» (behind paywall). He is going to change that now, according to the newspaper.
Thiam, who loves to use anecdotes taken from the world of basketball to energize his troops at the bank, is an ardent Arsenal supporter. The change of manager at his club will give him plenty of opportunities to spend more time in London.
The Links to London
The banker’s career took off for real in London, where the former McKinsey consultant was appointed CEO at Prudential insurance company in 2009.
After his move to Credit Suisse, Thiam appointed several of his cohorts from his time at the U.K. insurer. The Swiss bank also welcomes investors once a year to a day of presentations in London.
