Unicredit boss Jean-Pierre Mustier takes a talisman with him everywhere he goes. Meet «Elkette», the globe-trotting stuffed animal who schmoozes with the great and the good of high finance as the Italian bank cuts jobs.
«Elkette» is one of the constants in Jean-Pierre Mustier's efforts to rejuvenate Italy's largest bank – the stuffed animal stands for «Transform 2019», the French banker's three-year revamp of Unicredit which includes thousands of job cuts. The pint-sized mascot is meant to foster belonging and inclusion within the bank.
In her travels, Elkette has cuddled Goldman Sachs boss Lloyd Blankfein and consoled Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan's long-standing CEO, over his broken arm (pictured below).
Elkette has parlayed her banking hobnobbing into social media fame: she counts more than 3,200 followers on Instagram, where Unicredit's media department chronicles her frequent travels. She has already racked up more than 50,000 frequent flyer miles accompanying Mustier on his travels, and she has survived attempts by the Mustier family's new labrador puppy, Maya Bee, to chew her.
Elkette and Oudea on Insta?
What does Elkette (pictured with Mustier and puppy Maya below) make of the latest hot rumor in European banking, namely that Unicredit is in merger talks with France's Société Générale, according to the «Financial Times»?
Mustier, who became Unicredit in 2016, knows SocGen inside and out: he ran the Paris-based lender's investment bank from 2003 to 2008. In a merger scenario, Socgen would bring the investment banking unit as well as a fast-growing eastern European business into the marriage, while Unicredit is strong in its Italian home market as well as in Germany.
The XXL-sized merger could finally spark a much-needed round of consolidation among Europe's banks. So, will Elkette soon be cozying up to SocGen boss Frédéric Oudea on her Instagram anytime soon? Unicredit told the «FT» that its restructuring contains no merger plans.
As for Elkette herself...she was busy congratulating Unicredit flack Manrico Lucchi at the finish line of the Stockholm marathon on the day the SocGen story broke.
