Credit Suisse wooed CEO Tidjane Thiam for three years before he ultimately agreed to take the job in 2015. Chairman Urs Rohner revealed the long courtship and other details of their relationship.
He met Tidjane Thiam roughly 20 times before the then-Prudential CEO eventually agreed to take the CEO job at Credit Suisse in 2015, Chairman Urs Rohner said in a interview with «The Talk@The Studio» (in German).
Rohner, a Swiss lawyer, said he wanted to gauge «what makes each of us tick». Three years on, Rohner said he and the impulsive French-Ivorian have clearly delineated areas of responsibility.
Locking Horns
The relationship between the two has reported to have hit the rocks, with Thiam irked that Rohner wasn't fully straight-forward about the state of the bank. The CEO spent the first three years in a radical restructuring of Credit Suisse including two cash calls for roughly $10 billion.
«We aren't always of the same opinion. That isn't always easy,» Rohner said of the two top shots. He and Thiam nevertheless maintained a constant dialogue to debate their differences of opinion.
Rohner also addressed Credit Suisse's stock, which trades below book value despite Thiam's efforts. «We shouldn't look at the share price every day,» Rohner said. More importantly, Credit Suisse needs to keep its promises and deliver results quarter for quarter – eventually, the stock will reflect those efforts he said.
