Thomas Gottstein is headed for the board of directors of Switzerland's stock exchange, finews.com has learned. His move comes as the Swiss utility launches a $3.1 billion bid for a rival exchange.
When Credit Suisse's operating boss Pierre-Olivier Bouée was ousted following a Paradeplatz surveillance scandal last month, he also vacated a seat on the board of Switzerland's stock exchange SIX, of which the two big Swiss banks are major shareholders.
Thomas Gottstein will replace Bouée at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders next month, three people familiar with the situation told finews.com. Gottstein is Credit Suisse's Swiss boss and one of only two Swiss executives – chief lawyer Romeo Cerruti is the other – in the Swiss lender's top management.
Takeover Battle?
The switch coincides with a handover atop the board and in the midst of a proposed $3.1 billion takeover of Madrid's Bolsas y Mercados Españoles, or BME. SIX is sweating it out as BME's investors eye a counteroffer from deal-hungry pan-European giant Euronext, as finews.com reported on Wednesday.
Wellauer, a former McKinsey consultant, Credit Suisse top executive, and most recently Swiss Re operating chief, is taking over from Romeo Lacher, who has overseen SIX for the past two years. Lacher, who revived the stock exchange operator's languishing strategy with the disposal of a payments arm and new, blockchain-based initiatives, was elected as chairman of Julius Baer six months ago.
