As Baloise boss Gert De Winter steps back while he is treated for cancer, his willingness to show vulnerability stands in contrast with Swiss finance's alpha culture.
It was a moving moment: Swiss Life's Patrick Frost and chief communicator Christian Pfister spoke to journalists in 2017. Frost had by then returned to his job following successful treatment for cancer.
Frost spoke openly about his diagnosis, treatment, and recovery – including details of how he and his relatively young family had coped. In electing to show his humanity, the CEO revealed a vulnerability that was until then rare in the cozy ranks of Swiss businessmen.
A Mark Of Strength
The unvarnished frankness represents a new quality of leadership: someone who can take up the fight against cancer with the goal of returning to a demanding job running a blue-chip financial services firm will enjoy the full backing of their team and board.
As Baloise's CEO of six years, Gert De Winter (pictured above), heads into treatment for esophageal cancer, the transparency of the company's communication is noteworthy: the Belgian native will step back while keeping an eye on bigger-picture strategic issues during his treatment.
De Winter, who has said one of his top priorities is to accelerate Baloise's cultural shift and to advance to one of the best-loved employers in the insurance industry, has earned tremendous respect with his decision to communicate the specifics of where he stands.
Swiss Stigma Of Failure
Frost and De Winter's honesty lends hope for an overdue change in how the financial services industry in Switzerland in particular deals with other setbacks, including mental illness. Long characterized by a hard-charging military-influenced style, the industry typically swept personal matters under the carpet.
At least until they could be hidden more more: the tragic deaths by suicide of Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter, of Zurich top executives Pierre Wauthier and Martin Senn (pictured below), and Julius Baer's top private banker Alex Widmer are still fresh in our minds.
The stigma of failing or being a «loser» is still omnipresent in Swiss business, a stark contrast with Silicon Valley's somewhat more cavalier attitude to «move fast and break things».
Swiss finance could also take a cue from Wall Street. Titans of the industry Goldman Sachs boss Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan, both took time-outs for cancer treatments. The duo's openness with their respective illnesses illustrates how «Masters of the Universe» can afford a little vulnerability.
Credit Suisse Overseer's Setback
In Switzerland, Credit Suisse Chairman of eight months António Horta-Osório could be a template for a new brand of transparency. In 2011, just eight months into the top job at Britain's Lloyds, he checked himself into a pricey private clinic.
Horta-Osório was suffering from burnout. His thoughts centered on the bank – at the time not out of the woods following the financial crisis and government bailout. «I thought I was Superman. I felt I could do everything.» The burnout «showed me I was not Superman,» he later related.
His activism is part of the reason he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth last year. Horta-Osório has apologized for breaking Swiss and British quarantine rules, which has led to an investigation at Credit Suisse – also a question of culture.
