Credit Suisse poaches Prudential's Tidjane Thiam as new CEO

9th Mar 2015 23:19

Credit Suisse has poached Prudential'sboss Tidjane Thiam to replace long-standing chief executive Brady Dougan as chief executive.Prudential, which also released final results on Tuesday that showed operating profits growth slowed to 14% for the full year, said it had already had identified a successor from within, having examined a range of external and internal candidates as part of its succession planning process.As well as hailing Thiam as "one of the most exceptional leaders in Prudential's long and illustrious history," chairman Paul Manduca added: "We are fortunate to have a very strong management team across the group and we have identified a successor and expect to be able to announce a new CEO once the regulatory approval process has been completed."Thiam has a diverse range of experience including as a European chief at Aviva, a partner at McKinsey and a cabinet member of the Cote D'Ivoire government but nothing of note in the banking sector.He joined Prudential as chief financial officer in March 2008 and was promoted to group chief executive in 2009.Thiam said he would present the company's 2015 first-quarter results in May and attend his final general meeting shortly thereafter before leaving for his new post.The Swiss banking giant has lining up the boardroom change after enduring a less than serene time in recent years, with current concerns being that the bank may be unable to maintain its capital buffer this year, given the increasing cost burden from investigations into its role in the US sub-prime housing crisis.US banker Dougan was given the reins at CS just as the industry was plunged the financial crisis in 2007, having been on the executive board since 2003.