Tidjane Thiam has gone, replaced in February by Thomas Gottstein as chief executive of Credit Suisse, but his spirit endures.
Nowhere is the Ivorian banker’s legacy more palpable than in the contents of a press release issued on Tuesday.
In it, the Swiss lender revealed the appointment of Christian Meissner as co-head of international wealth management (IWM) investment banking advisory, and vice-chairman of investment banking, effective from October 26.
It’s what is not mentioned in Meissner’s weighty resume that is important
This is no small deal. Meissner was last seen at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he served as head of global corporate and investment banking for nearly seven years until September 2018.
In the years leading up to the global financial crisis, he was co-head of EMEA investment banking at Lehman Brothers, and before that he was head of European ECM at Goldman Sachs.
It’s an impressive CV to be sure.
Two sides of the same coin
However, it’s what is not mentioned in Meissner’s weighty resume that is important here, and it draws attention back to the man who swept into Credit Suisse five years ago, recharging its collective batteries and returning it to profitability and relevance.
