Credit Suisse announced that it has named Christian Gellerstad as successor to Severin Schwan as Vice-Chairman.
Shared in a recent press release with Finance Magnates, Christian Gellerstad, an executive veteran with twenty years of experience from the financial industry, has been named by Credit Suisse, a Swiss-based financial services firm, as successor to Severin Schwan, the existing Vice-Chairman who will not stand for re-election to the Board of Directors.
Gellerstad brings around two decades of experience from the financial industry to the role. The Swiss bank has elevated Gellerstad from his present position as Chairman of Conduct and Financial Crime Control Committee and a non-Executive Board Member.
Schwan has decided to not stand for re-election to the Board as it is likely he would have opposition from some major shareholders if he had decided to run for another term, according to the Financial Times last month. Investors have been concerned about Schwan dividing his time between being Chief Executive at Roche, a Swiss Pharmaceutical company, and his position as Credit Suisse’s Vice-Chair, especially with the series of risk-management scandals the swiss bank is trying to shake off.
Since 2014, Schwan has been on the Board of Directors, and three years later he acted as Vice-Chairman and Lead Independent Director. Also, Credit Suisse pointed out that two other Directors on the Board will not for re-election, Kai S. Nargolwala and Juan Colombas
The new Chairman at Credit Suisse, Axel Lehrmann thanked the leaving Board Member stating that Schwan and Nargolwala had “helped steer the company through some challenging periods with commitment, perseverance and dedication.”
A Short Review of Gellerstad’s Career
Concurrently, Gellerstad is fulfilling a number of different roles including Chairman of the Audit Committee at Investis Holding SA, Member Board Of Trustees at Lucerne Festival, non-Executive Board Member at Taurus SA, Chairman for Elatior SA and non-Executive Board Member for Nubica SA, FAVI, and AFFINAGE CHAMPAGNE ARDENNES.
Additionally, Gellerstad has been serving Credit Suisse as its Chairman of the Conduct and Financial Crime Control Committee and a non-Executive Board Member for the last few years.
Earlier on, Gellerstad spent the bulk of his career with Pictet Group, approximately twenty-four years. Working back from his last position, he was a non-Executive Board Member, Executive Chairman and Board Member, Executive Committee Member of Equity Partner, CEO of Pictet Wealth Management - Equity Partner, CEO Pictet & Cie (Europe) SA, and his first post with the company as Deputy CEO of Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd.
Moreover, ALFI - Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry recruited Gellerstad as a Board Director in 2002 as did ABBL in Luxembourg.
Furthermore, the Swiss bank appointed other roles which include Mirko Bianchi, UniCredit’s previous CFO, Keyu Jin, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, and Amanda Norton, Wells Fargo’s recent Group Chief Risk Officer, to be elected as non-executive members at the annual general meeting on April 29.
