Zurich chair resigns over suicide of finance chief

Josef Ackermann, the former head of Deutsche Bank, yesterday resigned as chairman of Zurich Insurance over the apparent suicide of the Swiss insurer’s finance chief.

Ackermann said the family of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier, who had worked at Europe’s third largest insurance group for 17 years, believed he shared some of the blame for his death.

Wauthier’s death came just weeks after the head of telecoms firm Swisscom, Carsten Schloter, died in another apparent suicide.

The deaths have shocked corporate Switzerland and prompted calls for greater support for boardroom high-fliers.

“I have reasons to believe that the family is of the opinion that I should take my share of responsibility, as unfounded as any allegations might be,” Ackermann said in a statement, adding that he wanted to avoid any damage to Zurich’s reputation.

Swiss police said that Wauthier — who was found dead at his suburban home near Zug on Monday — appeared to have died by suicide.

A spokeswoman for Zurich Insurance did not elaborate on what allegations Ackermann was referring to surrounding Wauthier, who was 53 and left a wife and two children.

Zurich’s chief executive Martin Senn said he was not aware of any dispute that could have driven Wauthier to his death.

“We didn’t spot any conflicts that could or should have led to such a death,” Senn said.

However, a former colleague of Wauthier said there was pressure within the company to increase its share price.

Two insurance executives outside the firm’s headquarters in Zurich described their colleagues as “somewhat shellshocked” and said Ackermann’s departure was a surprise for the industry.

Zurich said vice-chairman Tom de Swaan would take over as acting chair.

One of Europe’s leading economic power brokers, Ackermann, 65, transformed Germany’s Deutsche Bank and played a role in the eurozone’s financial crisis as chairman of the Institute of International Finance.

He was touted as a candidate for top financial jobs in Switzerland before he took the relatively low-key role at Zurich last year.

He also sat on the boards of Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens, and Investor AB.

Reuters