Zurich chair Ackermann resigned two weeks ago following suicide of CFO Pierre Wauthier
Tom de Swaan has replaced Josef Ackermann as Zurich’s chairman, who stepped down two weeks ago following the suicide of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier (pictured).
De Swaan had initially stepped into the role of acting chairman, after it emerged that Wauthier had left a suicide note in which he mentioned Ackermann.
At the time of his resignation, Ackermann said he was deeply shocked by the death and was resigning to avoid any damage to Zurich’s reputation.
Subsequently, a review was launched into whether undue pressure had been placed on Wauthier.
On 11 September the Zurich board also voted in Fred Kindle as vice-chairman of the board. Both appointments are effective immediately.
De Swaan, a former CFO at ABN Amro, has served on the board of Zurich Insurance Group since 2006 and was elected to the role of vice-chairman in March 2012.
It is also likely that Ackermann will step down from his board position at Siemens, according to Reuters.
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