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Tidjane Thiam
Tidjane Thiam (born 29 July 1962)[1] is an Ivorian businessman and former
Tidjane Thiam
politician who became the chief executive of Credit Suisse in June 2015.[3] Born
in Côte d'Ivoire, he holds dual Ivorian and French citizenship. He studied
advanced mathematics and physics in France before joining the management
consultants McKinsey & Company in 1986, where he worked until 1994.[4]

From 1994 to 1999 he worked in Côte d'Ivoire first as chief executive of the
National Bureau for Technical Studies (BNETD), reporting directly to the
prime minister and the president, and from 1998 as both chairman of the
BNETD and Minister of Planning and Development. Following the Ivorian
Born 29 July 1962 [1]
coup of 1999, he resumed a private sector career and rejoined McKinsey in
Ivory Coast
Paris from 2000 to 2002, then worked as a senior executive for Aviva before
Citizenship Ivorian
being recruited by Prudential plc. When appointed the chief executive of
French
Prudential in 2009, he became the first black person to lead a FTSE 100
company.[4] On 10 March 2015, it was announced that Thiam would leave Alma mater École Polytechnique
Prudential to become the next CEO of Credit Suisse, succeeding Brady École Nationale
Dougan.[5][6] Supérieure des Mines
de Paris
INSEAD
Salary US$9.9 million
Contents (2016)[2]

Early life and career Title CEO, Credit Suisse

Government Spouse(s) Annette Thiam

Return to finance (separated)
CEO of Prudential Children 2
CEO of Credit Suisse
International development work
Other activities
Personal life
References
External links

Early life and career

Thiam was born in Côte d'Ivoire. He is a descendant of two prominent families from Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire. On his
mother’s side, he is a descendant of Yamousso, after whom the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro, is named. Thiam's
mother, Marietou, was the niece of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the founder and first President of Côte d'Ivoire.[7]

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His father, Amadou Thiam, a journalist, was born in Senegal and emigrated to Côte d'Ivoire in 1947. He supported
Houphouet-Boigny in his fight for the independence of the country and served more than ten years in the Ivorian cabinet
after independence. He was a Grand Officier de la Légion d’honneur, France’s highest order of decoration.[8] Tidjane’s
uncle, Habib Thiam, was Prime Minister of Senegal for more than 10 years and also served as President of the National
Assembly.

In 1982 Thiam was the first Ivorian to pass the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique in Paris. In 1984, he
graduated from the École Polytechnique and in 1986 from the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris where he
was top of his class.[4]

In 1986 he was offered a scholarship to study for an MBA at INSEAD and join the 'McKinsey Fellows Programme' in
Paris.[9] He received an MBA from INSEAD in 1988 (Dean's list). In 1989 he took a one-year sabbatical from McKinsey to
participate in the World Bank's Young Professionals Program in Washington, D.C. He returned to McKinsey in 1990,
working first in New York City and then in Paris.[4]

Government
In December 1993, the first Ivorian President, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, died and was replaced by Henri Konan Bédié. In
April 1994, at the request of the new President, Thiam left France and McKinsey to go back to Abidjan and become the
CEO of the National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development (BNETD),[10] an infrastructure development and
economic advisory body with more than 4,000 staff, reporting directly to the President and the Prime Minister. In that
role, which had cabinet rank, he was also handling key negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank. Thiam was also a key member of the Privatization Committee, in charge of privatising extensive state-owned assets.

In August 1998, in addition to his role at the BNETD, where he became chairman, Thiam formally joined the cabinet and
was appointed Minister of Planning and Development.[10] In his years in Côte d'Ivoire, Thiam promoted private sector
involvement in infrastructure development. He implemented flagship projects including the Azito power plant (nominated
by the Financial Times as one of the boldest successful investment decisions in the world,[11] the renovation of Abidjan
airport and the construction of the Riviera Marcory toll bridge, whose financing was closed a few days before the 1999
coup. One of the first actions of the new President, Alassane Ouattara, in 2011 was to start the construction of that bridge
as originally overseen by Thiam, with the same promoters.

Thiam actively promoted an extensive privatisation programme which saw, between 1994 and 1999, Côte d'Ivoire lead
African countries[12] by privatising its telephone, services, electric power generation, airports, railways and many
companies in the agricultural sector.[10]

In 1998, the World Economic Forum in Davos named him as one of the annual 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, and in
1999 the Forum named him a member of the Dream Cabinet.[10]

In December 1999, whilst Thiam was abroad, the Ivorian military seized control of the government. Thiam returned to the
country, where he was arrested and held for several weeks. General Guéï, the new head of state, offered him the position of
chief of staff, but he declined and left the country in early 2000.[7]

Return to finance
On returning to Europe, Thiam was offered a partnership by McKinsey in Paris, becoming one of the leaders of the
company's financial institutions practice. In 2002 he joined Aviva,[10] initially as group strategy and development director,
then as managing director of Aviva International, chief executive of Aviva Europe and an executive director, sitting on the

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plc board. In January 2007, after Richard Harvey announced he would step down[13] as chief executive of Aviva, Thiam
was tipped as a possible future head of the group.[10]

CEO of Prudential
Thiam left Aviva in September 2007 to become chief financial officer of Prudential plc. In March 2009, Thiam was named
chief executive, effective from October, after Mark Tucker chose to step down. The appointment made him the first
African to lead a FTSE 100 listed company. His departure from the role was announced on 10 March 2015.[14][4]

After he became chief executive, Prudential launched a bid for AIA, the Asian wing of the crisis-stricken AIG.[15] A public
battle ensued, with some investors complaining about the $35.5 billion price Prudential was offering to pay.[16] The bid
eventually failed, after the AIG board rejected a revised lower bid.[17] AIA was later floated on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange, and the value of the company quickly rose above Prudential’s original bid price.[18]

Thiam came under strong personal criticism following the failure of the bid, partly as a result of the costs incurred by the
company in pursuing the bid.[19] However, he was re-elected as CEO at the May 2011 AGM with a 99.3 per cent vote.[20]
The company's performance since the bid appears not to have been damaged by its failure - in the first nine months of
2011, Prudential delivered a 14 per cent increase in new business profits over the same period in 2010, with total insurance
sales increasing by 10 per cent,[21] while in its full-year results for 2013, Prudential delivered an IFRS operating profit of
£2.95 billion, up 17 per cent from the year before.[22]

In March 2013, the Financial Services Authority fined Prudential £30m and censured its CEO, Thiam, for failure to inform
it of its plans to buy AIA and failure of dealing with the FSA in an open and cooperative manner.[23]

CEO of Credit Suisse

As CEO of Credit Suisse he led the bank through a restructuring process[24] cutting costs and jobs.[25]

International development work

In October 1999 Thiam was appointed by James Wolfensohn as one of 20 members of the External Advisory Council of
the World Bank Institute,[26] which the Institute relies on for advice and guidance.[27]

Thiam is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the
highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. Every year, the Panel releases a report, the Africa
Progress Report (http://africaprogresspanel.org/en/publications/annual-reports/), that outlines an issue of immediate
importance to the continent and suggests a set of associated policies. In 2012, the Africa Progress Report highlighted
issues of Jobs, Justice, and Equity.[28] The 2013 report will outline issues relating to oil, gas, and mining in Africa.

In January 2011 Thiam was appointed chairman of the G20's High Level Panel on Infrastructure Investment.[29]
Established by the Seoul G20 summit in 2010, the panel was a grouping of figures from leading financial institutions and
development agencies given the task of producing concrete proposals to encourage private sector investment in
infrastructure projects in emerging economies.[30] The panel submitted its report to the G20 Summit meeting in Cannes in
November 2011.[31]

In 2013 Thiam was one of the authors of “A Partnership for the Future”, a report prepared at the request of the French
Minister for the Economy and Finance by five French and Franco-African political and economic experts. The report set
out proposals for building a new economic partnership based on a business relationship between France and the African
continent, particularly the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.[32]

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Other activities
Thiam was chairman of the Association of British Insurers between July 3, 2012, and October 1, 2014.[33]

Thiam is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He was a non-executive director
of the French chemicals company Arkema until November 2009.[34]

In 2007, Thiam was elected INSEAD Alumnus of the Year by the Insead Alumnus Association.[35] In 2009, he was
nominated as one of "50 Alumni who changed the world"[9] as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of INSEAD
and its 38,000 graduates.[36]

He was ranked number one in both 2010 and 2011 by the annual publication the Powerlist, which ranks the 100 most
influential Africans in the UK.[37]

On July 14, 2011, Thiam was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by the French government in
recognition of his significant contribution to civil life for more than 20 years.[38] In 2013, he was awarded the Grand Prix
de l’Économie, organised by Les Échos and Radio Classique, in partnership with law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer.[39] Thiam is a member of the UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group[40] and he is one of UK Trade &
Investment's Business Ambassadors.[41]

Tidjane Thiam is an independent non-executive director of 21st Century Fox, the US-based media and entertainment
group. He was elected to the board at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on November 12, 2014.[42][43]

Thiam is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the
highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As a Panel Member he facilitates coalition building to
leverage and broker knowledge, and convenes decision-makers to influence policy for lasting change in Africa.[44]

Personal life
Thiam is married to Annette, an African-American lawyer who used to work for Joe Biden, and they have two sons.[45] In
October 2015, it was reported that they had separated.[46][47]

References
1. " 'THIAM, (Cheick) Tidjane', Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press" (http://www.uk
whoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251378). Retrieved 2012-11-09.
2. Laura Noonan; David Blood (23 July 2017). "Here's what the CEOs of the world's biggest banks earn" (https://ig.ft.co
m/bank-ceo-pay/2017/). The Financial Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
3. "BBC - Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Tidjane Thiam" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/cas
taway/07c425cf). Retrieved 2012-11-09.
4. "Exotic past of the man from the Pru". Sunday Times. 2009-03-22.
5. Milmo, Dan (10 March 2015). "Prudential's Tidjane Thiam to take top role at Credit Suisse" (https://www.theguardian.c
om/business/2015/mar/10/prudentials-tidjane-thiam-to-take-top-role-at-credit-suisse). The Guardian. Retrieved
10 March 2015.
6. "FOKUS: Der neue CS-Chef" (http://www.srf.ch/sendungen/10vor10/auftritt-mit-herz-arm-gegen-reich-digitale-revoluti
on). 10vor10 (in German and French). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
7. "The man from the Pru's beginnings in Ivory Coast". Telegraph. 2009-04-03.
8. "La France est une idee etre francais une emotion par Tidjane Thiam" (http://www.institutmontaigne.org/desideespour
demain/index.php/2009/10/09/366-la-france-est-une-idee-etre-francais-une-emotion-par-tidjane-thiam). Institut
Montaigne. 2009-10-09.
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9. "50 Alumni who Changed the World" (https://archive.is/20120710205545/http://50.insead.edu/alumni/tidjane-thiam).

INSEAD. Archived from the original (http://50.insead.edu/alumni/tidjane-thiam) on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
10. "From coup d'etat to insurance executive". Financial Times. 2007-01-22.
11. "Boldest successful investment decision - K&M Engineering and Consulting" (https://archive.is/20130127193616/htt
p://www.kmec.com/awards.shtml). K&M Engineering and Consulting. Archived from the original (http://www.kmec.co
m/awards.shtml) on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
12. "Privatization in Côte d'Ivoire" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120426061638/http://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBan
k/databases/plink/factsheets/cote_dIvoire.htm). MIGA and the Africa Region of the World Bank. 2001-06-01. Archived
from the original (http://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBank/databases/plink/factsheets/cote_dIvoire.htm) on 2012-04-
26.
13. "Aviva boss steps down as City welcomes younger replacement". The Guardian. 2007-01-11.
14. "Pru boss to head Credit Suisse" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31811787). 10 March 2015. Retrieved
14 November 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
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626.ece). The Times. 2010-03-01.
16. "Prudential in fresh AIA takeover talks" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10179544). BBC News. 2010-05-28.
17. "AIG said to select Tucker to succeed AIA's Wilson" (http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-19/aig-said-to-select
-tucker-to-succeed-aia-s-wilson). Bloomberg. 2010-07-19.
18. "AIA soars above the price that investors wouldn't let the Pru pay" (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/b
anking/article2788160.ece). The Times. 2010-10-30.
19. "Prudential profits top a billion amid the carnage" (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article311
6061.ece). The Times. 2011-08-05.
20. "Prudential plc Full Year 2010 Results" (https://web.archive.org/web/20111224233649/http://www.prudential.co.uk/pru
dential-plc/investors/resultspresentations/results/ra2011/fy_res10/fy_res10.pdf) (PDF). Prudential plc website. 2011-
03-09. Archived from the original (http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/investors/resultspresentations/results/ra2
011/fy_res10/fy_res10.pdf) (PDF) on 2011-12-24.
21. "Prudential sales rise as Asia and US offsets eurozone crisis" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/ban
ksandfinance/insurance/8877598/Prudential-sales-rise-as-Asia-and-US-offsets-eurozone-crisis.html). Telegraph.
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22. "Prudential plc 2013 Full Year Results" (http://www.prudential.co.uk/media/group-news-releases/2014/12-03-2014).
Prudential plc website. 2014-03-12.
23. "Prudential fined £30m over AIA bid" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21950711). BBC News. 27 March 2013.
24. "Tidjane Thiam Tells Staff What's Next at CS" (http://www.finews.com/news/english-news/28182-tidjane-thiam-credit-s
uisse-restructuring-memo-cost-cutting-reassures-staff-next-steps). finews. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
25. Patrick Winters and Jan-Henrik Foerster (17 July 2017). "Credit Suisse Signals End to Era of Cutbacks, Job
Dismissals" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-17/credit-suisse-tells-employees-bank-working-on-ne
w-strategic-plan). Bloomeberg. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
26. "Tidjane Thiam World Bank Institute biography" (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/Partnerships/KP_
EACThiam.pdf) (PDF). World Bank Institute.
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28. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130109214313/http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/en/publications/an
nual-reports/annual-report-2012/). Archived from the original (http://africaprogresspanel.org/en/publications/annual-re
ports/annual-report-2012/) on 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
29. "Tidjane Thiam appointed to chair G20 Panel for Infrastructure Investment" (https://web.archive.org/web/20111017232
417/http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/media/newsreleases/archive2011/2011-01-24/). Prudential plc website.
2011-01-24. Archived from the original (http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/media/newsreleases/archive2011/2
011-01-24/) on 2011-10-17.

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30. "G20 Communiqué" (https://web.archive.org/web/20111111230213/http://www.g20.org/Documents2011/02/COMMUNI

QUE_HLP.pdf) (PDF). G20.org. 2011-02-19. Archived from the original (http://www.g20.org/Documents2011/02/COM
MUNIQUE_HLP.pdf) (PDF) on 2011-11-11.
31. "High Level Panel on Infrastructure: Recommendations to G20 Final Report" (https://web.archive.org/web/201201191
32559/http://www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/root/bank_objects/HLP_-_Full_report.pdf) (PDF). G20.org. 2011-10-26.
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tp://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/File/399236). tresor.economie.gouv.fr. 2013-12-01.
33. "Paul Evans to take over as ABI Chairman from Tidjane Thiam" (https://www.abi.org.uk/News/News-releases/2014/0
7/Paul-Evans-to-be-next-Chairman-of-the-ABI). Association of British Insurers. 2014-07-01.
34. "Prudential plc Board" (http://www.prudential.co.uk/prudential-plc/aboutpru/ourpeople/ourboard/). Prudential plc
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mni/newsletter/June2007/INSEADTrophies.htm). INSEAD. 2007-07-01. Archived from the original (http://www.insead.
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3108). French embassy in Stockholm. 2009-09-09.
37. "Black Britain's Most Influential" (http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/black-britains-most-influential). The Voice. 2011-
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1320110714). Reuters. 2011-07-14.
39. "Le "Grand Prix de l'Economie" 2013 décerné à Tidjane Thiam" (http://www.lesechos.fr/economie-politique/monde/act
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2013-11-28.
40. "Business Advisory Group" (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-advisory-group). Gov.UK. 2012-12-19.
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Trade & Investment. 2014-02-13.
42. "Tidjane Thiam nominated to join 21st Century Fox Board of Directors" (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201
40929005573/en/21st-Century-Fox-Nominates-Tidjane-Thiam-Election#.VG9WRvmsWDs). businesswire.com. 2014-
09-29.
43. "Board of Directors at 21st Century Fox" (http://www.21cf.com/Management/BoardofDirectors/). 21cf.com. 2014-11-
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44. "Tidjane Thiam est le nouveau patron de Credit Suisse" (http://www.tdg.ch/economie/argentfinances/Tidjane-Thiam-e
st-le-nouveau-patron-de-Credit-Suisse/story/29508809). Tribune de Genève. 2015-03-10.
45. "Dancing all the way to the bank: the rise of City boss Tidjane Thiam" (https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/
dancing-all-the-way-to-the-bank-the-rise-of-city-boss-tidjane-thiam-10100175.html). standard.co.uk. Retrieved
14 November 2017.
46. "Le nouveau boss de Credit Suisse rompt après vingt ans de mariage" (https://www.tdg.ch/economie/nouveau-boss-c
redit-suisse-rompt-vingt-ans-mariage/story/20229764). tdg.ch. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
47. Communication, Nikkosa. "Tidjane Thiam: il a mis fin à vingt ans de mariage. Celle qui est à la base de tout" (http://w
ww.abidjan-immobilier.net/redaction/tidjane-thiam-il-a-mis-fin-a-vingt-ans-de-mariage-celle-qui-est-a-la-base-de-tout_
1923.html). Abidjan-Immobilier.net. Retrieved 14 November 2017.

External links
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