Swiss lawyer, businessman and banker (born December 1, 1959)
Urs Rohner (born 1959) is a Swiss lawyer, businessman and banker. He is the former CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media and former chairman of Swiss bank Credit Suisse.[1] After his 10 year tenure the share price lost 75% of its value leaving the bank engulfed in various scandals and subsequently apologizing for his poor performance at the last shareholder meeting.[2][3] He is considered one of the worst chairmen in Swiss banking.[4][5]
Early life
Rohner was born 1959.[6] He competed as a hurdler in the 1982 European Athletics Championships.[7] He earned a master of laws from the University of Zurich in 1983.[6][7]
Career
Rohner began his career at the law firm Lenz & Staehelin in Zurich,[7] where he was a partner from 1992 to 1999.[8] He subsequently practised for Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City.[8]
Rohner served as the chief executive officer of ProSiebenSat.1 Media from 2000 to 2004.[7]
Credit Suisse, 2004–2021
Rohner became the chief lawyer at Credit Suisse in 2004.[7]
After moving to the company's board of directors, Rohner served as its vice chairman from 2009 to 2011.[8] Since 2011, he has served as its chairman.[6] In 2017, he was criticized by investors for his poor performance.[7] In 2020, shareholders voted to re-elect Rohner for a final term in office with 77.5% support; the 21.6% opposition he faced was the highest in his nearly a decade as chairman.[9] He retired in May 2021 from the Board of Credit Suisse - during his 10 year tenure, the stock price has fallen by over 70%.[10] In the last year of his tenure, Rohner appointed Lara Warner with no prior risk management experience to Chief Risk Officer of the bank in a push for diversity. Consequently, Credit Suisse's clients lost around $3bn due to the collapse of Greensill.[11] Furthermore, with the collapse of Archegos Capital Credit Suisse lost over $5.5bn exposing its weak risk management, which Rohner in the aftermath of the financial crisis promised to reform.[3]
For his poor performance at Credit Suisse, Rohner received 43.5 million CHF ($47m) in pay.[5]
Other activities
Corporate boards
- Investcorp, Member of the International Advisory Board (since 2021)[12]
Non-profit organizations
Rohner serves on the board of trustees of the Lucerne Festival,[8] and the Zürich Opera House, as well as the board of governance of the International Institute for Management Development.[8]
Personal life
Rohner is in a relationship with Nadja Schildknecht, the managing director of the Zurich Film Festival and has a son with her. He has three children from his first marriage.[13]
