The Board of Directors of Credit Suisse Group AG appointed Tidjane Thiam as the new CEO. He will take over this position from Brady W. Dougan, who will step down at the end of June 2015 after eight years as CEO of Credit Suisse Group.

Urs Rohner, chairman of the Board of Directors, said, “We are extremely grateful to Brady Dougan for his exceptional commitment, unparalleled personal contribution and leadership to Credit Suisse over many years. Brady has significantly and successfully shaped our company; he has kept our bank on track in recent years despite a complex environment and considerable headwinds in the global financial services industry. Brady and his management team have mastered even the most difficult challenges together.”

Rohner continued, “With Tidjane Thiam, a strong and distinguished leader with an impressive track record in the global financial services industry will take the helm of our bank. His extensive international experience, including in wealth and asset management and in the successful development of new markets, provides a firm foundation for leading Credit Suisse. As CEO, he led Prudential to great success in challenging times.”

Tidjane Thiam is currently group chief executive of Prudential, a London-based international financial services group with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. After several years at McKinsey & Company in Paris and New York, he worked for the government of Côte d’Ivoire, where his final post was as minister of Planning and Development, before returning to McKinsey & Co. in Paris as a partner. From 2002 until 2008 Tidjane Thiam had leading roles at Aviva insurance company, prior to joining Prudential as their CFO. In 2009, he became Prudential’s CEO.

Brady Dougan said: “I am proud of what the management team and all the employees of Credit Suisse have achieved over the 25 years I have worked here, particularly the 8 years I have been CEO. We managed quite well through the crisis in 2008, we have anticipated and proactively evolved our business to the new market and regulatory requirements, and have been constructive and a thought leader in many of the new regulatory developments. As a consequence, the strategic return on equity last year was amongst the highest in the industry and our cumulative net new asset inflows exceeded those of our peers. Now is the right time for the organization and for me to transition out of the CEO role. Tidjane and I have worked together over the past six years, and I have tremendous respect for him.”

To read the full Credit Suisse news release, click here.