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Siggi Bucher
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1.7
Urs Rohner (60) started his career as a TV manager in Munich. In 2003 he brought radio man Roger Schawinski (74) as managing director to SAT.1. “Back then he told me that the film Last Man Standing was a good fit for him.”
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Keystone
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2.7
The German media mogul Leo Kirch was the first powerful sponsor of Rohner.
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Keystone
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3.7
Former CS President Walter Kielholz (68) brought Rohner to Credit Suisse in 2004.
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Keystone
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7.7
goes Thiam. Rohner stays. The film Last Man Standing fits.
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When he’s finished with the gangsters, gunslinger John Smith leaves the shattered border town for Mexico. “Last Man Standing” – the film from 1996 celebrates the figure of the unshakable hero who nothing and nobody can stop.
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Urs Rohner (60), Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse, likes the strip. And indeed: The film with Bruce Willis in the leading role fits the Zurich business lawyer, who made a career in the television and banking industry – and was not shaken by violent crises.
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Rohner worked as a lawyer at the renowned Zurich law firm Lenz & Staehelin in the 1990s. As a customer, he also looked after the German media mogul Leo Kirch. He was so satisfied with his legal representative that he brought him to Munich (D) in 1999 and took care of one important task: the merger of the private channels Sat.1 and Pro7 into a new company. In one fell swoop Rohner became one of the most influential TV managers in Europe with sales of four billion marks at the time. The later supporter of the Zurich Film Festival discovered his love for the medium and its stars at Kirch. In this environment he also got to know his partner today: model, moderator and entrepreneur Nadja Schildknecht (46).
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In 2003 Rohner brought the radio man Roger Schawinski (74) to Sat as managing director. 1. He says about Rohner: «He is very alert, quick and intelligent. Back then he told me that the film ‘Last Man Standing’ was a good fit for him. ”Rightly so, says Schawinski:“ He has proven it time and time again. ”Rohner is driven by success, say others who know the former top hurdler. In 2004, he seized the opportunity to enter the banking world and accepted the call from Chairman of the Board of Directors Walter Kielholz (68) to Credit Suisse.
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Zurich establishment
After Kirch, Kielholz was the second powerful to promote Rohner’s career. He gave him access to the Zurich establishment, in which Rohner moved like a fish in the water. The emeritus finance professor Martin Janssen (71) has known him for many years: “Rohner is intelligent, willing to perform and kind, he knows the right people, he was often in the right place at the right time.”
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Rohner initially worked as a chief lawyer in the bank. In 2006, CEO Oswald Grübel (76) made him chief operating officer (COO) and head of the corporate center – a hub function with great influence. At that time, developments began that eventually led to the US tax dispute. In 2014, the bank paid $ 2.6 billion for its settlement. Business with American residential mortgages that CS operated from 2005 to 2007 also became expensive. In 2016, she paid a fine of 5.3 billion. In both cases, the origins date back to Rohner’s time as a member of the CS management team. With his intimate knowledge of US legal relationships, however, he later served as Chairman of the Board of Directors to ensure that the CS did not get worse in the disputes with courts and tax authorities.
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Rohner became Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2009 and Chairman in 2011. Once again it was Kielholz who supported him. “Unlike top managers like Iqbal Khan or Tidjane Thiam, who can earn millions of dollars a year all over the world, Swiss business relationships played a much more important role for Urs Rohner’s success,” says Janssen.
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Attacks dripped off him
After the great financial crisis, criticism of investment banking increased. The then CS CEO Brady Dougan (60) still held on to it. Rohner helped him, which earned him the accusation of poor decision-making. In 2015 he finally acted and replaced Dougan with the insurance man Tidjane Thiam (57). This cut costs, but he couldn’t stop the fall of the CS share – and millions of bonuses caused red heads. Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann (67) spoke of “ruthlessness”. Rohner made the attacks roll off. He and Thiam were stuck in the saddle.
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Until last autumn, when the surveillance of the asset manager Iqbal Khan (43), who had fled to UBS, became public. Rohner supported Thiam as long as possible. Again he was accused of lack of decision. When it became clear that Khan’s shading was not an isolated case, he intervened. On Thursday, the board of directors unanimously decided that Thiam should go.
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“You have to congratulate the board of directors,” said Oswald Grübel to BLICK. He had managed to straighten things out at the last moment. Rohner has also weathered this crisis. He will hand over the Credit Suisse Presidium in one year at the latest. What is the balance sheet? In business, one cannot draw a good balance in comparison to UBS or even to US banks, says Martin Janssen. What would he have expected from Rohner? «A clear concept of where the bank should head. To date, this is not really clear. »
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You might feel that Rohner remained a lawyer in a bank despite his long professional experience and did not become a banker.
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And specifically? What about Rohner’s accomplishments? Whoever you ask, the answers lead to the indefinite. Perhaps in the end it is what remains: this man is difficult to grasp. Thiam leaves. Rohner stays. The President made it clear on Friday why. Thiam had to take responsibility.
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And he himself, the bank’s top manager? Rohner doesn’t want to know about that. Last man standing.
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