Zurich Insurance Chairman Ackermann Quits After CFO Death

ZurichZurich Insurance Group Chairman Josef Ackermann abruptly quit on Thursday morning, saying the family of the firm's late finance chief felt he should shoulder some of the responsibility for the executive's apparent suicide.

Source: Source: WSJ | Published on August 29, 2013

Mr. Ackermann's resignation comes days after Pierre Wauthier, the insurance giant's chief financial officer, was found dead at his home south of Zurich. Authorities believe Mr. Wauthier's death was likely a suicide.

In a statement released by Zurich Insurance, Mr. Ackermann indicated that the late CFO's family felt he held some responsibility for the death, although he didn't elaborate.

"I have reasons to believe the family is of the opinion that I should take my share of responsibility, as unfounded as any allegations might be," Mr. Ackermann said in the statement, adding that he was resigning to avoid any damage to Zurich's reputation. He couldn't be reached for comment.

A woman identifying herself as Mr. Wauthier's wife declined to comment by phone. A security detail prevented access to the Wauthier home, which is along the shores of Lake Zug.

Mr. Ackermann's departure comes about a year and a half after he was appointed chairman at Zurich Insurance following roughly a decade running Deutsche Bank AG. The resignation and Mr. Wauthier's death come following two consecutive quarters of declining profits at the insurance giant, as well as signs that it was facing further challenges.

A person familiar with the situation said Mr. Ackermann's resignation took the company by surprise. On Wednesday, Mr. Ackermann announced his departure at a hastily arranged extraordinary meeting of the board of directors, the person said.

Speaking on Swiss television, Zurich Insurance Chief Executive Martin Senn said the company regretted Mr. Ackermann's decision to leave. He added the company's management was unaware of any disagreements between Messrs. Ackerman and Wauthier.

"We have not noted any conflicts which could or should have led to such a death," Mr. Senn said.

Mr. Ackermann, 65, has been a controversial figure in the past. He and three other former Deutsche Bank management board members have been summoned to appear before Munich prosecutors in connection with an investigation into whether they perjured themselves when testifying in the long-running Kirch Media Group trial, according to people familiar with the matter. The late Leo Kirch accused Deutsche Bank of driving his media company into bankruptcy.

Mr. Ackermann hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing. The bank and Mr. Ackermann have said they did nothing wrong.

The Munich prosecutor's office declined to comment on the investigation. A spokesman for Mr. Ackermann didn't make him available for comment.

Mr. Ackermann, a Swiss national, helped mold Deutsche Bank into one of the world's biggest investment-banking players. But he also upset many Deutsche Bank shareholders and employees with his handling of his succession before Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen took over as co-CEOs in June 2012. Mr. Ackermann was seen as promoting an outsider-former central bank chief Axel Weber-for the position, while publicly expressing doubts about the quality of potential internal successors in a newspaper interview. Mr. Ackermann hasn't commented publicly on the matter.

The CEOs of German companies are usually chosen by the supervisory board, similar to the board of directors, with little input from the management team.

Mr. Weber ultimately joined UBS AG as chairman.

Mr. Ackermann has drawn attention for other public missteps, as well. In 2004, while facing trial over charges of breach of trust in connection with Vodafone's takeover of Mannesmann, Mr. Ackermann held up a victory sign with his fingers that was caught by photographers. Though he was later acquitted, critics viewed the gesture as arrogant and he apologized.

In spring 2011, Mr. Ackermann came under criticism in Germany for joking that the inclusion of women on Deutsche Bank's all-male executive board would make it "more colorful and prettier, too." At the time, a Deutsche Bank spokesman said Mr. Ackermann's quote was taken out of context.

Mr. Ackermann's biography, written by his spokesman and entitled, "Late Regrets," is scheduled to be released in September.

In March 2012, Mr. Ackermann was appointed as Zurich Insurance's chairman, a move that was widely seen as beneficial to the insurance firm because of Mr. Ackermann's prominence. But Zurich Insurance has struggled and delivered disappointing results since his appointment.

The disclosure of Mr. Wauthier's death earlier this week drew attention to Zurich Insurance's challenges.

In May, Zurich Insurance posted a 7% drop in profit for the first quarter, but assured investors it was on track to meet the targets it had set to achieve this year-such as boosting profitability at the general insurance business, its largest unit. Earlier this month, however, the company reported another decline in profit for the second quarter.

On Thursday, Zurich Insurance said Vice Chairman Tom de Swaan will become acting chairman, following Mr. Ackermann's departure.

Mr. Wauthier's death comes a month after Swisscom AG CEO Carsten Schloter was found dead at his home in what has been determined a suicide. The deaths, as well as the abrupt departure of other high-ranking executives at Swiss companies, has prompted a national discussion over work-life balance.