NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- The board of New York's Credit Suisse Group has decided to install new leadership after a clash over whether or not the firm should seek a merger partner.
John J. Mack, who had been co-chief executive officer for just three years, wanted the board to consider a merger with another financial institution to better compete in a rapidly consolidating industry, the New York Times reported Friday.
Oswald J. Grubel, who had shared the top title with Mack, becomes sole chief executive of the group, effective July 12. Succeeding Mack, 60, as chief executive of the group's investment banking division will be Brady W. Dougan, 44, who has been with the firm since 1990 and who now oversees the equities and fixed-income division.
The U.S. financial community credits Mack with reaching a series of agreements with regulators and improving the firm's profitability, and Credit Suisse had isolated investment banking successes, including the designation of co-underwriter of the Google public offering. But the firm was never able to secure a permanent spot alongside investment banking giants Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
