More revelations are coming to light from the insurance firm Zurich, as it has now been discovered that the suicide note left by that company’s former finance director Pierre Wauthier did refer to his relationship with the company’s former chairman Josef Ackermann.
Ackermann stunned the insurance world last week when he announced he was stepping down as chair of the multinational company, shouldering some of the blame for the death of Wauthier.
“It is correct that it (the suicide note) relates to the relationship between Pierre Wauthier and Josef Ackermann,” stated Zurich’s interim chairman Tom de Swaan in a conference call to the media Friday.
De Swaan added he was not aware of any behaviour that would be considered inappropriate in a board setting.
Wauthier, age 53, was found dead at his home in Zug, Switzerland a week ago Monday. He was married with two grown children.
His widow, Fabienne, has accused Zurich’s top management of driving her husband into a corner, adding that Ackermann’s “tough management style” had placed her husband under too much pressure, according to Reuters News Service. (continued.)
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A former colleague of Wauthier was quoted in Swiss media, saying Pierre was under a lot of pressure because there was a lot more pressure from above on the share price. This was an open secret. Wauthier had effectively reached his career ambitions; CFO was his dream.”
Ackermann resigned amid pressure from Wauthier’s family, stating that he would “take my share of responsibility” for their loss.
In a prepared statement, Ackermann said: “To avoid any damage to Zurich’s reputation, I have decided to resign from all board functions with immediate effect,” adding that the allegations surrounding his contributing to the suicide as unfounded.
Zurich’s chief executive Martin Senn said there would be an investigations as to whether undue pressure had been placed on Wauthier.
“I want to be crystal clear,” he stated in a media conference call, “we take corporate culture and behaviour very seriously.”
