Former CEO at Swiss Insurer Commits Suicide -- WSJ
May 31 2016 - 3:04AM
Dow Jones News
By John Letzing
ZURICH -- Martin Senn, former chief executive of Zurich
Insurance Group AG who stepped aside in December, has killed
himself, the company said -- the second suicide by a onetime top
manager at the company in the past few years.
Mr. Senn's death at age 59 follows the suicide of former Zurich
Insurance Chief Financial Officer Pierre Wauthier in 2013. An
internal probe at the insurer, conducted under the supervision of
Switzerland's financial regulator, later cleared company leaders of
placing an inappropriate amount of stress on Mr. Wauthier.
During the company's annual meeting in early 2014, Mr. Senn said
that, "The grief and shock we experienced at the suicide of our
colleague Pierre Wauthier was enormous."
Mr. Senn's exit from Zurich Insurance capped a difficult period
for the company. At the time, Mr. Senn cited Zurich Insurance's
difficulties in revamping its largest business and its failure to
seal an ambitious acquisition of U.K.-based RSA Insurance Group
PLC.
Last February, the company reported a larger-than-expected loss
for the fourth quarter and said about 15% of its employees would be
affected by cost-cutting efforts.
The earnings report came shortly after Zurich Insurance had
announced a successor to Mr. Senn, former Assicurazioni Generali
SpA CEO Mario Greco -- a onetime Zurich Insurance executive. He
assumed the CEO role at the company in March.
Mr. Senn, a Swiss national and former executive at Credit Suisse
Group AG, joined Zurich Insurance as chief investment officer in
2006 and assumed the CEO role in 2010.
In the 2013 suicide, Mr. Wauthier left behind a note blaming
former Zurich Insurance Chairman Josef Ackermann for creating an
unbearably stressful work environment. Mr. Ackermann, a onetime CEO
of Deutsche Bank AG, abruptly resigned and issued a statement
rejecting blame for Mr. Wauthier's death. He said he was resigning
to avoid damage to Zurich's reputation.
Mr. Senn appeared on Swiss television as events unfolded, to say
the company regretted Mr. Ackermann's departure and was unaware of
the sort of friction between Messrs. Ackermann and Wauthier "which
could or should have led to such a death."
In November 2013, Zurich Insurance announced that its internal
investigation found no indication that Mr. Wauthier had been
subjected to "undue pressure" by the insurer's top management.
That finding was criticized by Mr. Wauthier's widow at the
company's annual meeting the following April. Addressing company
executives including Mr. Senn, Fabienne Wauthier said the company
had unjustly sought to avoid blame for her husband's death. "The
way you handled Pierre's suicide is a sign that unaccountability
remains part of Zurich's corporate culture," she said.
Mr. Senn was known for his affection for classical music, and
held a seat on the board of trustees of the Lucerne Festival, a
prestigious series of concerts and related classical music academy
in a picturesque city south of Zurich. In a 2012 interview
published by the magazine Global Finance, Mr. Senn said that his
wife, a Korean concert violinist, had "opened my eyes to a new
realm of culture."
In addition to his role at Zurich Insurance, he served as
chairman at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.
"It is with great shock and sadness that we must inform you of
the sudden death of Martin Senn," Zurich Insurance said in a
written statement on Monday. "His family informed us that Martin
took his life last Friday."
"With the passing of Martin, we lose not only a highly valued
former CEO and colleague but also a close friend. Our thoughts are
with his bereaved family and friends, to whom we extend our deepest
sympathies."
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 31, 2016 02:49 ET (06:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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