41 Facts About Tidjane Thiam

Tidjane Thiam was the chief executive officer of Swiss bank Credit Suisse from March 2015 to February 2020.

Tidjane Thiam was the chief financial officer of British banking group Prudential from 2007 to 2009, and then its CEO until 2015.

In 2019, Thiam became a member of the International Olympic Committee.

In 2020, Tidjane Thiam was appointed by the shareholders of the Kering Foundation to become part of the board of directors, as well as to take the position as Chair of the Audit Committee.

Tidjane Thiam was born in the Ivory Coast on 29 July 1962.

Tidjane Thiam is a descendant of two prominent families from Senegal and Ivory Coast.

Tidjane Thiam's father, Amadou Thiam, a journalist, was born in Senegal and emigrated to Cote d'Ivoire in 1947.

Tidjane Thiam supported Houphouet-Boigny in his fight for the independence of the country and served more than ten years in the Ivorian cabinet after independence.

In 1982 Tidjane Thiam was the first Ivorian to pass the entrance examination to the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris.

Tidjane Thiam received an MBA from INSEAD in 1988.

Tidjane Thiam was a key member of the Privatization Committee, in charge of privatising extensive state-owned assets.

Tidjane Thiam implemented flagship projects including the Azito power plant, the renovation of Abidjan airport and the construction of the Riviera Marcory toll bridge, whose financing was closed a few days before the 1999 coup.

Tidjane Thiam actively promoted an extensive privatisation programme which saw, between 1994 and 1999, Cote d'Ivoire lead African countries by privatising its telephone, services, electric power generation, airports, railways and many companies in the agricultural sector.

In December 1999, whilst Tidjane Thiam was abroad, the Ivorian military seized control of the government.

Tidjane Thiam returned to the country, where he was arrested and held for several weeks.

On returning to Europe, Tidjane Thiam was offered a partnership by McKinsey in Paris, becoming one of the leaders of the company's financial institutions practice.

In January 2007, after Richard Harvey announced he would step down as chief executive of Aviva, Tidjane Thiam was tipped as a possible future head of the group.

Tidjane Thiam left Aviva in September 2007 to become chief financial officer of Prudential plc.

In March 2009, Tidjane Thiam was named chief executive, effective from October, after Mark Tucker chose to step down.

Tidjane Thiam came under strong personal criticism following the failure of the bid, partly as a result of the costs incurred by the company in pursuing the bid.

Tidjane Thiam was appointed the chief executive officer of Swiss investment bank and financial services company Credit Suisse Group AG on 10 March 2015.

Tidjane Thiam's compensation was US$9.9 million in 2016 and $10.2 million in 2017.

Tidjane Thiam's pay was scheduled to be $11.2 million in 2017, however it was reduced after shareholder backlash.

Khan, Credit Suisse's former head of Wealth Management, accused Tidjane Thiam of sending spies after him.

In October 2019, Credit Suisse cleared Tidjane Thiam of ordering the botched surveillance.

The Homburger inquiry presented its report to the Credit Suisse board and said that Pierre-Olivier Bouee, not Tidjane Thiam, had independently made the call to follow Khan.

On February 7,2020, Tidjane Thiam resigned amid a power struggle which followed the spying scandal.

The IOC stated that the scandal would not affect his position in the Olympic Movement and therefore it would not affect his membership in the IOC, which is to remain until Tidjane Thiam reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.

In October 1999 Tidjane Thiam was appointed by James Wolfensohn as one of 20 members of the External Advisory Council of the World Bank Institute, which the Institute relies on for advice and guidance.

Tidjane Thiam is a member of the Africa Progress Panel, a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa.

In January 2011 Tidjane Thiam was appointed chairman of the G20's High Level Panel on Infrastructure Investment.

In November 2020, Tidjane Thiam was appointed by the cabinet of Rwanda to head the board of Rwanda Finance Limited.

Tidjane Thiam was chairman of the Association of British Insurers between July 3,2012, and October 1,2014.

Tidjane Thiam is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.

Tidjane Thiam was a non-executive director of the French chemicals company Arkema until November 2009.

In 2007, Tidjane Thiam was elected INSEAD Alumnus of the Year by the Insead Alumnus Association.

Tidjane Thiam was ranked number one in both 2010 and 2011 by the annual publication the Powerlist, which ranks the 100 most influential Africans in the UK.

In July 2011, Tidjane Thiam was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur by the French government in recognition of his significant contribution to civil life for more than 20 years.

On February 7,2025, Tidjane Thiam announced that he had renounced his French nationality in order to be eligible for the 2025 Ivorian presidential election scheduled in October.

Amid growing controversy, Ivorian authorities clarified that Tidjane Thiam had regained Ivorian citizenship in 2025 following his formal renunciation of French citizenship in 2025.

Tidjane's eldest son Bilal Thiam died of cancer in May 2020 at the age of 24.