Credit Suisse: The Woman Taking Two Steps at a Time: Before even starting her new job as European head of Credit Suisse, Francesca McDonagh has also been named as the new COO, becoming the CEO's right-hand woman. FrancescaMcDonagh COO CreditSuisse
Come October, Francesca McDonagh will have joined Credit Suisse as CEO of Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. But even before her starting date at Switzerland's second-largest bank, she has been given an additional role. As finews.com also reported today, McDonagh will serve as the bank's chief operating officer - and as the right-hand of new CEO Ulrich Koerner, who replaced predecessor Thomas Gottstein last month.
With her reputation as a cost cutter, McDonagh will very much appeal to Koerner who was dubbed «Ueli the Knife» for his past cost-cutting efforts. In announcing its quarterly results in July, Credit Suisse said it was also reviewing its strategic plan and would provide more details when reporting its third quarter results, as finews.com also reported.
At Credit Suisse, where in recent months the situation has proved unpredictable and tumultuous, those traits may serve her well. Like Ralph Hamers at UBS, she belongs to the new generation of bank managers who demand a sense of «purpose» for their company. With this as a guiding principle, McDonagh is said to have inspired the Bank of Ireland staff.The new Credit Suisse vice-chair has to refute the implicit accusation that has accompanied her since her appointment to Credit Suisse.