Tidjane Thiam, group chief executive of U.K.-insurer Prudential, will become the new CEO of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, both companies confirmed Tuesday.
Thiam's new role is set to start in June this year, and will see him take over from outgoing CEO Brady Dougan, who has been with the Swiss lender for 8 years. Shares of Credit Suisse surged 7.5 percent at the session open on Tuesday.
Paul Manduca, chairman of Prudential, called Thiam an "exceptional leader" who had steered the company through the financial crisis and focused on the high-growth markets of emerging Asia.
Thiam became CEO of the insurer in March 2008; its shares have risen over 150 percent during his tenure. Prudential's full-year results showed a 14 percent rise in operating profit on an IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) basis, the company said Tuesday.
Thiam lined up to head Credit Suisse
"Although the board will be sorry to see him go, we understand his desire to take on a new challenge with another global leader in a different part of the financial services sector, headquartered in Switzerland, and we wish him every success in his new role," Manduca said in a press release on Tuesday morning.
Manduca added that Prudential's board were fortunate in having a "very strong management team" and had identified a successor who will be named "once the regulatory approval process has been completed."
Meanwhile, outgoing CEO Dougan said he was proud of what his team had achieved over the 25 years he had worked at the company.
Credit Suisse introducing measures to deal with strong franc
"The strategic return on equity last year was among the highest in the industry and our cumulative net new asset inflows exceeded those of our peers," he said in a statement.
Credit Suisse's fourth-quarter net profit, published in February, beat analysts' estimates.
It has also detailed plans to cut costs in the wake of the Swiss central bank's decision to allow the currency to scrap its currency peg to the euro. The bank has also agreed to slash bonus payments to staff and has agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion in fines for helping U.S. citizens evade taxes.