Rainer E. Gut

With a foreword by Oswald J. Grübel, Rainer E. Gut, long-time CEO and Chairman of the Board of the current Credit Suisse Group, has shaped the development of the Swiss economy and particularly the financial sector over the past three decades like few others. Yet, the entrepreneurial achievements of Rainer E. Gut, who chaired the board of Nestlé until 2005 and played a crucial role in the founding of Swiss, are still viewed very controversially. In the biography authorized by Rainer E. Gut, all significant milestones in the life of this prominent Swiss business leader are retold—based on long, open conversations the author had with Rainer E. Gut, as well as taking into account numerous new sources and supported by the assessments of contemporaries. Rainer E. Gut reflects on his life openly and for the first time reveals insights into backgrounds that have not been accessible to the public until now. The Chiasso scandal, which plunged the SKA into an existential crisis, is presented with as many facts as the dramatic takeover battle between the Bankgesellschaft and the SKA for the then Volksbank. The legendary phone call between Rainer E. Gut and Nikolaus Senn, in which Gut proposed a merger between SKA and Bankgesellschaft, is placed in a new context with previously unpublished documents, highlighting that Senn's harsh public reaction marked the beginning of the end for the traditional Bankgesellschaft, which was later effectively taken over by the smaller Bankverein during the merger. Additionally, Rainer E. Gut's role in the founding of the airline Swiss and his disputes with the then Crossair CEO Moritz Suter appear in a new light after reading this biography. The exciting book also provides insight into the considerations that occupied Rainer E. Gut in 2005.