by Mr. Gottstein, we're meeting the morning after Stan Wawrinka beat Novak Djokovic in the US Open. How long did you watch last night? Truthfully? I put the kids to bed, and I was only planning to watch the first set. But I stayed up for the whole thing, and when I looked up at the clock, it was 2:46 am. A fantastic match. Wawrinka is a perfect example of Swiss values in the world – just like Roger Federer, but in his own unique way. Nevertheless, my alarm went off at six this morning, so please bear with me. You're familiar with the world of elite sports; you played golf on the Swiss national team. What are the most important character traits for success? Of course, you need talent. But you can't have long-term success without discipline, even if you are extremely talented. In sports and life in general, it's important to set clear goals. How did you prepare for an important tournament? I would go through the course and every single swing in my head the evening before. Over and over. I played many rounds mentally. In every situation, having a clear plan helps to deal with pressure and changing circumstances. How would you describe yourself as a person? I'm basically a positive person. I like competition. I enjoy seeing how I measure up to others and winning fair and square. Or – somewhat less enjoyably – losing gracefully.
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Credit Suisse considers the following as important: Banking, Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse People, Switzerland
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Mr. Gottstein, we're meeting the morning after Stan Wawrinka beat Novak Djokovic in the US Open. How long did you watch last night?
Truthfully? I put the kids to bed, and I was only planning to watch the first set. But I stayed up for the whole thing, and when I looked up at the clock, it was 2:46 am. A fantastic match. Wawrinka is a perfect example of Swiss values in the world – just like Roger Federer, but in his own unique way. Nevertheless, my alarm went off at six this morning, so please bear with me.
You're familiar with the world of elite sports; you played golf on the Swiss national team. What are the most important character traits for success?
Of course, you need talent. But you can't have long-term success without discipline, even if you are extremely talented. In sports and life in general, it's important to set clear goals.
How did you prepare for an important tournament?
I would go through the course and every single swing in my head the evening before. Over and over. I played many rounds mentally. In every situation, having a clear plan helps to deal with pressure and changing circumstances.
How would you describe yourself as a person?
I'm basically a positive person. I like competition. I enjoy seeing how I measure up to others and winning fair and square. Or – somewhat less enjoyably – losing gracefully. Another life lesson that comes from sports is handling victories and defeats. Both can be difficult.
Clearly, you are exceedingly loyal. You've worked for CS for 17 years.
I've always been lucky to have had good mentors who believed in me – including Marco Illy, Hans-Ulrich Doerig and James Leigh-Pemberton, just to name three. I've also always had colleagues whom I could trust and who trusted me. That inspires loyalty and appreciation, which are very important values to me.
It's often said that when money is involved, loyalty isn't worth much.
What a tired cliché. In the end, people are everything. The members of my management team have worked 20 years for Credit Suisse on average. They know the business, they know what they're talking about, and they have years of experience working as a team.
Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. has just started operating. There's a buzz of excitement around the new company.
I feel it too. We have founded Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., and we're planning a partial initial public offering next year. That's brought us together as a team. Plus, with the new Switzerland-based unit we'll have someone on the Executive Board who has only one thing in mind when he gets up in the morning and when he goes to bed at night: Switzerland.
In three sentences, what is your vision for Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd?
I only need one sentence. We want to be the best bank in Switzerland. Period.
How will you achieve that?
We want to offer the best service. We're the only bank that can say we concentrate entirely on Switzerland. The other large banks all still have an offshore business. In addition, we can combine our focus on Switzerland with Credit Suisse Group's global network and full range of services. That's important for our clients – for example, with the takeover of a foreign business by a Swiss company, with a merger that crosses borders, or with alternative investments.
A return to your roots?
Yes, we've renewed our emphasis on Switzerland. In the last five to ten years, we sometimes invested too little in Switzerland – and in innovations, too. We're now changing this. Switzerland is our home market – our heart, so to speak. Switzerland is the most important pillar of the Group's earnings, and a stable one, too.