PARIS – French-Ivorian banking executive Tidjane Thiam has stepped down from his spot on Kering‘s board of directors in order to pursue political ambitions in his home country.
Thiam was elected president of Ivory Coast’s Democratic Party, one of the two main political parties in the country, on Dec. 22. After taking the reins of the party, he has a strong chance of becoming a candidate for the country’s presidential election expected by October 2025.
He submitted his resignation to Kering “in order to have the necessary time to devote to his political commitments,” the company said in a statement.
Thiam joined the board as an independent director in June 2020, was a member of the remuneration committee and chaired the audit committee.
“On his own behalf and on behalf of the board of directors, François-Henri Pinault warmly thanks Tidjane Thiam for his involvement and his contribution to the board’s activities,” the company added.
A successor is expected in the coming weeks, while the rest of the board remains unchanged.
Thiam left Ivory Coast following a coup in 1999, while he was minister for planning and development and an adviser to ousted president Aimé Henri Konan Bédié. He went on to build a career in banking in Europe with top posts at Aviva, Prudential and Credit Suisse.
The former chief executive officer of Swiss bank Credit Suisse left the bank in 2020 following a series of corporate espionage and financial oversight scandals. He was was appointed to Kering’s board following his departure from the now-defunct Swiss bank.
Prior to his position at Credit Suisse, he spent years at British banking group Prudential, serving as its chief financial officer for two years before taking the CEO role for six years, until 2015, leaving to join Credit Suisse. He also held positions at McKinsey & Company, Ivory Coast’s National Bureau for Technical Studies and London-based insurance industry giant Aviva during his career.
He also served on the International Olympic Committee.
Thiam holds dual nationality in France and Ivory Coast, where his family has deep political roots. His mother is a descendant of the former royal family. He is the great-nephew of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivory Coast’s independence leader and first president, and his father served in Houphouët-Boigny’s cabinet.
