Former Credit Suisse CEO Nominated to Run in Ivory Coast Presidential Election

Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Credit Suisse, speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

6:19 AM EDT, April 18, 2025

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse CEO, won a near-unanimous vote to represent the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast in an upcoming presidential election, the party announced.

Thiam won 99.5% of the vote and ran unopposed for the nomination. He is the current president of the party. He previously resigned from his position as CEO of Credit Suisse after a corporate espionage scandal rocked the company. An external report found that Thiam had no knowledge of the espionage.

It isn’t known who will run against him, but the current president, Alassane Ouattara, has indicated that he may run again. Ouattara won in 2020 after a disputed election left dozens dead and opposition candidates boycotted the election.

Ivory Coast is set to hold the vote in October.