瑞士悲剧：两位CEO为何相继自杀

    约翰森对《财富》杂志（Fortune）表示，他可以肯定，瑞士两位高管夏季自杀的时间之所以这么接近纯属巧合，高管自杀的情况在全球并不少见，只是鲜有报道而已。虽然高层面临的压力确实在急剧增加，但他指出高管的收入也在大幅上涨；换言之，承担这些艰巨工作的人都是手握大权的富有之人。（沃蒂耶的工资预计为320万美元。）但尽管如此，21世纪始终在线的公司文化也带来了严峻的挑战，而许多人或许会认为这样的挑战难以承受。约翰森表示，“在互联网时代，面对分析师、记者等各类人群的围攻，没人可以摆脱工作，只能舍命相陪。”

    在外界看来，苏黎世保险集团的悲剧似乎有些莫名其妙，尤其是成立于1872年的这家公司充分体现了瑞士人低调、务实的风格。但早在2012年3月后不久，便有敏锐的观察家们宣称，他们发现了公司出新问题的前兆。当时，公司刚刚聘请阿克曼对公司进行改组。

    阿克曼在瑞士的农村长大，在德国金融界，他是一位耀眼的明星。他用了十年时间就将德意志银行从一家地方性的小公司变成了一家全球性的大公司。但他并未能保住在德意志银行的董事会主席职位。在他位于法兰克福的办公室里，挂着他与西班牙国王胡安•卡洛斯、佛拉基米尔•普京、胡锦涛和安吉拉•默克尔【2008年9月，雷曼兄弟（Lehman Brothers）破产后，默克尔曾向阿克曼寻求帮助，稳定德国银行业。】的合影。

    9月20日的《Bilanz》杂志发表了一篇描写高层权力之争的封面文章《水火不容》（Like Fire and Water）。文章中，苏黎世董事会一位不愿暴露姓名的成员表示，阿克曼的名气对苏黎世董事会有着强大的吸引力。这位董事会成员认为，任命阿克曼为董事会主席被证明是“一个错误”，而有其他人从一开始就见证了文化冲突。阿克曼趾高气扬地来到苏黎世。他并没有住进前任狭小的内部办公室，而是搬到了宽敞的海滨寓所。苏黎世非正式的、随意的会议传统也被改成正式的预约会面。虽然同僚们认为阿克曼仍需要了解保险业，但这位主席却已经开始了大刀阔斧的改革。

    8月14日的一个小时是持续数月摩擦分歧的一个缩影。本月早些时候以及最近一段时间，一位员工曾先后对路透社（Reuters）和《Bilanz》杂志透露，当时，沃蒂耶到阿克曼的办公室，敲定第二天的苏黎世半年收入简报。阿克曼不同意沃蒂耶的意见，他在一份声明中写道，苏黎世将无法达到三年目标。而对保险业会计独特性更熟悉的沃蒂耶认为，公司实际上正在逐步实现目标。但最终阿克曼获胜。据知情人士对《Bilanz》杂志表示，在不到两周后的遗书中，沃蒂耶提到了8月14日的会面。在8月15日的简报会上，苏黎世报告半年净利润减少17%，导致公司股价下跌4%。

    但阿克曼的一些朋友和同事却认为，沃蒂耶控诉的言辞与他的自杀一样令人迷惑。阿克曼在一部纪录片中曾形容自己“非常苛刻”，但对于他欺压同事的说法，他的支持者们却予以否认。阿克曼在德意志银行时的发言人斯蒂芬•巴隆告诉《财富》杂志（Fortune）：“他是一位非常强硬和苛刻的高管，但他也非常公平和友善。”巴隆在为前任老板撰写的传记（于9月中旬出版）中形容阿克曼缺乏耐心且非常严厉，“为他工作并不轻松”。他写道：“谁也别想在通宵加班后从他那里听到一句‘谢谢’。”不过，巴隆对《财富》杂志表示，阿克曼干劲十足地度过了大规模的危机——雷曼兄弟破产，几近破产的德国银行，还有欧元区危机等，而且他不相信是阿克曼把沃蒂耶逼到了绝望的境地。阿克曼看起来非常放松，总是面带微笑。阿克曼在出席巴隆在柏林的新书发布会时告诉记者，他“坚决否认”对沃蒂耶的死负有责任。巴隆告诉《财富》杂志：“即使面临异常混乱的局面，他也总能保持冷静和泰然自若。这应该是由他的基因决定的，来自他在瑞士乡村的成长经历。” 

    Johansson told Fortune he is sure the close timing of Switzerland's summer suicides was pure coincidence and that executive suicides are more common worldwide than is publicly known. And while the pressures at the top have indeed soared, he points out that executive pay has, too; in other words, these tough jobs are done by powerful, rich people. (Wauthier's salary was believed to be $3.2 million.) Yet even so, the 21st-century, always-on corporate culture has brought intense challenges that some might find unmanageable. "With the Internet, the analysts, the journalists -- you always have to perform," Johansson says.

    To the outside world, Zurich's tragedy has seemed baffling, especially since the company, founded in 1872, seemed to embody Switzerland's low-key, no-drama style. Yet astute observers have since claimed there they had spotted signs of trouble since shortly after March, 2012, when Ackermann was brought in to shake up the company.

    Raised in rural Switzerland, Ackermann was a rock star in German finance, having transformed Deutsche Bank (DB) from a parochial company into a global powerhouse within one decade, though failing to secure the position of chairman there. His Frankfurt office featured photos of him with King Juan Carlos of Spain, Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao, and Angela Merkel (who rushed to Ackermann for help in shoring up German banks in the wake of Lehman Brothers' collapse in September, 2008).

    For Zurich's board members, Ackermann's fame was a powerful draw, according to one member, unnamed, who spoke to Bilanz for its September 20 cover story on the power struggle at the top, entitled "Like Fire and Water." The board member said Ackermann's appointment as chairman proved "a mistake," while others witnessed a culture clash from the start. The chairman arrived with a swagger. Rather than installing himself in his predecessor's cramped interior office, he moved into spacious waterfront digs. The tradition of informal, spontaneous meetings gave way to formal scheduled appointments. Though colleagues felt Ackermann was still learning the insurance industry, the chairman pushed for sweeping changes.

    Months of chafing disagreements crystallized in a single hour on August 14, when Wauthier met Ackermann in his office to finalize the next day's presentation of Zurich's half-year earnings, according to staff who spoke to Reuters earlier this month, and Bilanz more recently. Against Wauthier's advice, Ackermann wrote in a statement, declaring that Zurich looked set to miss some three-year targets. Wauthier, far more familiar with the peculiarities of insurance accounting, argued that the company was in fact on track to meet its goals. But Ackermann won out. And in his suicide note less than two weeks later, Wauthier cited the August 14 meeting, according to insiders who spoke to Bilanz. At its August 15 presentation, Zurich reported a 17% drop in half-year net profits, and its share price dropped 4%.

    To some of Ackermann's friends and colleagues, Wauthier's indicting words were as confounding as his death. Ackermann has described himself in a documentary as "very demanding," but his defenders reject any suggestion of him mistreating colleagues. "He's a tough and demanding executive, but always fair and kind-mannered as well," Stefan Baron, Ackermann's long-time spokesman at Deutsche Bank, told Fortune. In Baron's biography of his former boss, which appeared in mid-September, he describes Ackermann as impatient and exacting, and "not a cakewalk to work for." "Nobody should expect a 'thank you' after working through the night," he writes. Yet Baron told Fortune Ackermann had ridden out outsized crises -- the Lehman collapse, the near-death of some German banks, and the Eurozone crisis -- with élan, and does not believe he drove Wauthier to desperation. Looking relaxed and smiling, Ackermann told reporters at Baron's book launch in Berlin that he "vehemently rejects" responsibility for Wauthier's death. "He's always very calm and collected, even in the middle of great turmoil," Baron told Fortune. "It must be in his genes, from his upbringing in the Swiss countryside."