Credit Suisse Group announced today that its board of directors has appointed its investment banking chief, Brady Dougan, as the firm’s next CEO, succeeding Oswald Grübel.

Dougan will take over on May 5, after Grübel retires at the Annual General Meeting on May 4. He joined the bank in 1990. Prior to his appointment as CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston in July 2004, he was co-president of Institutional Securities since 2002, with responsibility for the oversight of the day-to-day management and strategy of Credit Suisse First Boston’s Equity, Fixed Income, Investment Banking and Private Equity businesses. From 2001 to 2002, he was Global Head of the Securities division. Prior to this role, he was Head of the Equities division for five years. Dougan was also Co-Head of the Credit Suisse First Boston Global Debt Capital Markets Group. He joined Credit Suisse First Boston from Bankers Trust, where he began his career in the derivatives group. Brady Dougan received his B.A. in Economics and his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Chicago.

Walter Kielholz, chairman of Credit Suisse Group, said, “We are fortunate to have an executive of the caliber of Brady Dougan to lead Credit Suisse Group into the future. Brady Dougan has a proven track record of success during his 17 years at Credit Suisse. He has been a key member of the executive team which has created our integrated business model and he has been instrumental in enhancing the performance of our Investment Banking division. Brady Dougan’s experience in Asia, Europe and the U.S. will be invaluable as we execute on our strategy to create the world’s premier bank.”

“This leadership change comes at a time of strength for the company with record results for 2006, and we owe a great debt of gratitude to Oswald Grübel, whose leadership has been key to this success. His almost 40-year career with the company was crowned by his tenure as chief executive officer, leading the successful transformation of Credit Suisse into an integrated global bank and delivering an enormous improvement in profitability and shareholder value. He has worked closely with the Board to ensure a smooth transition. On behalf of the entire Board, our employees and our shareholders, I would like to thank him for his invaluable contribution to Credit Suisse.”

Grübel noted, “My time as chief executive officer has been very satisfying with the transformation of Credit Suisse into a global integrated bank under a single brand. Our clients have responded very positively and there is an enormous opportunity for Credit Suisse to create further value. As a key member of the management team, Brady Dougan has been closely involved with the development of the integrated bank and is totally committed to our strategy. I am delighted that he will be leading Credit Suisse.”

Commenting on his new role, Dougan said, “I am honored to have been asked to lead a first-class team of colleagues from around the world. We have built a solid platform to deliver further growth and we are just at the beginning of what I believe is one of the greatest value creation stories in our industry. By focusing on the needs of our clients and leveraging resources from across the entire bank to provide them with holistic solutions, we will see significant further progress. Our priorities are to capitalize on our integrated business model, to expand in high-growth markets and products and to deliver superior returns. With a great management team and support from our Chairman and the Board of Directors, I am sure that we will continue to prosper as a premier global bank.”

Paul Calello, currently CEO of the Asia Pacific region and a member of the Executive Board, who will take over Dougan’s role as CEO of Investment Banking. Also, Credit Suisse announced that Robert Shafir will join the bank as CEO of the Americas and will be a member of the Executive Board. He has worked for over 15 years at Lehman Brothers, where he served as Head of Equities, as well as being a member of the Executive Committee. Robert Shafir will work with Investment Banking, Private Banking and Asset Management, taking the same integrated approach as in the other regions.