Suicide of CFO Creates Corporate Reputation Risk for Zurich

Reputation risk arises in many ways. A new example arose as follows. Zurich’s CFO committed suicide. Zurich’s Chariman then quit, under fire from the CFO’s family for being, they said, a cause of the suicide. Now Zurich is now under a cloud of suspicion as to its financial practices, the stock price has fallen slightly, and Zurich is in a mode of seeking to "repair damage."

Integrity and reputation are valuable assets, and they can be quickly impaired or lost by an event no one expected. But does that mean it was not foreseeable? This example of reputation risks highlights the reality that persons under stress may do things most people would not do. As of September 4, Zurich now is looking at the subject of the impacts of stress.

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