(Bloomberg) -- Michael Klein was asked to figure out how to fix Credit Suisse’s investment bank. Apparently the answer was that he should run it.

The veteran dealmaker is stepping down from the board seat he’s held at the Swiss bank since 2018 to take over the planned CS First Boston investment bank spinout. His appointment, made public on Thursday amid a sweeping restructuring of Credit Suisse, is expected to take effect next year.

It’s the latest iteration of a multi-decade career that’s taken Klein from the subprime crisis at Citigroup Inc., where he was once seen as a potential successor to chief executive officer Chuck Prince, to the corridors of power in Riyadh. There, he famously won a role on the initial public offering of oil giant Saudi Aramco before some of the biggest names on Wall Street had even properly pitched for a role.

Klein’s Saudi connections were key in a revamp that will see him jump from his board role, where he was chair of the Investment Bank Strategy Committee created in July, to the more hands-on CEO job. Klein was directly involved in helping Credit Suisse line up an investment by Saudi National Bank of up to $1.5 billion, allowing it to take a stake of as much as 9.9% in the Zurich lender, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.

“Michael brings a vision and an esteemed track record and I am thrilled that he has agreed to take this essential position,” Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner said Thursday when announcing his new role. “Michael will play a substantial leadership role for Credit Suisse and in CS First Boston’s future.”

Klein’s ties with the Middle East stretch back at least to his Citigroup days, where he led negotiations during the financial crisis over a $7.5 billion capital injection from Abu Dhabi. He also oversaw the Citigroup team that helped Dow Chemical Co. get financing from Kuwait Investment Authority.

After more than two decades at the Wall Street bank he left in 2008, after being sidelined by then new CEO, Vikram Pandit. As co-head of the trading and investment-banking division, he had advised on some of the biggest deals globally, and he continued to do so when he opened his own shop after his exit. 

He’s worked with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund with its global investment strategy and financing plans. And throughout the stop-start negotiations around the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, he played a key role. He advised Aramco directly, helping the company’s chairman select the banks to handle the deal.

The PIF, as its known, holds a 37% stake in Saudi National Bank that is now investing in Credit Suisse.

In the run-up to Credit Suisse’s overhaul, Klein was one of the key people pushing for the revival of the First Boston brand, according to people familiar with the matter. In September, he and fellow board member Blythe Masters spoke at a global townhall meeting to also float the idea of giving senior dealmakers an ownership stake in their unit, people familiar with the matter said at the time. It was a move that the bank ultimately adopted.

The possibility of Klein running CS First Boston wasn’t raised until this month, according to a person familiar with the discussions. At that point, he started recusing himself from voting on specific proposals, the person said.

“We are very, very mindful of conflicts of interest,” Chairman Axel Lehmann said on a call Thursday. “We have clearly made sure in every decision they needed to abstain from any voting and were only allowed to potentially contribute from a more technical perspective, helping to create the fact base for decision-making.”

The First Boston business Klein is taking over now will attempt to protect and restore some of the lender’s historically strongest investment banking franchises, such as in mergers and acquisitions and leveraged finance. The Swiss firm’s investment bank division was named Credit Suisse First Boston for almost two decades before it decided in 2005 to retire the name in favor of one moniker for all its businesses.

After an exodus of experienced bankers over the past two years, some Credit Suisse dealmakers welcomed Klein bringing his track record and client roster to a business that will seek to get on the biggest global deals.

Klein’s move comes amid broader personnel changes at the investment bank, which is effectively being broken up. Christian Meissner, who became investment banking chief in 2021, is leaving straight away. Mike Ebert and and Ken Pang will take over as co-heads of Credit Suisse’s remaining markets business.

Klein runs his own advisory boutique. The Financial Times reported Friday that he will fold that into CS First Boston.

--With assistance from Eyk Henning and Archana Narayanan.

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