Brady Dougan will succeed Oswald Grübel as Credit Suisse's chief executive in May, after overseeing a trebling of pre-tax profits at the group's investment banking unit during a record 12 months.

Pre-tax profits at Credit Suisse's investment banking unit, of which Dougan, 47, has been chief executive since July 2004, more than trebled to a record Sfr6bn (€3.7bn) last year, as the absence of litigation costs and a stronger performance across its businesses propelled revenues to record levels.