????約翰森對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）表示,，他可以肯定,，瑞士?jī)晌桓吖芟募咀詺⒌臅r(shí)間之所以這么接近純屬巧合，高管自殺的情況在全球并不少見(jiàn),，只是鮮有報(bào)道而已,。雖然高層面臨的壓力確實(shí)在急劇增加，但他指出高管的收入也在大幅上漲,；換言之,，承擔(dān)這些艱巨工作的人都是手握大權(quán)的富有之人。（沃蒂耶的工資預(yù)計(jì)為320萬(wàn)美元,。）但盡管如此,，21世紀(jì)始終在線(xiàn)的公司文化也帶來(lái)了嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)，而許多人或許會(huì)認(rèn)為這樣的挑戰(zhàn)難以承受,。約翰森表示,，“在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)時(shí)代，面對(duì)分析師,、記者等各類(lèi)人群的圍攻,，沒(méi)人可以擺脫工作，只能舍命相陪,?！?/p>

????在外界看來(lái)，蘇黎世保險(xiǎn)集團(tuán)的悲劇似乎有些莫名其妙,，尤其是成立于1872年的這家公司充分體現(xiàn)了瑞士人低調(diào),、務(wù)實(shí)的風(fēng)格。但早在2012年3月后不久,，便有敏銳的觀(guān)察家們宣稱(chēng),，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了公司出新問(wèn)題的前兆。當(dāng)時(shí),，公司剛剛聘請(qǐng)阿克曼對(duì)公司進(jìn)行改組,。

????阿克曼在瑞士的農(nóng)村長(zhǎng)大，在德國(guó)金融界，他是一位耀眼的明星,。他用了十年時(shí)間就將德意志銀行從一家地方性的小公司變成了一家全球性的大公司,。但他并未能保住在德意志銀行的董事會(huì)主席職位。在他位于法蘭克福的辦公室里,，掛著他與西班牙國(guó)王胡安?卡洛斯,、佛拉基米爾?普京、胡錦濤和安吉拉?默克爾【2008年9月,，雷曼兄弟（Lehman Brothers）破產(chǎn)后,，默克爾曾向阿克曼尋求幫助，穩(wěn)定德國(guó)銀行業(yè),?！康暮嫌啊?/p>

????9月20日的《Bilanz》雜志發(fā)表了一篇描寫(xiě)高層權(quán)力之爭(zhēng)的封面文章《水火不容》（Like Fire and Water）,。文章中,，蘇黎世董事會(huì)一位不愿暴露姓名的成員表示，阿克曼的名氣對(duì)蘇黎世董事會(huì)有著強(qiáng)大的吸引力,。這位董事會(huì)成員認(rèn)為，任命阿克曼為董事會(huì)主席被證明是“一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤”,，而有其他人從一開(kāi)始就見(jiàn)證了文化沖突,。阿克曼趾高氣揚(yáng)地來(lái)到蘇黎世。他并沒(méi)有住進(jìn)前任狹小的內(nèi)部辦公室,，而是搬到了寬敞的海濱寓所,。蘇黎世非正式的、隨意的會(huì)議傳統(tǒng)也被改成正式的預(yù)約會(huì)面,。雖然同僚們認(rèn)為阿克曼仍需要了解保險(xiǎn)業(yè),，但這位主席卻已經(jīng)開(kāi)始了大刀闊斧的改革。

????8月14日的一個(gè)小時(shí)是持續(xù)數(shù)月摩擦分歧的一個(gè)縮影,。本月早些時(shí)候以及最近一段時(shí)間,，一位員工曾先后對(duì)路透社（Reuters）和《Bilanz》雜志透露，當(dāng)時(shí),，沃蒂耶到阿克曼的辦公室,，敲定第二天的蘇黎世半年收入簡(jiǎn)報(bào)。阿克曼不同意沃蒂耶的意見(jiàn),，他在一份聲明中寫(xiě)道,，蘇黎世將無(wú)法達(dá)到三年目標(biāo)。而對(duì)保險(xiǎn)業(yè)會(huì)計(jì)獨(dú)特性更熟悉的沃蒂耶認(rèn)為,，公司實(shí)際上正在逐步實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo),。但最終阿克曼獲勝。據(jù)知情人士對(duì)《Bilanz》雜志表示，在不到兩周后的遺書(shū)中,，沃蒂耶提到了8月14日的會(huì)面,。在8月15日的簡(jiǎn)報(bào)會(huì)上，蘇黎世報(bào)告半年凈利潤(rùn)減少17%,，導(dǎo)致公司股價(jià)下跌4%,。

????但阿克曼的一些朋友和同事卻認(rèn)為，沃蒂耶控訴的言辭與他的自殺一樣令人迷惑,。阿克曼在一部紀(jì)錄片中曾形容自己“非?？量獭保珜?duì)于他欺壓同事的說(shuō)法,，他的支持者們卻予以否認(rèn),。阿克曼在德意志銀行時(shí)的發(fā)言人斯蒂芬?巴隆告訴《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）：“他是一位非常強(qiáng)硬和苛刻的高管，但他也非常公平和友善,?！卑吐≡跒榍叭卫习遄珜?xiě)的傳記（于9月中旬出版）中形容阿克曼缺乏耐心且非常嚴(yán)厲，“為他工作并不輕松”,。他寫(xiě)道：“誰(shuí)也別想在通宵加班后從他那里聽(tīng)到一句‘謝謝’,。”不過(guò),，巴隆對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,，阿克曼干勁十足地度過(guò)了大規(guī)模的危機(jī)——雷曼兄弟破產(chǎn)，幾近破產(chǎn)的德國(guó)銀行,，還有歐元區(qū)危機(jī)等,，而且他不相信是阿克曼把沃蒂耶逼到了絕望的境地。阿克曼看起來(lái)非常放松,，總是面帶微笑,。阿克曼在出席巴隆在柏林的新書(shū)發(fā)布會(huì)時(shí)告訴記者，他“堅(jiān)決否認(rèn)”對(duì)沃蒂耶的死負(fù)有責(zé)任,。巴隆告訴《財(cái)富》雜志：“即使面臨異?；靵y的局面，他也總能保持冷靜和泰然自若,。這應(yīng)該是由他的基因決定的,，來(lái)自他在瑞士鄉(xiāng)村的成長(zhǎng)經(jīng)歷?！?

????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."?