????約翰森對《財富》雜志（Fortune）表示，他可以肯定，瑞士兩位高管夏季自殺的時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，只是鮮有報道而已。雖然高層面臨的壓力確實在急劇增加，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)計為320萬美元。）但盡管如此，21世紀始終在線的公司文化也帶來了嚴峻的挑戰(zhàn)，而許多人或許會認為這樣的挑戰(zhàn)難以承受。約翰森表示，“在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)時代，面對分析師、記者等各類人群的圍攻，沒人可以擺脫工作，只能舍命相陪?！?/p>

????在外界看來，蘇黎世保險集團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)實的風(fēng)格。但早在2012年3月后不久，便有敏銳的觀察家們宣稱，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了公司出新問題的前兆。當(dāng)時，公司剛剛聘請阿克曼對公司進行改組。

????阿克曼在瑞士的農(nóng)村長大，在德國金融界，他是一位耀眼的明星。他用了十年時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)表了一篇描寫高層權(quán)力之爭的封面文章《水火不容》（Like Fire and Water）。文章中，蘇黎世董事會一位不愿暴露姓名的成員表示，阿克曼的名氣對蘇黎世董事會有著強大的吸引力。這位董事會成員認為，任命阿克曼為董事會主席被證明是“一個錯誤”，而有其他人從一開始就見證了文化沖突。阿克曼趾高氣揚地來到蘇黎世。他并沒有住進前任狹小的內(nèi)部辦公室，而是搬到了寬敞的海濱寓所。蘇黎世非正式的、隨意的會議傳統(tǒng)也被改成正式的預(yù)約會面。雖然同僚們認為阿克曼仍需要了解保險業(yè)，但這位主席卻已經(jīng)開始了大刀闊斧的改革。

????8月14日的一個小時是持續(xù)數(shù)月摩擦分歧的一個縮影。本月早些時候以及最近一段時間，一位員工曾先后對路透社（Reuters）和《Bilanz》雜志透露，當(dāng)時，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報。阿克曼不同意沃蒂耶的意見，他在一份聲明中寫道，蘇黎世將無法達到三年目標(biāo)。而對保險業(yè)會計獨特性更熟悉的沃蒂耶認為，公司實際上正在逐步實現(xiàn)目標(biāo)。但最終阿克曼獲勝。據(jù)知情人士對《Bilanz》雜志表示，在不到兩周后的遺書中，沃蒂耶提到了8月14日的會面。在8月15日的簡報會上，蘇黎世報告半年凈利潤減少17%，導(dǎo)致公司股價下跌4%。

????但阿克曼的一些朋友和同事卻認為，沃蒂耶控訴的言辭與他的自殺一樣令人迷惑。阿克曼在一部紀錄片中曾形容自己“非?？量獭?，但對于他欺壓同事的說法，他的支持者們卻予以否認。阿克曼在德意志銀行時的發(fā)言人斯蒂芬?巴隆告訴《財富》雜志（Fortune）：“他是一位非常強硬和苛刻的高管，但他也非常公平和友善?！卑吐≡跒榍叭卫习遄珜懙膫饔洠ㄓ?月中旬出版）中形容阿克曼缺乏耐心且非常嚴厲，“為他工作并不輕松”。他寫道：“誰也別想在通宵加班后從他那里聽到一句‘謝謝’?！辈贿^，巴隆對《財富》雜志表示，阿克曼干勁十足地度過了大規(guī)模的危機——雷曼兄弟破產(chǎn)，幾近破產(chǎn)的德國銀行，還有歐元區(qū)危機等，而且他不相信是阿克曼把沃蒂耶逼到了絕望的境地。阿克曼看起來非常放松，總是面帶微笑。阿克曼在出席巴隆在柏林的新書發(fā)布會時告訴記者，他“堅決否認”對沃蒂耶的死負有責(zé)任。巴隆告訴《財富》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，來自他在瑞士鄉(xiāng)村的成長經(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."?