Ex-Zurich CEO kills himself

Senn, 59, was found dead on Friday after an apparent suicide, his former employer confirmed Monday after hearing from Senn's family.

"His family informed us that Martin took his life last Friday," a statement from Zurich Insurance Group read. It added management was "stunned and deeply shaken" by Senn's sudden death.

A Swiss newspaper, Blick, said Senn shot himself at the family's Alpine resort home in Klosters. Police in the canton of Grisons confirmed they had responded to such a case but gave no more details.

Senn is the second top Zurich executive and third leader of a Swiss company to take his own life in three years.

In August 2013, 53-year-old Zurich finance chief Pierre Wauthier killed himself after writing in a note that he had become demoralized by what he called a new, more aggressive tone at Zurich under then-chairman Josef Ackermann.

Ackermann, a former head of Deutsche Bank, denied any wrongdoing but quit after Wauthier's death, saying Wauthier's family felt he should take a share of the responsibility after rumors of a fallout between the two.

Senn, a former chief executive, was ousted last December in a management shake-up following a failed takeover bid for Britain's RSA.

uhe/cjc (Reuters, dpa)