Carl Reuterskiöld

SWIFT community mourns loss of Carl Reuterskiöld, SWIFT’s first CEO

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Carl Reuterskiöld, SWIFT’s first CEO from 1973 to 1983. He died peacefully on 20 March 2006. He was 83 years old.

“We are all deeply saddened by the death of such an extraordinary individual,” says Leonard H. Schrank, SWIFT CEO. “Charlie was SWIFT’s first CEO, from its founding in 1973 until ten years later in 1983, when he retired. It seemed an impossible mission: to bring banks that compete together to co-operate; to standardize the way banks communicated with each other; to harness computers in ways never foreseen; to create a global network. To many, this was mission impossible, but not for Charlie. He was a technical wizard, a diplomat and an inspiring leader. Charlie set the direction, hired the team and laid the foundation for SWIFT’s success. We see his legacy today.”

Charlie launched SWIFT in 1973 in a forty square metre office in the centre of Brussels, with a handful of people and an ambitious idea. Three years later, Charlie inaugurated the first operating centre in The Netherlands; and in 1978, five years after the launch of SWIFT, Charlie proudly announced that 10 million messages had been exchanged in less than 12 months.

In 1982, one year prior to his retirement, Charlie announced that SWIFT had achieved financial stability, with revenues from membership, traffic and geographical expansion exceeding costs for the first time. Finally, and to crown his tenure as SWIFT CEO, Charlie welcomed the 1,000th member to SWIFT, the Banque Nationale de Belgique.

Prior to leading SWIFT, Charlie was Vice President of International banking and card division for Systems and Communications worldwide at American Express Company. He lived in La Hulpe, Belgium and Virginia, USA.

We send our deepest condolences to his wife, family and to his many friends around the world.

Among the tributes received from friends and colleagues are:

“Charlie was a very charismatic person with the incredible gift of knowing, from memory, the name of most of the people at SWIFT, of their partners and children,” remembers Willy Jespers, former SWIFT Executive. “He also knew when a few words of comfort were needed, as he demonstrated when he called me at home the day after I left the company in 2001 to reassure me that "there is life after SWIFT". I was very moved by this unexpected gesture.”

"Charlie got the best out of his team through leading by example," said Alec Nacamuli, former SWIFT Executive and currently Global Payments Executive, IBM. "No schedule was too punishing and nothing would stand in the way of his determination to reach the first cutover. The start-up team feel privileged to have shared this unique adventure under his leadership. We also mourn the loss of a faithful friend."

“There is no doubt that his strong leadership, both internally and towards the Board, has been a key factor to the successful launch of the SWIFT System in 1977 and to the first wave of the network’s worldwide expansion in the following years,” states Jacques Cerveau, former Deputy CEO of SWIFT. “This also occurred at a time when he encountered some great sadness in his family life with the accidental death of one of his sons in 1975, but this never showed up in the day to day management. Charlie had a very strong character and personality. SWIFT owes him a great deal.”

“I am glad of this opportunity to say goodbye to an old friend,” says Renato Polo, former SWIFT Board member from Italy . “Without Charlie's determination, SWIFT may not have seen the light or, at least, it would not have had the solid foundation which ultimately ensured its success. Thanks to him, SWIFT became - and still - is a significant part of my life.”

"I worked with Charlie during my first years on the Board of SWIFT - from 1977 until his retirement in 1983," says Richard Fröhlich, former Chairman of the SWIFT Board from 1989 to 1992. "I learnt to esteem Charlie both as a manager who translated the idea of SWIFT - with his team - into reality, and as a private person - he was a true gentleman and it was an honour to be his friend. I can only emphasize the words that have been written about him."

“Charlie was a man of vision, intelligence and charm,” says John Morgan, former SWIFT Board Member from Australia, “once met never forgotten!”

“Charlie was the right man at the right moment. His authentic interest and knowledge made him an excellent judge of people. His talent to convert non-believers into believers was key to his success,” said Dick Wessels, former SWIFT Board Member from The Netherlands. “A quote by Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of Europe, is very relevant to Charlie Reuteurskiöld: ‘We did not know it was impossible. So we did it.’”