ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse's outgoing chief executive said an ambitious expansion drive following the global financial crisis ranked among his mistakes as CEO, as he addressed shareholders for the last time on Friday.Brady Dougan, born in the U.S. Midwest, initially won admiration for leading the Swiss bank through the crisis without requiring a government bailout -- unlike cross-town rival UBS .He has also faced criticism for his decision to retain a sizeable investment bank, regarded by many in Switzerland as too risky following the crisis.During his final annual general meeting, speaking briefly in German and French and at times visibly moved, Brady Dougan said he had made his share of mistakes."In retrospect, for instance, I should have been more cautious about expanding the business early in the post-crisis rebound," he said.Expectations are high that the man who will replace Dougan in June, Tidjane Thiam, will scale back the investment bank and build up Credit Suisse's wealth management arm.At past investor meetings the bank's minority but vocal retail investors have grilled Dougan - who has been CEO since 2007 and with Credit Suisse for 25 years - on his large pay packets, strategy and lack of German-language skills.Dougan told Reuters it was a day of mixed emotions."After eight years, it's probably a good time to move on but obviously I have very strong connections to the firm and the people," he said on the sidelines of the meeting.Zurich-based Credit Suisse has been a lightning rod for criticism over pay in Switzerland since its decision to pay Dougan nearly 90 million Swiss francs ($94.32 million) in 2010, when a five-year share bonus program topped up his salary.Public opposition to eye-watering salaries for some executives in Switzerland culminated in a 2013 referendum giving shareholders a binding say on executive compensation.One Credit Suisse stakeholder brought a gift of a Swiss centime to the meeting for the newcomer Thiam, who was not in attendance and is currently head of insurer Prudential , to remind him of the "excessive pay of his predecessor". "To that end I give you an out-of-circulation centime along with the saying, 'He who does not honor the centime, is not worthy of the franc,'" shareholder Urs Troxler told the meeting.At the AGM, 87 percent of investors backed the bank's proposed compensation for its executive board in the first binding shareholder vote on the issue.Dougan took a voluntary cut in pay in 2014, taking home 9.7 million Swiss francs ($10.2 million).A non-binding vote on the compensation report only received the backing of 66.8 percent of votes after influential U.S. shareholder advisor ISS opposed the plan. Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner, who led the search for Dougan's replacement, told the AGM he hoped to remain with the bank for another 10 years. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Keith Weir and Elaine Hardcastle)
