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Credit Suisse Managing Director Dies in Vail Skiing Accident

Credit Suisse Managing Director Dies in Skiing Accident at 46

(Bloomberg) -- Jason Varnish, a Credit Suisse Group AG managing director who most recently served as the bank’s global head of prime services risk, was killed in a skiing accident in Vail, Colorado, last week. He was 46.

“On behalf of all employees of Credit Suisse, we send our deepest condolences to Jason’s family and friends,” the bank said in a statement Tuesday.

Varnish was caught in a chairlift at the Blue Sky Basin section of the Vail Ski Resort and suffocated on Feb. 13, the Vail Daily reported. The chairlift’s folding seat was left in an upright position, creating a gap when Varnish sat down, and his ski coat got caught around his head and neck, the newspaper said, citing the Eagle County coroner.

The death was ruled an accident and “the investigation is still ongoing,” coroner Kara Bettis said in an emailed statement.

Varnish, who lived in Short Hills, New Jersey, spent more than 20 years at Credit Suisse, having joined in collateral and valuations in London in 1998. He began his career as a currency trader in the city.

“Jason will be remembered for his dynamic personality, energy, desire to win and significant impact with clients,” Credit Suisse said in a memo to staff. “He successfully struck the right balance between being commercially minded with clients while maintaining risk discipline for the bank.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Daniel Taub, Steve Dickson

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