Credit Suisse says new boss does not mean big strategy shift

(Adds detail, Thiam's comments from news conference)

ZURICH, March 10 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS - news) Chairman Urs Rohner on Tuesday said the appointment of Tidjane Thiam as chief executive did not signal a major shift in strategy, as the bank's new hire made his media debut in Switzerland.

The market was caught off guard when reports first emerged that Zurich-based Credit Suisse had picked Thiam, boss of insurance group Prudential (SES: K6S.SI - news) , to replace Chief Executive Brady Dougan.

Rohner told a news conference in Zurich he had formally started the succession process last autumn following a discussion with Dougan but downplayed the prospect of a major change in the company's growth plans.

"As you know, we have a strategy of growing the wealth management business," Rohner said.

He said he wanted a more balanced allocation of the company's capital between the wealth management and the investment banking businesses. "It is not about a fundamental redirection."

The chairman was speaking alongside Dougan and Thiam, whose appointment, Rohner said, was agreed upon unanimously.

Rohner said Thiam's pay package would be a normal compensation that tied into the bank's compensation framework.

Thiam said it was too early to ask about potential changes he might make to the business.

"Credit Suisse has been successful but I don't know an organisation that doesn't need change ... There are things that need to be improved. I'm not in a position to go any further in the answer," Thiam said.

Thiam addressed the news conference in French, German and English in contrast with Illinois-born Dougan who rarely speaks German publicly.

When asked why he had learned German Thiam said: "I was a very attentive student at school. If you really want to understand a culture, you have to understand the language."

Asked how he felt as a foreigner coming to work in Switzerland, Thiam said when he arrived at Zurich airport on Tuesday, the customs official had already recognised him as the CEO designate and welcomed him.

"It's a very nice welcome to Switzerland," Thiam said

He said his perception of Switzerland was that it was an open country and that he had been approached by different Swiss companies about taking a job including Nestle (VTX: NESN.VX - news) .

"I have been approached by other Swiss companies for other topics, chairmen who came to see me," Thiam said. "And actually more so than from France, for instance, where I come from, that's factual."

(Reporting by Edward Taylor and Joshua Franklin. Editing by Jane Merriman)