Search Yale School of Management

Interview with Josef Ackermann

September 11, 2014
This interview is available as audio only.

Josef Ackermann

Former Chief Executive Officer
Deutsche Bank

Biography

Mr. Ackermann (born 1948, Swiss Citizen) started his career as a banker in 1977 at Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA), today's Credit Suisse. In 1990, he was appointed to the Executive Board, becoming its president in 1993. In 1996, Mr. Ackermann joined the Management Board of Deutsche Bank AG, where he became responsible for the investment banking division. From 2002 to 2012 he served a full decade, first as spokesman and later as chairman of the Management Board as well as the Group Executive Committee. During this time he led Deutsche Bank into the top ranks of the world's investment banks and steered it safely through the epochal financial crisis which broke out in 2007. At the same time, as chairman of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global association of banks, he was highly instrumental in helping to solve this crisis as well as the ensuing debt crisis in the Euro zone.

Besides his long career in banking Mr. Ackermann has been chairman of the Board of Directors at Zurich Insurance Group (2012/13), a ranking member of the Board of Directors at Royal Dutch Shell plc, vice-chairman of the Board of Directors at Siemens AG and vice-chairman of the Foundation Board at the World Economic Forum, among others.
Today, he still holds numerous mandates, amongst them as a member of the Board of Directors at Investor AB and EQT Holdings AB, member of the Board of Directors at Renova Management AG and vice-chairman of the board of directors at Belenos Clean Power Holding Ltd., member of the International Advisory Board of Akbank and The Atlantic Council and vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Conference Board.
In addition, Mr. Ackermann serves as member of the Advisory Board at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Honorary Chairman of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies and Honorary Member of the Senate of the Lindau Nobel Prizewinners Meetings Foundation.

Mr. Ackermann is former Visiting Professor in finance at the London School of Economics, Honorary Professor at Frankfurt’s Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Honorary Fellow of the London Business School and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece.
Educational background

Mr. Ackermann gained a doctorate in economics and social sciences from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Awards
John J. McCloy Award in recognition of contributions to German-American economic relations (2002)
Bridges to Understanding Award of the Jewish Museum New York (2005)
Herbert H. Lehman Human Relations Award of the American Jewish Committee (2007)
Global Leadership Award of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (2007)
Euromoney Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to financial markets (2009)
European Banker of the Year 2009 by Group of 20+1 (2010)
Distinguished Business Leadership Award of The Atlantic Council (2010)
Leo Baeck Medal of Recognition, awarded by the Leo Baeck Institute London for his devoted support of Jewish cultural and academic institutions (2012)