Deutsche Bank names Sewing CEO, replaces Cryan in broad revamp
Deutsche Bank AG named Christian Sewing chief executive officer (CEO), ending John Cryan’s reign after less than three years as questions mount about the future direction of Europe’s largest investment bank.
Sewing, a lifelong Deutsche Bank employee, will take over immediately, the lender said in a statement from Frankfurt late Sunday. As part of the reorganization, Garth Ritchie was promoted to sole head of the securities unit and will become a deputy CEO, along with chief administrative officer Karl von Rohr. Cryan and Marcus Schenck, who was co-deputy CEO with Sewing, are leaving.
“We need a new execution dynamic in the leadership of our bank,” chairman Paul Achleitner said in a statement thanking Cryan for his service.
Deutsche Bank has seen three top leadership appointments in six years amid pressure from investors to improve profitability and reverse a share slump. While Cryan reduced risk and settled billion-dollar legacy misconduct cases, he failed to restore revenue growth — leaving the strategy of Germany’s biggest lender a matter of conManu tention, particularly how big a role it still wants to play in US investment banking.
The supervisory board wasn’t unanimous in adopting some of the measures proposed by Achleitner, according to people with knowledge of the meeting. One sticking point was the proposed leadership change at the investment bank, one person said.
The appointments follow weeks of intense speculation about the bank’s management that forced Cryan to say publicly he was committed to the role while the chairman raced to find an agreement with shareholders regarding a potential successor.
Sewing, who joined Deutsche Bank in 1989 as an apprentice, was most recently in charge of the unit overseeing commercial and retail banking as well as wealth management.
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