The comeback of Jörg Hessenmüller
The former Commerzbank board member Jörg Hessenmüller is poised for a comeback in the banking industry. As announced by the Frankfurt-based Standard Chartered Bank AG on Monday, the 53-year-old has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) to the board. He will assume the position on May 6.
International experience
Hessenmüller began his career in 1989 while studying at what is now known as the Frankfurt School, then the University of Applied Sciences for Banking, at Dresdner Bank. Subsequently, he held various managerial positions, including in Treasury and Investment Banking at Dresdner Bank. As part of the 2008 acquisition, the manager moved to the Commerzbank Group, where he was initially sent as CFO to the Polish MBank.
Upon his return to Frankfurt, Hessenmüller initially led the Development and Strategy department. He was later appointed to the board as Chief Operating Officer in 2019, where he was widely credited with successfully driving the cloud strategy.
Tripped up by predecessor's decision
In the following years, the Commerzbank board underwent upheavals due to disputes with the activist investor Cerberus. Hessenmüller was also unable to hold on for long. In 2021, he stumbled over the failed outsourcing of securities development to competitor HSBC Trinkaus, despite having a freshly extended contract in hand.
However, the project had already been initiated by his predecessor, Frank Annuscheit. In 2017, he had aimed to contribute to an ambitious cost-cutting program intended to help then-CEO Martin Zielke weather the interest rate downturn. Within the bank, there were significant doubts about the feasibility of the project from the start, partly due to the perception that HSBC's systems were not at the forefront of technology.
Consultant at Roland Berger
Hessenmüller is now returning to the Frankfurt banking scene. In the meantime, he had served as a Senior Advisor at Roland Berger. Nicolo Salsano, who has been CEO since the beginning of the year, praises the future COO's deep understanding of the markets of Standard Chartered Bank AG and his proven track record in operational excellence and strategic leadership: „These qualities will support us in further expanding our business across Continental Europe and creating value for our customers and stakeholders.“
