Deutsche Bank has appointed Jörg Eigendorf to the role of chief sustainability officer, as the bank markets itself as a lender that firms can turn to as they transition to a greener future.
Eigendorf had previously been global head of communications & CSR with responsibility for sustainability. He will now focus solely on sustainability and continue to report to CEO Christian Sewing.
Eigendorf will hand over leadership of communications & CSR to Anke Hallmann and Sebastian Jost. Hallmann was deputy head of communications & CSR while Jost was head of group communications.
Activists last month called on Deutsche Bank to do more to stop financing fossil fuel companies.
“Sustainability is a critical success factor for our bank and a central element in our global Hausbank strategy”, said Sewing. “We want to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to us in this area. At the same time, it is about continuously enhancing our controls and processes/”
He added, Jörg Eigendorf has been a leading figure for some years now in driving our bank’s sustainability strategy. He is well suited to coordinate and steer this next stage across the entire bank.”
In Germany, a Hausbank is one that acts as the primary relationship banker to a company, providing or arranging a variety of credit related services.
The German bank has also restructured its divisions in this area and named Ben Alka in a new position as head of corporate affairs & strategy. The group has been enlarged to encompass the political affairs department and communications & CSR.
Alka will continue in his role as chief of staff to Christian Sewing.
“As a Global Hausbank, we need an orderly dialogue and engagement with our stakeholders that is closely aligned to our strategy,” said Sewing. “Ben Alka has been successfully coordinating our relations to our stakeholders for some years now and will expressly build on this in his new role.”
