Michael Ilgner leaves Deutsche Bank

2023-06-30 21:48:36

Head of Human Resources Michael Ilgner is leaving Deutsche Bank on September 30th. Deutsche Bank announced this on Friday evening without being able to name a successor. Ilgner had been head of the comparatively small Deutsche Sporthilfe for four years when he switched to Deutsche Bank in March 2020 at the request of CEO Christian Sewing. Ilgner was actually intended for the board, but the strict banking supervision denied the former water polo player, studied industrial engineering and former management consultant admission to the board of the big bank even after the usual probationary year.

Ilgner’s hopes of eventually passing the aptitude test for the supervision of the bank board received another damper in April 2023. At that time it became known that Ilgner was threatened with sanctions by Deutsche Bank for an illegal bond transaction.

Violation of internal rules

In fact, the head of human resources, who is also in charge of real estate management, probably bought Deutsche Bank bonds for more than 200,000 euros on April 18 of this year – and thus a week before the publication of his employer’s quarterly figures. In doing so, Ilgner had violated internal guidelines that prohibit high-ranking managers like him, as chief representative, from making stock market transactions in the institute’s securities in the eight weeks before the announcement of quarterly business figures, which was scheduled well in advance. A Deutsche Bank expert told the FAZ on Friday that this violation was not the only reason why Ilgner was leaving, but that he had probably contributed to it.

demotion of his departments

In an internal letter available to the FAZ, Ilgner explains his departure by saying that his departments are no longer subordinate to Sewing but to board member Rebbeca Short. “With the start of our new structure, in which the HR department and real estate management as part of Group COO will be more closely linked to the transformation of the bank, I see it as a good time to reorient myself externally and my previous tasks for the next phase in the development of our personnel and real estate strategy to a new management,” writes Ilgner in his farewell email to the Deutsche Bank employees. The transfer of personnel and real estate management from Sewing to Short can actually be perceived as a demotion, since Short is “only” a simple member of the Management Board, responsible for Group COO in Deutsche Bank jargon, i.e. for the global business organization.

As is usual in such cases, Sewing, whose confidant Igner was considered, and Short found friendly words for Igner in an internal email about the departure. The letter, which is available to the FAZ, says: “Over the past three years, Michael has brought a valuable external perspective to our HR strategy and has made a decisive contribution to shaping our working environment in such a way that it supports our hybrid model in the best possible way. He has also played a key role in realigning our talent and performance management. He has also been a key partner to the board, ensuring that HR issues always feature prominently in our board meetings.”

The successor plan for Ilgner’s area of ​​responsibility will be announced following a comprehensive selection process with internal and external candidates. Ilgner will hand over his duties by July 31, although he will officially remain at Deutsche Bank until September. “Andrea Cozzi and Volker Steuer will then head the HR department on an interim basis, while Thorsten Koch will continue to head global real estate management,” says Deutsche Bank’s internal letter.