From 2002 to 2012, Josef Ackermann was CEO and chair of Deutsche Bank. From 2014 to 2019, he was chair of the Bank of Cyprus. The ‘Group of Thirty’ is a group of foreign economists and financiers based in Washington, D.C., who look at economic and financial problems that affect the whole world.
Early Years and School
He was born in Walenstadt, Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, on February 7, 1948. He got his Ph.D. in economics from the University of St. Gallen, where he studied economics and psychology.
Ackermann’s first job was as a business banker at Credit Suisse in 1977. He worked at Credit Suisse for 25 years and became a general director and board member.
Bank of America
To make Deutsche Bank a global investment bank, Ackermann became CEO of the bank in 2002. He oversaw many deals, improved global operations, started a new management style that put shareholders first, and shifted the company’s attention to investment banking.
While working at Deutsche Bank, Ackermann was the subject of reviews by the U.S. Justice Department into the bank’s investments in subprime bonds, which helped cause the Great Recession of 2008. According to the fraud lawsuit, Deutsche lied to investors about loans that backed $1.4 billion in securities released in 2007. This caused investors to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
At the same time, Ackermann was head of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global group of banks. He played a crucial role in helping to solve both the initial crisis and the subsequent debt problem in the Eurozone.
When the U.S. Justice Department put sanctions on Deutsche Bank, they allegedly tried to get back tens of millions of euros in bonuses they gave to Ackermann and other past CEOs. In 2009 and 2010, Ackermann made €9.6 million and €8.9 million, respectively.
In 2012, Ackermann quit his job at Deutsche Bank.
Important Achievements
The Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus’s biggest lender, chose Josef Ackermann as its new head in 2014. At that time, it was hard for the bank to eliminate its bad assets and fix its balance sheets. He was in charge of the Bank of Cyprus until 2019.
Ackermann has been on the boards of Deutsche Lufthansa, Linde, Mannesmann, Siemens, Zurich Financial Services, and Royal Dutch Shell.
He is a member of the Group of Thirty (G30), based in Washington, D.C. The G30 was created in 1978 as an independent global group comprising economic and financial leaders from the public and private sectors and academia. Its goal is to improve understanding of global economic and financial problems.
What kind of business does Josef Ackermann do with Donald Trump?
According to reports, Josef Ackermann accepted Donald Trump’s loans even after Trump had missed payments on loans in 2004 and 2008. But Ackermann couldn’t remember what role he played in the decisions.
He has taught as a professor, right?
There have been times when Josef Ackermann taught finance at the London School of Economics and Johann Wolfgang Goethe University.
Has anyone ever charged Josef Ackermann with a crime?
According to a 2004 verdict, Josef Ackermann was not guilty of wasting owners’ money while serving on the German phone company Mannesmann AG board. Germany’s first attempt to jail managers for giving out too many bonuses failed when he was found not guilty of breach of trust.
In Short
Josef Ackermann is a Swiss banker who was CEO and chair of Deutsche Bank during the subprime mortgage failures and the Great Recession of 2008. The Bank of Cyprus chose him to be its head in 2014. Ackermann has been a part of the Group of Thirty and sat on the boards of many companies. He has also taught at two universities.
Conclusion
- Josef Ackermann is a Swiss banker who was CEO and chair of Deutsche Bank.
- This person was in charge of the Bank of Cyprus.
- His job was to help make business decisions. He was on the Group of Thirty based in Washington, D.C.
