WM Gruppe sponsors Professorship in Financial Technology at Frankfurt School

• Sustainably funding research and teaching: new sponsored professorship, award in Digital Finance Research and scholarships for the new Master in Financial Technology programme
• Professor Nils Stieglitz, President and CEO of Frankfurt School: “We support and drive technological change in the financial industry through research and teaching.”
• Antonio Novillo, CTOO of WM Gruppe: “A targeted approach to financial transformation is crucial for the future viability of Frankfurt as a financial centre."

The financial sector is a tech industry. Artificial intelligence and digitalisation open completely new perspectives for finance to realise innovations, improve services and strengthen customer relationships. The WM Gruppe, publisher of Börsen-Zeitung and WM Datenservice, sustainably supports research and teaching at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in this field as a donor. The latest step is the WM Group's new sponsored professorship for financial technology. 

“Technology is currently revolutionising capital markets and the financial sector. At Frankfurt School, we are investigating the effects, challenges and opportunities and driving change through research and teaching,” emphasises Professor Nils Stieglitz, President and CEO of Frankfurt School. “The launch of our new Master in Financial Technology programme in August 2025 and the establishment of the WM Gruppe sponsored professorship are important milestones in this context. We are very grateful for the long-term and generous support that the WM Gruppe provides us with.”

Frankfurt School developed into one of Europe's leading business schools as renowned research and university rankings show. WM Gruppe wants to support the business school in taking on a pioneering role in research and teaching in the field of financial technology. To this end, WM Gruppe already launched the Philipp Sandner Memorial Award in Digital Finance Research together with Frankfurt School and is funding scholarships for female students in the Master in Financial Technology programme.

Antonio Novillo, CTOO of WM Gruppe, adds: “The future viability of Frankfurt as a financial centre will also depend on how we deal with the fundamental changes brought about by new technologies. We need committed talent with the skills to drive forward new opportunities and business models. Research in this field opens up the strategic view, and Frankfurt School is the perfect partner for this, as it stands for excellent teaching and research reflecting pressing business issues. It was therefore an obvious choice to support Frankfurt School.”

WM Gruppe sponsored Professorship in Financial Technology

The new professorship is intended to support and promote technology-driven change in the banking and finance industry. To this end, the future holder of the sponsored professorship will offer courses in the degree programmes, including the new Master in Financial Technology, and in Executive & Professional Education at Frankfurt School. Through applied research and cooperation with players in the financial and IT sector, he or she will address key challenges related to technology and digital transformation. These include digitalisation strategies, financial disintermediation, the function of information in financial markets and the development and use of digital assets in the broadest sense. The professorship will be based in the Finance Department.