Frankfurt School appoints Stephan Leithner and Stefan Wintels to the Board of Trustees

Dr Stephan Leithner, CEO of Deutsche Börse, and Stefan B. Wintels, CEO of KfW, two top managers from the financial sector, join the Board of Trustees of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

The Board of Trustees advises and supervises the management of Frankfurt School. It currently consists of eleven members. It is chaired by Rainer Neske (Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) and honorary chaired by Professor Dr h.c. Klaus-Peter Müller (Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Commerzbank-Foundation, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank). Further members are: Sanjay Brahmawar (CEO QAD), Dr Michael Diederich (Executive Vice Chairman and CFO FC Bayern München), Alexander Doll (Independent Board Member Arriva Ltd and Ukrainian Railways, Investor, Board Member, Senior Advisor for companies, private equity, and family offices), Dr Ingrid Hengster (CEO Barclays Germany), Dr Stephan Leithner (CEO Deutsche Börse), Dr Bettina Orlopp (CEO Commerzbank), Dr Cornelius Riese (Co-CEO DZ Bank), Professor Dr Ralf P. Thomas (CFO Siemens) and Stefan B. Wintels (CEO KfW).

“Frankfurt School is driven by scientific excellence, combining theory and practice to deliver impactful education,” says Professor Nils Stieglitz, President and CEO of Frankfurt School. “In welcoming Dr Stephan Leithner and Stefan Wintels to our Board of Trustees, we are able to leverage the expertise of two distinguished leaders in shaping Frankfurt School. I extend my thanks to both of them, as well as our entire Board of Trustees, for their commitment to us.”

Dr Stephan Leithner explains: “For a strong Europe, we need the best minds to shape the economic transformation and to boost our competitiveness. Frankfurt School is one of the leading business schools in Europe. I look forward to joining its Board of Trustees to further develop Frankfurt School's programmes and offerings. Together, we will continue its success story.”

Stefan Wintels adds: “In addition to academic programmes and executive and professional education, Frankfurt School’s business model includes international advisory services, particularly on ESG topics. With this – and its focus on finance and management topics – the business school has many points of contact with KfW. I am delighted to be able to contribute to the development of Frankfurt School.”

Stephan Leithner and Stefan Wintels

Since January 2025, Dr Stephan Leithner is Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Börse AG, since 2018, he is a member of the Executive Board. His professional background includes management positions at EQT Partners, Deutsche Bank and McKinsey & Company. Stephan Leithner holds a doctorate in finance from the University of St. Gallen.

Since November 2021, Stefan B. Wintels is Chief Executive Officer of KfW. In addition, he is member of the Supervisory Boards of Deutsche Telekom and DHL Group. He previously held management positions at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, including Head of Germany and CEO of Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG. He holds a degree in business administration from the Technical University of Berlin.