Deutsche Bank made a familiar mistake by appointing Christian Sewing CEO

Einstein’s definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Dan Davies outlines why Deutsche Bank’s appointment of a retail banker as CEO of what is effectively an investment bank is the latest outbreak of corporate insanity in the European financial sector. The most egregious recent example was appointment of Anthony Jenkins as CEO of Barclays plc earlier in the decade. However some might say the template for this go-to management manouevre was crafted as far back as the late 1980s and the UK banks’ reaction to meltdown in their newly-established investment banking divisions after Black Monday. Moreover, Deutsche bank chairman Paul Achtleiner couldn’t resist the temptation to appoint a heavyweight investment banker (for which read Goldman alumnus, in this case John Thain) to the board as babysitter for the new incumbent in the CEO suite.  All in all the omens are not good.

Read what he thinks here: https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/312406/christian-sewing-deutsche-bank-cib/.