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Deutsche Börse is further developing its management structure with the aim of improving the Group’s focus on customer requirements and further increasing efficiency. The company positions itself along the three market areas cash market, derivatives market and securities settlement and custody, and streamlines decision-making processes. This new structure serves to strengthen Deutsche Börse Group’s successful integrated business model that covers the various stages in the securities process chain from a single source. The new structure will be implemented in the second quarter of 2007.
Each market area will be represented by one member of the Executive Board accountable for financial performance. Overall, the Executive Board under the leadership of CEO Reto Francioni will consist of six members, including the CFO and the Executive Board member responsible for IT. Frank Gerstenschläger will be responsible for the new cash market unit; he was appointed by the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse on Monday with effect from 1 April 2007. Andreas Preuß and Jeffrey Tessler will maintain their positions of responsibility for derivatives/clearing and securities settlement/custody respectively, and Michael Kuhn remains responsible for IT. The CFO position will be filled in a timely fashion and in the meantime Francioni is covering the area in addition to his own duties. The position of a Chief Operating Officer is to be dispensed with. The Supervisory Board on Monday approved the resignation of Matthias Ganz and Mathias Hlubek as members of the Executive Board and thanked both for their service to the company.
CEO Reto Francioni said, “In the future we will focus on our customers even more so than in the past, and with increased innovative strength and shorter decision chains create more value for customers and shareholders.” According to Francioni, the market areas will drive product development better, faster and with a higher degree of integration than before, and will be better placed to serve client needs. The central divisions will increase their focus on managing the Group. “The new management structure will reinforce the Group’s successful integrated business model and increase our impact,” said Francioni.
The functions of the Operations division will be integrated into the relevant market areas which will then be responsible for the management and functional further development of the associated systems, and for operating their markets. Deutsche Börse will thus be combining responsibilities, duties and competences, reducing the number of interfaces and achieving clear cut profit responsibility for the individual members of the Executive Board. At the same time resources will be transferred into market-oriented areas, and offer our employees more attractive tasks than in the past. Deutsche Börse intends to increase innovative strength overall, accelerate the market launches of new products and services and optimize efficiency and efficacy. Market Data & Analytics, which contains the data and index business, will be reallocated to the Derivatives Market division.
Deutsche Börse is also reorganizing its decision chains with the new management structure. In the past, decisions relevant to the market were made in a committee structure. In the future they will be made in the respective market areas where they will be implemented and under whose area of responsibility they fall. Cross-divisional, strategic and other major decisions will be made by the Executive Board.
Frank Gerstenschläger in 1990 joined DTB Deutsche Terminbörse as Vice President Trading and, after a stint at Goldman Sachs, rejoined in 1995 as Deputy Manager of the Project that built Xetra. He was Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse Systems from 1998 to 2002, and a Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse AG responsible for Technology/Systems and a General Manager at FWB Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse from 2001 to 2002. In the IT area his focus was on Xetra/Eurex Systems development and operations. He was Chief Executive Officer of entory AG from 2002 until 2005. Frank Gerstenschläger has been a Managing Director of the Group responsible for Technology Services since 2003, and has headed several special projects since then.
