The former head of sustainability at Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS, Desirée Fixler, on her resignation and her greenwashing allegations against the fund company.
The American Desirée Fixler, 51, was head of sustainability at the Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS for six months. Then she was fired in spring 2021 after she accused the fund company of presenting its investment products as “greener” than they were. Since then, several authorities in the USA and Germany have been investigating their allegations, which DWS rejects. After a raid by the Frankfurt public prosecutor in spring 2022, even former DWS CEO Asoka Wöhrmann had to go. Desirée Fixler now lives in London and came to the SZ Sustainability Summit to talk about her experiences with greenwashing in the financial sector.