The former CEO of Deutsche Bank, Rolf Breuer, has died. The former spokesman for the board of directors and chairman of the supervisory board died on Wednesday at the age of 86 after a long illness surrounded by his family, Deutsche Bank announced on Thursday in Frankfurt.
Breuer spent almost his entire professional life at Deutsche Bank. During his time as CEO of the bank from May 1997 to May 2002, he drove the internationalization of the group and expanded the capital market business. Breuer then headed the supervisory board of Germany’s largest bank for four years.
The acting chairman of the supervisory board, Alexander Wynaendts, praised Breuer’s achievements: With the takeover of the US bank Bankers Trust, he made a significant contribution to “the fact that Deutsche Bank can now support its customers worldwide in all financial matters and has the necessary global network and the expertise”. With Breuer, Deutsche Bank is losing one of its most influential personalities.
Breuer’s time in office was not without turbulence. The then head of Deutsche Bank spoke just a few sentences into a reporter’s microphone in early 2002. In the short conversation with Bloomberg TV, which was published on February 4, 2002, Breuer questioned Leo Kirch’s creditworthiness. His media group went under shortly afterwards. Throughout his life, Kirch blamed Breuer and Deutsche Bank for this. It was only years later that the bank agreed on a multi-million dollar settlement with Kirch’s heirs.