Deutsche Bank today announced the appointment of Sven Afhüppe as Global Head of Political Affairs. Mr Afhüppe will assume the newly created position on March 1, 2021.

The long-time financial journalist and former editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt will be based in Berlin and will report to the CEO of Deutsche Bank Christian Sewing.

Mr Sewing commented:

“With Sven Afhüppe’s appointment, we are gaining a respected expert for the political and the financial landscape. With his experience and network, he is predestined to further expand our links to Berlin, Brussels and Washington and strengthen our global network.”

Mr Afhüppe is to continue the successful work of the team responsible for managing Deutsche Bank’s relationships with political stakeholders. In this capacity, he will work closely with Christian Berendes, currently Global Head of Government & Regulatory Affairs, who will focus more on regulatory topics in the future. Furthermore, on March 1, Mr Berendes will become Chief Operating Officer for the area of responsibility of Stefan Simon, Member of the Management Board and Chief Administrative Officer.

Sven Afhüppe has worked for more than ten years as a political correspondent for the publications Wirtschaftswoche, Der Spiegel and Handelsblatt in Berlin, where he reported intensively on financial and economic policy. In 2011, he became deputy editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt in Düsseldorf. At the beginning of 2015, Afhüppe was appointed co-editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt, a year later becoming sole editor-in-chief. He was responsible for the successful digital transformation of the publication. He left Handelsblatt at the end of 2020.