flatexDEGIRO has appointed Oliver Behrens as Chief Executive Officer, effective from October 1, 2024, for a duration of three years.
Oliver Behrens, who will become CEO of flatexDEGIRO Bank, takes over from Benon Janos and Stephan Simmang, who, since May 1, 2024, serve as interim Co-CEOs in addition to their existing responsibilities as CFO and CTO, respectively.
The Supervisory Board also announced that Benon Janos (CFO) will also fulfil the function of Deputy CEO. Furthermore, Janos (Deputy CEO & CFO) and Stephan Simmang (CTO), who have been with the company since 2016, will have their contracts extended until May 31, 2029.
From October 1, 2024, flatexDEGIRO AG’s Management Board will consist of four members, namely Oliver Behrens (CEO), Dr Benon Janos (Deputy CEO & CFO), Stephan Simmang (CTO) and Christiane Strubel (CHRO).
Oliver Behrens joins flatexDEGIRO from Morgan Stanley
Oliver Behrens joins flatexDEGIRO following 40 years of experience in the European financial industry with a strong link to brokerage and an outstanding network in international finance and politics.
From 2015 to June 2024, Oliver Behrens lately was CEO of Morgan Stanley Europe Holding SE, Morgan Stanley Europe SE, and Morgan Stanley Bank AG, Frankfurt am Main, as well as Member of the Board of Morgan Stanley International Limited, London.
Moreover, until 2014, he also served as Member of the Board of Deka-Bank for nine years, lately as Deputy CEO. From 1992 to 2005, he worked in Frankfurt and Luxembourg, among others, across various functions in the former DWS Group, DWS, and Deutsche Asset Management, where he lately was Spokesman of the Management Board of Deutsche Asset Management Investment GmbH.
Since June 2024, Oliver Behrens is Chairman of DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA’s Supervisory Board.
“The European online brokerage business is still in its early innings”
Oliver Behrens, incoming CEO of flatexDEGIRO AG, commented: “The European online brokerage business is still in its early innings, holding enormous potential for growth and value enhancement. Together with flatexDEGIRO’s strong leadership team, I am very much looking forward to leading the company into the next phase of its evolution, further enhancing the investment experience for millions of clients across 16 countries while firmly establishing flatexDEGIRO as the driving force in the European online brokerage market.”
Martin Korbmacher, Chairman of flatexDEGIRO’s Supervisory Board, said: “With Oliver Behrens, we have succeeded in engaging a real heavyweight of the European financial industry for this leading role at flatexDEGIRO. It fills us with pride and speaks for the great potential of flatexDEGIRO that we have been able to recruit an executive of his caliber for the vacant CEO position. With his outstanding industry experience and his strong, team-orientated leadership personality, Oliver Behrens is a real gain, both operationally and organizationally, for our company which he already knows very well from the long-standing and cooperative business relationships with his previous employer.
“On behalf of the whole Supervisory Board, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Dr Benon Janos and Stephan Simmang for stepping up and taking on additional responsibilities as Co-CEOs during the past months, ensuring a professional and orderly transition after the departure of the former CEO. The Supervisory Board is very much looking forward to extend the great collaboration over the coming years and expressly thanks Dr Benon Janos and Stephan Simmang for their leadership and integrity, especially during this critical transition phase.”
