Sabine Schmittroth, Member of the Board of Managing Directors with responsibility for Human Resources and Labour Relations Director of Commerzbank, has decided in accordance with her personal life planning, to step down with the expiry of her contract at the end of this year. In acknowledging Sabine Schmittroth’s decision, the Supervisory Board and Board of Managing Directors have expressed their regret. The Supervisory Board will start the search for a successor in the near future.
“Since last autumn I have gradually formed the resolution, after 38 years with Commerzbank, to enter a new phase of my life. This is the right moment. By the end of this year, most aspects of the personnel transformation will be underway. When a tough job reduction programme comes to an end, it is by no means unusual for the responsible board member to seek new professional opportunities. I am now stepping aside to allow the Bank to place the responsibility for my division in new hands. Until then, however – as before – I will be fully committed to perform my task in the interests of Commerzbank and its employees,” said Sabine Schmittroth.
Helmut Gottschalk, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank, said: “Sabine Schmittroth’s invaluable achievements on behalf of Commerzbank are undeniable. She has made essential contributions to the excellent progress in our transformation into a digital advisory bank for Germany. We owe her our respect and gratitude above all for her impressive success in filling the dual role as Board member with responsibility for HR and the Private and Small Business Customers Segment for over a year. We greatly appreciate Sabine Schmittroth’s decision to remain fully committed to her role as Board member responsible for HR until the end of this year, thus ensuring a smooth succession.”
CEO Manfred Knof said: “I fully respect Sabine Schmittroth’s decision. All of us on the Board of Managing Directors have worked very well with her. We owe a great deal of the credit for the success of our talks with the employee representative bodies over the past year to her. We’re delighted that Sabine Schmittroth, with her enthusiasm and desire to make a difference, will remain part of the Board of Managing Directors until the end of this year.”
Sabine Schmittroth has been a member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank AG since January 2020 and is currently responsible for Human Resources. From October 2020 until November 2021 she was also responsible for the Private and Small Business Customer Segment. After joining Dresdner Bank in 1984 – following stints in customer advisory services and the HR department – she held various management positions in the private customer business from 1999 onward, most recently as the director of the Frankfurt sales region. In 2009, she became management spokesperson of Commerz Direktservice GmbH and was appointed Director of Sales Management Branch Banking in 2011. From 2015 to 2019 Sabine Schmittroth served as Member of the Divisional Board of Private and Small Business Customers with Commerzbank AG.
Since March 2021, Sabine Schmittroth has also served as the chairwoman of AGV Banken, the Employers’ Association of the German Banking Industry, which she joined in January 2020.
