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On March 19th, the student initiative FS Economy & Politics (“EcoPol”) was delighted to host Dr. Theodor Weimer for a speech on the topic „strategische Wettbewerbsarena global tätiger Börsen” (“Strategic competitive environments of globally active stock exchanges”). Contrary to what many would have expected from the CEO of Deutsche Boerse and Member of the Board of Trustees of the FS, it turned out to be a masterclass in strategy on a very personal level.
As Jonas Fittschen (EcoPol) pointed out in his opening words, Dr. Weimer achieved a career that many students hope for. After seven years at McKinsey & Company he moved on to become Senior Partner at Bain & Company. He joined Goldman Sachs as Managing Director in 2001 and became Partner in 2004. In 2007, he started working at Unicredit Bank AG as Head of Global Investment Banking and Member of the Executive Committee. Two years later he became CEO of the Hypovereinsbank before he became CEO of Deutsche Boerse in 2018.
Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz, President of the FS, further elaborated on the academic background of Dr. Weimer and established a connection between the research- and the work-based dimensions of his career.
Dr. Weimer picked up on this and started his speech with profound thoughts from his own experiences in university. This laid the groundwork for interesting insights into today’s strategic challenges. No strategic decision is an obvious one, but the ability to make those decisions is what defines a successful manager in the modern business world. Managers have to make tradeoffs between groups of stakeholders while possessing precise knowledge of their interests. Only a fulfillment of all these criteria enables managers to add real value to the company. Dr. Weimer also invited students to challenge themselves by reflecting on what type of industry or company they really fit into. Different industries are defined by different states and properties, and therefore attract different types of personalities. The terms GOGO, YOYO and DODO were used to describe industries that are either on the rise, fall or in turbulences. One should actively research performance and strategies of possible employers to make sure that these are a good fit. This synergy will be a key pillar of one’s success in this company or industry respectively.
After a great speech and many answered questions, the evening was closed with a small gift to Dr. Weimer who then presented the prospect of coming back to the FS. We, as EcoPol, want to thank Dr. Weimer again for his time and the precious insights and discussions.
Co-author
Jonas Fittschen, BSc Class of 2020
Frankfurt School gGmbH
Adickesallee 32-34
60322 Frankfurt am Main
