Sarah Schmidtke to become CEO of Frankfurt Main Finance

Frankfurt, 14 July 2026 – Sarah Schmidtke will become CEO of the Frankfurt Main Finance e.V. financial centre initiative with effect from 1 February 2027. She will drive forward its activities to strengthen the financial centre and will be responsible for setting up the secretariat.

Oliver Behrens, President of Frankfurt Main Finance, says: “Sarah Schmidtke’s appointment will strengthen Frankfurt Main Finance’s role as the central coordinating body within the financial centre. With the new financial centre strategy, the Charter of Cooperation and improved funding, the groundwork has now been laid. We are delighted to welcome Sarah Schmidtke, a proven expert with an international profile, for this strategic role.”

Kaweh Mansoori, Deputy Minister-President of Hesse and a member of the Executive Board of Frankfurt Main Finance, adds: “The state government has ambitious plans for the further development and strengthening of the financial centre. Frankfurt Main Finance will become a strategic partner of the state government and will cooperate closely with the Financial Centre Cabinet. I am very much looking forward to working with Sarah Schmidtke. The political and business communities want to join forces with her to implement the new financial centre strategy.”

“We are committed to strengthening the financial centre’s international standing and further integrate the activities of the various players within the financial centre. I am therefore delighted that we have found in Sarah Schmidtke a CEO with international experience and proven communication skills,” says Florian Rentsch, Special Representative of the State of Hesse for the Frankfurt Financial Centre and representative of the Hessian State Government on the appointment committee for the new role.

Sarah Schmidtke is currently Managing Director of the Bankenverband Mitte and the Interessengemeinschaft Frankfurter Kreditinstitute (IFK), as well as a divisional head at the Association of German Banks. She says: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Executive Board and the Presidium of Frankfurt Main Finance for the trust they have placed in me and for appointing me as CEO. I look forward to shaping the future of the financial centre together. The financial centre and its strengthening have been close to my heart for many years, as it is of strategic importance for the sovereignty of Germany and Europe.”

Hubertus Väth will step down from the management board of Frankfurt Main Finance on 31 January 2027. Oliver Behrens, President of Frankfurt Main Finance, says: “We would all like to thank Hubertus Väth, who has built up the association since its foundation in 2008 and, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, turned it into a strong voice for the financial centre both at home and abroad. The financial industry now employs more people in the city than ever before, and Frankfurt has become the EU’s leading financial centre.”

Hubertus Väth says: “It has been an honour for me to serve under three presidents of Frankfurt Main Finance on the financial centre’s long journey from the financial crisis to becoming a strategic industry. I would like to thank all the presidents, the Executive Committee and all members for their trust over the years. I have always retained the freedom to think and act entrepreneurially, and I will remain committed to that.”