Axel Wieandt is adjunct professor of Finance and a German senior financial services professional. He is currently lecturer for Financial Intermediation at WHU Otto-Beisheim School of Management and for Bank Management at Goethe Business School, Frankfurt University. Axel is member of the Advisory Boards of auxmoney GmbH, a German Fintech and the leading European consumer lending market place, and of Aquila Capital Group, an independent alternative asset manager; he is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Alceda Asset Management GmbH, the regulated subsidiary of the Group. Until spring of 2015 Axel was CEO and CFO of Valovis Bank AG. Other prior positions he has held include Global Head of Corporate Development / Corporate Investments of Deutsche Bank AG, CEO of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG as well as CEO of pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG and Managing Director Investment Banking with Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd. . After graduating as a scholar of the Sudienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes from WHU (Diploma and Ph.D. summa cum laude) and as a DAAD (Procter & Gamble) scholar from the J.L.Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston (IL) (Master of Management with honors) Axel began his career with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in Duesseldorf and Boston (MA) and Morgan Stanley & Co. Ltd. in London. Since 2009 Axel serves on the Board of Trustees of the "Europaeische Stiftung Kaiserdom zu Speyer".

Bank Management, Financial Intermediation, Financial Regulation, Too-Big-To-Fail

• Ph.D., 1993, Business Administration, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
• MBA, 1992, Master of Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
• Diploma of Business Administration, 1990, Business Administration, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

• Lecturer, Executive MBA Program, Goethe University, 2013-present
• Lecturer of Financial Intermediaries, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, 2002-present

• Chairman of Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, Valovis Bank AG, 2012-2015
• Managing Director - Investment Banking, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, 2011-2012
• Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Group, 2010-2011
• Chief Executive Officer, Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, 2008-2010
• Chief Financial Officer, Hypo Real Estate Holding AG and pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, 2008-2009
• Global Head of Corporate Investments, Deutsche Bank AG, 2003-2008
• Global Head of Corporate Development (AfK), Deutsche Bank AG, 2000-2008
• Managing Director, Deutsche Asset Management International GmbH, 1999-2000
• Deputy Global Head of Corporate Strategy, Deutsche Bank AG, 1998-1999
• Senior Associate, Morgan Stanley & Co. Ltd., 1997-1998
• Senior Associate and Senior Engagement Manager, McKinsey & Company, Inc., 1993-1997

Blockchain Technology, Digital Assets, and the Future of Finance (FINC-965-5)
The recent spike in the valuation of Bitcoin to over USD 300 billion has put digital assets and the underlying blockchain technology firmly into the limelight. In parallel to the surge in the value of digital assets, the number of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) has skyrocketed with more than 340 token issuances raising over USD 5 billion in 2017. 2018 has seen a sharp reversal in the hype with a gradual decline in value of most digital assets of over 75%. While reportings on potential fraud cases, exchange hacks, regulatory scrutiny / actions, and breakdown of consensus/splits in the blockchain are fueling the controversy over Bitcoin and other crypto-tokens as a new asset class, there is growing consensus about the potential of the underlying blockchain technology to transform banking and finance at large. This consensus is backed up with multi-billion dollar investments by venture funds into new start-ups. The largest banks have formed consortia to bring the transformative power of blockchain technology to bear on a broad set of core banking activities such as cross-border payments, trade finance, securities trading, settlement and clearing as well as regulatory affairs and AML/KYC compliance. And central banks are closely monitoring the space. This course tries to go beyond the hype, into the nuts and bolts of digital assets, and into the business potential of the underlying blockchain technology. Starting with Satoshi Nakamoto´s 2009 paper on "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System", Vitalik Buterin´s 2013 "Etherium White Paper: A Next Generation Smart Contract & Decentralized Application Platform", and building on an understanding of blockchain as an innovation in information registration and distribution, the course explores the potential of digital assets and blockchain technology to transform our central bank based monetary system, investment management, venture finance and core banking and capital markets services.

Thought Leadership Seminar (FINC-484-5)
Contemporary Issues in Business and Society (FINC-484-5)

This seminar will use a roundtable discussion format to facilitate an in-depth exploration of current issues in corporate governance and finance, and how they affect and are influenced by society. Our sessions will focus on a combination of predetermined topics and ones chosen by students from the current events of the week. We will begin by debating a central question in corporate governance: should creating value for shareholders be the firm's first priority? The seminar will also discuss major issues such as corporate decisions to lay off employees, public policies aimed at achieving gender parity in corporate boardrooms, the growth of executive compensation, and the rise in the top one percent (all topics are subject to change). Source materials will include a combination of business cases, recent academic research, and news articles from the popular press.