Axel Wieandt is a senior financial services professional with many years of change management and restructuring experience in high-profile executive roles in the banking sector. He has led the execution of multi-billion dollar transactions in Europe, the US, China, and Australia. Axel Wieandt has also managed the execution of large equity and debt capital markets transactions. He has served and is serving a number of financial institutions and fintechs as non-executive board member and chairman. He is frequently advising PE and VC funds. Axel Wieandt has a long track record of teaching assignments with leading business schools in Europe and the US. He has published extensively including in German newspapers and intern. academic journals in the fields of business economics and banking.

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

• Venture Operating Partner, Speedinvest GmbH, 2017-present
• Chairman of the Board, Hannover Leasing Investment GmbH, 2017-present
• Chairman of the Board, Hannover Leasing GmbH & Co. KG, 2017-present
• Senior Advisor, Corestate Capital Holding S.A., 2017-present
• Advisory Board Member, Debitos GmbH, 2016-present
• Advisory Board Member, Mehrwerk GmbH, 2016-present
• Senior Advisor, Various Swiss- and London-based Private Equity funds, 2016-present
• Independent Board Member, auxmoney GmbH, 2012-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.