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)
This course studies the emergence of digital assets, the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT)/ blockchain technology, and their likely impact on finance. It tries to go beyond the recent hype, into the nuts and bolts of digital assets, and into the business potential of the underlying DLT/blockchain technology. Starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum, and building on an understanding of blockchain as an innovation in information registration and distribution, the course explores the potential of digital assets and DLT/blockchain technology to transform our central bank-based monetary system, investment management, venture finance and core banking (e.g. payments, trade finance, etc.) and capital markets services (e.g. securitization, clearing and settlement etc.). The course builds on basic finance and macroeconomics courses and complements strategy/fintech, asset management, and venture capital courses such as STRT 461: "Innovation in Financial Services Markets". It is organized in five sessions: session 1 - Introduction to distributed ledgers and blockchain technology, session 2 - Central banking and payments with digital assets, session 3 - Investing in digital assets, session 4 - Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token Offerings (STOs) and the future of venture financing, and session 5 - DLT/blockchain applications in banking. Course material includes a comprehensive set of slides, useful links, readings and case study materials. Content is delivered via lectures, in-class discussions of relevant cases and guest-speaker presentations. Student grades will be based on class participation, a written interim assignment and a final paper.