DWS Group Names New CEO

DWS, the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank, has named a new chief executive to replaceNicolas Moreau.

Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

DWS Group, the asset management firm majority owned by Deutsche Bank, has named Asoka Woehrmann as chief executive officer about seven months after going public.

Woehrmann, the head of Deutsche’s private clients business in Germany since 2015, will immediately replace Nicolas Moreau as CEO, according to a statement Thursday from DWS. Moreau will remain at the firm as a managing director until the end of the year.

In March, Deutsche spun off its asset management division, DWS, in an IPO overseen by Moreau. The following month, the Frankfurt-based bank said it would scale back its U.S. and Asia corporate finance operations, while seeking to expand DWS and its private and commercial banking business.

“Asoka Woehrmann knows our company, our clients across the world and the asset management industry like the back of his hand,” said Karl von Rohr, supervisory board chairman at Deutsche Bank, in the statement. “This makes him an excellent choice to secure the global, sustained success of the DWS Group.”

Woehrmann has worked for Deutsche since 1998, according to the bank’s website. He was chief investment officer of Deutsch’s asset and wealth management division until 2015, when he moved to its private and commercial banking unit.

[II Deep Dive: Deutsche Bank to Scale Back U.S. Business, Lay Off Staff]

Moreau has worked for Deutsche for about two years, according to DWS’ website. He was previously the chairman and CEO of the AXA France, a subsidiary of AXA Equitable Holdings, joining the firm in 1991.

“Nicolas Moreau has performed a great service over the past two years by leading the transformation at DWS Group,” van Rohr said in the statement. “We would like to thank him for resolutely driving the IPO and setting the course for future success.”

A spokesperson for DWS did not return an email seeking comment. Moreau did not return a LinkedIn message seeking comment.

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