New Leadership duo for BNP Paribas’ Corporate & Institutional Banking business in Germany

Jan-Philipp Gillmann and Nico Ruse will jointly take over the leadership of BNP Paribas’ Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) business in Germany. They will assume their roles as Co-CEOs on 1 September and 1 November 2026 respectively, succeeding Frank Vogel who has chosen to pursue other opportunities outside the Group.

Building on several years of strong growth, BNP Paribas is further strengthening its CIB franchise in Germany, a strategic market for the Group. These appointments will support the continued development of the business, enabling the bank to bring the full strength of its integrated model and international platform to clients, while contributing to the financing of the German economy.

Jan-Philipp Gillmann and Nico Ruse will jointly drive BNP Paribas’ German CIB business. They will work closely with corporate and institutional clients, including family-owned businesses, as well as with the local and global teams, around the key themes that are shaping the industry – covering infrastructure and defence, private equity, working capital optimisation, market risk management and hedging solutions, along with the evolving trade and investment corridors linking Europe with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), North America, Asia-Pacific and other key growth markets.

BNP Paribas’ CIB franchise sits at the heart of the Group’s integrated business model, supporting clients with the full range of products and services – from strategic advisory and capital market transactions to traditional corporate banking services as well as various investment and risk hedging instruments, and custody services. Clients are also connected to the wider Group portfolio, including asset management, real estate services, leasing and fleet management, along with BNP Paribas’ international network, one of the most comprehensive in the industry.

Jan-Philipp Gillmann has more than 20 years of international banking experience and held senior positions at Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, and McKinsey. Most recently, he was responsible for Global Corporate Coverage at Deutsche Bank, in charge of teams covering corporates, the public sector, and non-bank financial institutions around the globe. In addition, he was Head of Corporate Bank Germany & Europe (excl. UK/Ireland). Before joining Deutsche Bank, he held various senior roles at Commerzbank until 2019, including divisional board member within CIB, head of project finance in renewable energies, and CEO of Commerzbank North America, based in New York.

Nico Ruse brings more than 20 years of investment banking experience, including almost two decades at Bank of America. Throughout his career, he covered large-cap corporate clients across a range of sectors, including the broader industrials sector. Most recently, he was responsible for the senior coverage of several of Germany’s leading corporates, supporting their strategic and financing requirements across products. He has advised clients on significant transactions across M&A, equity and debt capital markets. In addition to his client responsibilities, he held management responsibility within the team for several years.

Jan-Philipp Gillmann and Nico Ruse will both join the Management Board of BNP Paribas in Germany and the German Executive Committee, as well as the European BNP Paribas CIB Management Team.

“I would like to thank Frank for his instrumental contribution to the development and growth of our CIB business in Germany and wish him all the best for the future,” said Lutz Diederichs, CEO of BNP Paribas Germany. “As a major European bank with global reach, BNP Paribas is well positioned to guide and support clients through an increasingly complex market environment. With Jan-Philipp and Nico, we are bringing additional international banking expertise, further strengthening our German leadership team to accelerate our next phase of growth.”

Geert Lippens, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking EMEA Countries, BNP Paribas, added: “Germany is a key market for BNP Paribas and remains a cornerstone of the Bank’s strategy in Europe. Our integrated model is a powerful differentiator, providing clients with access to the full strength of the Group. Today, we are already the #1 Europe-based Corporate & Institutional Bank globally and in EMEA. Building on this strong position, we have developed an ambitious strategic plan for CIB in Germany, and I am confident that Jan-Philipp and Nico will be instrumental in further sharpening our client focus and delivering strong results.”