Today’s Global Leader with Franz von Metzler 

What does it take to renew a 350-year-old bank?

October 13, 2026, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. CEST
ESMT Berlin, Schlossplatz 1, 10178 Berlin

and via livestream 

This event will take place on campus and online. To attend, please register using the form below.

Bankhaus Metzler has been in continuous family ownership for more than 350 years. That history gives particular weight to a question many established companies face: how do you preserve independence, long-term judgment, and trust while renewing a business for a different generation of clients, employees, and markets? 

Franz von Metzler joined Metzler in 2014 and has been a member of the executive board since 2023, with responsibility for asset management. He represents the twelfth generation of the family, working within a governance model that separates ownership, supervisory oversight, and operational management. It makes for an unusually practical setting in which to ask what responsible renewal actually requires. 

In a moderated conversation with journalist Astrid Frohloff, Franz von Metzler will discuss: 

• What carries forward from his family’s leadership, and where the next generation sets its own course 
• How clear roles between family ownership, supervisory oversight, and operational management make renewal possible 
• What younger talent needs from a career in financial services, and how the culture of an established institution has to evolve 
• How a private bank can make sound choices about new technology, including artificial intelligence, while retaining the human judgment on which trust depends 
• The role of private banks in pensions and retirement security 

The evening will be opened by Jörg Rocholl, president of ESMT Berlin and chair of the advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance. Drawing on his work as a member of the federal pension commission, he will set the wider context: how Germany can bring long-term saving, investment, and retirement security into better balance. 

Audience members will have the opportunity to put their questions directly to Franz von Metzler.

About the Today’s Global Leader event series 

Today’s Global Leader is an ESMT event series in hybrid format. Successful business leaders share their leadership philosophies and position themselves on current political and economic topics in an open discussion. Interaction with a diverse audience, including international students and other young leaders, is guaranteed. Check out our past events with Ola Källenius, Christian Sewing, among others on YouTube.

About the speakers

Franz von Metzler joined Metzler in 2014 and has been a member of the executive board of Bankhaus Metzler since 2023, where he is responsible for the asset management division. He is a member of the board of directors at Metzler Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. and Metzler Japan Holdings in Tokyo, Metzler Realty Advisors in Seattle, and Metzler/Payden, LLC in Los Angeles, and he chairs the supervisory board of Metzler Asset Management GmbH. Retirement provision is a particular focus: he serves as deputy chair of the supervisory boards of Metzler Sozialpartner Pensionsfonds AG, Metzler Pensionsfonds AG, and Metzler Mittelstands Pensionsfonds AG. Since October 2024, he has also been a member of the executive board of Frankfurt Main Finance. 

Before joining the family firm, Franz von Metzler worked as an analyst at HSBC Holdings plc in London from 2012 to 2014. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi in Milan and a master’s in management from ESCP Europe Business School, studying in London, Paris, and Berlin, with a focus on finance and strategy. He is a Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA). 

Jörg Rocholl has been president of ESMT Berlin since July 2011 and the Deutsche Bank professor in sustainable finance since September 2022. He is chair of the advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance and served as a scientific member of the federal pension commission, which delivered its recommendations for reform in June 2026. He is also chair of the steering committee of the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM), a member of the board of the Schmalenbach Society, a member of acatech (German Academy of Science and Engineering), a research fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). 

About the moderator

Astrid Frohloff is an independent conference moderator, executive coach, and communications consultant specializing in executive media training and high-level moderation. A former national TV presenter, she produced some 250 films and reports, served as spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders for 12 years, and now trains executives in media and presentation skills while advising organizations on event design and delivery. 


In cooperation with Initiative Zukunftsfähige Führung