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Western EuropeFebruary 2 2005

Martin Blessing

board member, Commerzbank If ever someone was destined to become chief executive of one of Germany’s top banks, arguably it would be Martin Blessing, board member at Commerzbank.His grandfather Karl was president of the legendary Bundesbank between 1958 and 1969, and his father Werner was a board member at Deutsche Bank.
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Mr Blessing, 41, now finds himself following in his forefathers’ steps. Having been put in charge of Commerzbank’s crucial corporate banking business in early November, he is the ‘Crown Prince’ to succeed Klaus-Peter Müller, who at 60 is expected to step down as CEO in a few years. “The corporate banking business, which accounts for around half of the bank’s operating profit, is Mr Blessing’s final exam. If he masters it, he will graduate as CEO,” observes one Commerzbank expert.

Although Mr Blessing has never worked in German corporate banking before, he has plenty of experience as a senior manager and has been enormously successful in the area of retail banking. After beginning his career at the consultancy McKinsey – where he advised banks – Mr Blessing joined Dresdner Bank in 1997 as deputy head of retail banking. He impressed the board so much that three years later he was named CEO of Advance Bank, Dresdner’s now defunct online banking service.

Wishing to put an end to the “old boy network” at Commerzbank, CEO Mr Müller poached Mr Blessing in November 2001 and gave him the challenging, yet appropriate, task of turning the bank’s embattled retail banking business around. And while the past three years have been among the toughest for Germany’s fourth-largest bank, Mr Blessing, through clever restructuring of the retail business, has lived up to Mr Müller’s expectations.

Risks: Mr Blessing has a rival on Commerzbank’s board: Achim Kassow, who is his successor as retail banking chief and, at 38, even younger than him. Experts say Mr Kassow’s ambition and intelligence know few boundaries. If Mr Müller stays on longer than expected, Mr Kassow may bid to succeed him, arguing that he is just as experienced as Mr Blessing.

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Read more about:  Western Europe , Germany