Kerstin Gräfe has been appointed as a new member of the Management Board of Amundi Deutschland GmbH (AMD) with effect from 1 April 2023.
She has been Chief Operating Officer (COO) of AMD since 2019 and has already been part of the extended management board in this function since 2021. Since 1 April 2023, Kerstin Gräfe has been responsible for the Middle / Back Office, Client Service, Regulatory and Client Reporting, Business Administration, Strategic Projects, IT and Facility Management as a member of the Executive Board.
Kerstin started her career at Swiss Life Asset Management in 2001 and then moved to Augsburger Aktienbank, where she was Sales Director. In 2007, she joined Pioneer Investments and was responsible for asset managers, pools and platforms as Senior Sales Director in the first few years before taking over as Head of Client Service and Reporting in 2014. She is a German studies graduate from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and King's College London.
3 questions to Kerstin Gräfe:
Kerstin, with a degree in German language and literature, you are, so to speak, a "career changer" in the fund sector. How suitable do you consider the financial sector to be for entering from other subject areas?
The financial sector is just as open as other sectors and offers many opportunities. For example, there are quite a few people in my environment who originally studied humanities and have now been working in the financial sector for years. As with many professions, it is important to be open-minded, to want to learn and to deal with the changing challenges and constant changes in the job. Later on, relevant work experience is added.
In the financial sector you have earned your spurs in sales. Many women shy away from a sales job. How did you feel in sales, especially as a woman? What advice would you like to give to other women who are considering a sales job?
I enjoyed my time in sales very much. Interaction with people has always been an essential part of what I do. With a healthy amount of self-confidence, you can position yourself well with your own style in the still very male-dominated field. For example, I have always tried to listen carefully to my counterpart and not jump straight into a sales pitch. In addition, I tried not to focus only on the product, but to be a companion to my clients on different topics. I think that went down well with many clients.
You have been a member of the Management Board at Amundi Germany since 1 April. What are you most looking forward to in this role and what would you like to achieve?
Wir agieren bei Amundi Deutschland schon immer als Team und arbeiten insgesamt mit flachen Hierarchien. Vor zwei Jahren haben wir das Deutsche Management Committee eingesetzt und seitdem sind wir auf Führungsebene in einem noch besseren Austausch mit den Fachabteilungen, von dem auch die Geschäftsführung profitiert. Doch, um die Frage zu beantworten, was ich bewegen möchte, nehme ich gerne noch mal Bezug auf die vorherige Frage. Mich würde es freuen, wenn es mir gelingt, mehr Frauen und generell junge Leute für unsere Branche zu begeistern. Das Asset Management hat so viele Facetten, da lohnt es sich auch für Quereinsteiger:innen genauer hin zu schauen. In meiner neuen Funktion habe ich jetzt die Chance, meine Begeisterung für die Branche zu teilen – und die möchte ich nutzen.
Great, and thank you for the interview! We wish you that you can inspire many young women from our industry!
Anke Dembowski is a financial journalist and author of various investment fund-related and other financial books. She is also a co-founder of the "Fondsfrauen" network.