Sebastian Geiger, Representative in Türkiye

© Aylin Yildiz

Since August 2023, I have been the Bundesbank’s new representative in Türkiye. In this capacity, I also work in parallel as an adviser on financial issues at the German Consulate General in Istanbul. The position of financial adviser and Bundesbank representative is based in the historically significant metropolitan area on the Bosporous Strait, in keeping with Istanbul’s special standing as a financial centre, within Türkiye and – beyond its borders – for the countries of the Middle East, in particular. The economic and cultural centre of Türkiye is home to the majority of the country’s banks as well as its stock exchange. The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB) and the country’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) also have a significant contingent of their respective workforces located there. And German institutions such as the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce Türkiye, as well as most German-Turkish firms, are based in Istanbul. 

My core task is to build and maintain contacts, including with the institutions mentioned above. Cultivating contacts involves liaising with local partners as a representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, in general, and of the Bundesbank in particular; it’s about gathering relevant information as well as passing on an understanding of current economic and monetary policy developments in Germany and the euro area at large. This is facilitated by bilateral meetings and other events that I organise (such as roundtables with representatives from German banks operating in Türkiye). On top of that, I also prepare analyses, and locally sourced information is a real plus point where those are concerned. These studies form the basis of reports to the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, the Bundesbank and, when required, other German ministries too. In addition, I engage in other Consulate General tasks dealing with economic affairs, as far as possible.

Peter Kern, Representative in Brussels (House of the Euro)

© Paul Meinders

The Bundesbank’s independent representative office in Brussels was set up in October 2023. It is part of the House of the Euro, sharing a roof with the representative office of the European Central Bank and six other Eurosystem central banks. 

The thought of the new tasks awaiting me as part of our team in Brussels – the nerve centre of the EU institutions – fills me with anticipation. In addition to my long-standing roots in the Directorate General Communications and a period working in the Directorate General Financial Stability, my time at the Bundesbank has seen me spend two four-year stints abroad as a Bundesbank representative for Latin America in São Paulo and for India in Mumbai. I am excited to embark on the challenge of using my experience from the Federal Foreign Office’s diplomatic missions and my activities representing the Bundesbank internationally, as well as the expertise I have gathered working in other Directorates General, at the European level. I look forward to helping to develop this new mission and playing my part in its future success.

Jenny Kilp, Deputy Head of the Centre for International Central Bank Dialogue (CIC)

© Silke Schrupp

I stepped into the role of Deputy Head of the Centre for International Central Bank Dialogue (CIC) in November 2023. I am very much looking forward to the opportunity that this position affords to help shape cooperation with our partners abroad in future. Looking at other countries and what’s going on there in terms of monetary and fiscal policy is something that’s long been part of my work over my years at the Bundesbank. 

After completing the civil servant training programme in 2005, I started out analysing the monetary and fiscal policy of numerous countries as well as the operational policy of the International Monetary Fund, first in what was then the International Relations Department and later in the Directorate General Financial Stability. I then went on to spend three years at the German Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, as a representative of the Bundesbank. While there, I gained fascinating insights into the economy of an emerging market, but also built up a wealth of experience in cultivating diplomatic relations, which I’m keen to use in my new role. After my exciting and educational time in Africa, I moved to the Directorate General Economic Education, working first as a speechwriter and then joining the DG’s strategic office.

Paul Meinders, Office Manager at the representative office in Brussels (House of the Euro) 

© Peter Kern

Up to the end of September 2023, I worked in the Regional Division for Banking and Financial Supervision at the Bundesbank’s Regional Office in Hesse. I’ve now taken on the role of office manager at the brand-new representative office in Brussels, which involves providing support to colleagues. The experience I have gathered over the past few years will be a great help in tackling the various tasks that setting up a new representative office entails. Things got off to a great start with the new team and I’m looking forward to working together with the other central banks here at the House of the Euro in Brussels.

Annika Müller de Vries, Representative in Brussels (House of the Euro) 

© Peter Kern

I have been working as a representative of the Bundesbank at its newly established representative office in Brussels since 1 October 2023. I’m part of a new team created to build and maintain political contacts in Brussels, but also to network with other colleagues here at the House of the Euro. I’m a political scientist, so I’ll be keeping a particular eye on the processes taking place in the European Commission and the European Parliament, but I’ll also be trying to read between the lines where political dialogue is concerned, to spot unresolved issues and any potential sore spots at an early stage and address them constructively.

Back in Frankfurt, I previously worked in the President’s Office and in internal communications and political liaison. Germany’s presidency of the G20 gave me some time to become acquainted with the tasks and challenges associated with global cooperation. My most recent post as long-standing Head of Training at the Bundesbank means I am well aware of the importance of effective dialogue with people and the issues that move them – something which I am keen to support at the House of the Euro, not least through formats encouraging discussion and cooperation.

Philippe Schneider, Representative in China

© Christian Stock

I have been part of the CIC since 1 November 2023, working as a representative of the Bundesbank at Germany’s embassy in Beijing. Prior to that I spent four years working as a bank auditor at the Bundesbank’s Regional Office in Hesse, after graduating from the civil servant training programme. 

My new role revolves around monitoring, analysing and reporting on developments in the fields of economic and fiscal policy, financial stability and monetary and exchange rate policy in China. On top of that, the job involves cultivating business contacts and looking after various delegations when they visit. 

While communicating across national and cultural borders can sometimes bring challenges, I personally am very excited for the new post, the tasks that it involves and the chance to work with my new colleagues. And the rather unique location of the posting – a place I visited some years ago as a student – is another big draw for me.