Freshfields’ white-collar defence practice head for Central Europe, Simone Kämpfer, has taken a role at Deutsche Bank, where she will become general counsel and a member of the group management committee from 15 September.
Kämpfer spent seven and a half years at Freshfields, including three and a half as head of white-collar defence for Central Europe. Before this, she worked at Düsseldorf-based white-collar criminal law firm tdwe Rechtsanwälte from 2007 to 2018, and before that as a public prosecutor.
She joins Deutsche Bank with extensive experience advising companies on regulatory matters, governance and investigations, and will be based at the bank’s head office in Frankfurt.
Kämpfer will replace Friederike Rotsch, who has left the multinational investment bank to pursue new opportunities. Rotsch has held the top legal position since September 2023, and prior to this spent 18 years at leading science and technology company Merck, rising through the ranks to become group general counsel in 2014.
In a statement, chief executive officer Christian Sewing said: ‘Friederike has made a significant contribution to Deutsche Bank during her tenure. Her leadership and expertise have been instrumental in dealing with complex legacy cases, navigating a complex environment and shaping our Legal & Group Governance function for the future.’
He continued: ‘Simone brings a wealth of experience in various areas of commercial law and a strong track record in legal leadership. Her widely recognized expertise will be invaluable as we continue to further evolve our Legal department and support the bank’s long-term growth.’
Kämpfer will report directly to Sewing.
Further changes to the leadership team at Deutsche Bank include the appointment of Ralph Nash, who joined the bank in May as head of anti-financial crime for EMEA and global head of regions and standards, as head of anti-financial crime and group anti-money laundering officer, following the departure of Nita Patel.
Freshfields has a long history of working with Deustche Bank, going back to 2014, where the global firm represented the bank in the highly publicised investigation into their alleged attempt to fix the foreign exchange market. Other recent work includes a court of appeal contempt decision in 2023.
