Deutsche Bank Restructures Advisory & Origination with Regional Leadership Shakeup

The restructuring of Deutsche Bank’s global origination & advisory business, announced in July 2025, reflects a deliberate pivot in how the bank seeks to respond to underwhelming dealflow and profitability pressures. Instead of leading along product lines, the bank has redefined leadership around geography—EMEA (excluding Germany/Austria/Switzerland), Americas, and DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)—assigning distinct senior leaders to each region [1][2]. This change aims to reduce complexity in oversight, accelerate decision-making, and better tailor regional go-to-market strategies.

Leadership transitions are central to the revamp. In February, Mark Fedorcik, after 30 years at Deutsche Bank, retired from his role as co-head of the Investment Bank and global head of O&A; Alison Harding-Jones, who joined as head of M&A in early 2024, was promoted effective 1 April to succeed him [4][2]. Harding-Jones now co-heads the Investment Bank with Ram Nayak, overseeing a transformed Operating model that places regional origination-&-advisory leads under her oversight [1][2].

The timing coincides with the bank’s recognition that its dealmaking revenue fell short early in 2025. Revenues in its origination and advisory business dropped 8% in the first quarter, reflecting both delays in corporate decisions—which Deutsche Bank attributes to global trade tensions and US tariff policies—and declining global deal volumes more broadly [1]. CEO Christian Sewing has framed 2025 as a “year of reckoning,” emphasizing that the bank is ready to adjust its strategic and financial targets and that no part of the bank is off-limits for change [1].

Strategically, the shift to regional heads is likely to increase accountability and should enable more responsive execution, particularly in markets facing divergent regulatory, geopolitical, and economic conditions. However, regionally fragmented leadership may also create inconsistencies, duplications, or imbalances in resource allocation. Additionally, while organizational design adjustments are important, recovery in dealmaking revenue typically requires external catalysts: macroeconomic stability, favorable policy, and regained investor confidence. Deutsche Bank’s broader Global Hausbank strategy—building out its investment, corporate, private, and asset-management banking under aligned leadership—also factors into how the bank balances growth with cost discipline, especially as investors demand improved RoTE (return on tangible equity) [4][5].

Open questions remain around how competent and empowered these regional heads will be, how Deutsche Bank plans to cultivate or retain senior origination talent under the new regime, and the degree to which cost discipline will accompany the push for revenue growth. Also, the extent to which this restructuring can counter slow deal environments remains uncertain. Ultimately, success will rest on execution, external market conditions, and whether this structural transformation enables ideation and execution speed sufficient to meet ambitious targets for 2026 and beyond.