Bettina Orlopp

Bettina Orlopp became CEO of Commerzbank—Germany’s second-largest lender—in October 2024, the first woman to lead the institution in its 156-year history. The former McKinsey partner first joined Commerzbank in 2014 and rose to CFO before stepping into the top job. As CEO, she’s steering a bank being pursued by an unwelcome suitor: UniCredit, the Italian banking giant, launched a €39 billion ($44 billion) takeover bid for Commerzbank in May 2026 after amassing a more than 30% stake in the German institution. Commerzbank formally rejected the offer in mid-May because it lacked an adequate premium. In her effort to fend off UniCredit’s advances, Orlopp has sought to make a stand-alone Commerzbank more appealing to shareholders with higher profitability targets and 3,000 job cuts by the end of the decade. The saga has turned Orlopp into one of the most closely watched executives in European finance—a first-time CEO trying to keep her bank from being folded into a larger banking empire.