Commerzbank to name Schaufler as retail head

Bloomberg

Commerzbank AG is poised to appoint Thomas Schaufler as its new retail head and Joerg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz operating chief, filling two key roles as the lender seeks to put an end over a long period of management turnover.
Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz would replace Joerg Hessenmueller, who is expected to vacate his post after facing criticism in recent months over his role in a failed IT project, according to people familiar with the matter. Erste Group Bank AG’s Schaufler would fill a role that’s been vacant for some time.
Supervisory Board Chairman Helmut Gottschalk and Chief Executive Officer Manfred Knof are trying to wrap up an era of rapid leadership changes that erupted more than a year ago when then-CEO Martin Zielke and Chairman Stefan Schmittmann jointly threw in the towel after facing heavy criticism from investors. A string of departures followed, including another chairman and head of corporate clients.
The retail post has been vacant since executive board member Sabine Schmittroth resigned from the role earlier this year to focus on her duties as head of human resources. The retail job will involve closing hundreds of branches as the bank shifts to digital offerings.
Hessenmueller stoked frustration on the supervisory board after informing the panel of trouble with an IT outsourcing project after
his contract was renewed
in June, the people said. Commerzbank subsequently stopped the project, forcing it to take a writedown of 200 million euros ($236 million) and pay an undisclosed sum as compensation to its former outsourcing partner, HSBC Holdings Plc’s German unit.