Elena connects people with their purpose

Seeing different places and moving out of her comfort zone enabled Elena to grow into her role of connecting people and enabling them to deliver at their best. And that’s exactly what she does as the Hub Head of the Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Berlin.

Deutsche Bank was founded 150 years ago in Berlin. Ever since, the bank has established a strong footprint in the financial world. And it’s in Berlin where Deutsche Bank reinvents itself today. The CoE is a startup within the bank, innovating service and the customer experience right at the heart of the city’s bustling fintech and startup scene.

Elena grew up in Russia, Latvia, Germany and the US. The variety of cultures, languages, mentalities and customs is exciting to her and inspired her desire to work in a diverse international environment: “Deutsche Bank provided the best international work experience for me, and I really value the opportunity to work in such a global organisation of experts.”

When Elena heard about the CoE, she was up for the challenge and took over a leading role in Deutsche Bank’s pioneering, multicultural project that brings innovation to finance. “Our team has a variety of backgrounds and professional experiences,” she says. “What unites us is a common vision to deliver superior service to our customers.”

Deutsche Bank has embarked on an agile journey from day one of opening the CoE and there are many more innovative ideas ready to be explored in the coming years. By creating an environment that invites collaboration, innovation and agile working, the bank intends to future-proof the services delivered to clients.

“Expect a diverse and inclusive culture where people are encouraged to speak up, learn continuously and are challenged to expand their comfort zone,” Elena says about the spirit of the CoE. The people working for Deutsche Bank in Berlin have lots of opportunities to bring their ideas to life and actively shape the future of the bank. And Elena is there to help them do it.

Her passion for continuous learning and connecting people brought Elena to where she is today. Seeing her colleagues being passionate about their work shows her that she’s come to the right place. “The CoE is a place where people can grow, ideas matter and good performance is recognised. Where you’re allowed to try something new and make errors as long as you learn from them.”

Building something from scratch is a big challenge. And an opportunity to grow. Deutsche Bank is reinventing financial products and services under one roof at the CoE – and there are plenty of opportunities for people to step up and take the bank’s customers on an exciting journey into the future of finance.