Gerrit leads the Berlin Technology Centre into an engineering-focused future

Gerrit cannot remember a time when he wasn’t interested in technology. He started coding at twelve years old; today, the heating system of his house runs on Python. The Head of Deutsche Bank’s Berlin Technology Centre (BTC) is a true techie. Gerrit is also the CIO for Commercial Banking and for Merchant Solutions within Corporate Bank Technology. His main goal: achieving excellent results by creating a culture that encourages curiosity and growth.

The BTC is one of five strategic locations globally that are designated as a Technology Centre. “Being located in Deutsche Bank’s home market, the BTC is especially important to us,” Gerrit explains. “While currently focused on supporting the Investment and Corporate Bank, we expect to support other areas of the bank as well in the future.”

From a people point of view, the focus of the BTC is on driving engineering culture, providing an exceptional developer experience and ensuring the delivery of high-value solutions for the bank. “We’re actively pushing an engineering culture that is based on technical excellence. In our Technology Centres, more than 90% of our colleagues are writing code, and our career paths are specifically supporting technical excellence,” is how Gerrit describes his team’s effort to create a workplace that is specially made for engineering talent. “Bring together a set of smart, talented, diverse people and you get great results.”

Asked why the BTC is an exciting place to work, Gerrit responds: “Because we’re building the financial services technology of the future. At scale and with modern technologies – right now.”

The BTC is also a great place for emerging talent. “You can work on big, challenging technology problems from day one,” Gerrit says. Deutsche Bank offers a very broad spectrum of technologies and products, and it encourages internal mobility.

Deutsche Bank is dedicated to taking excellent care of employee. “That, too, is part of our culture at the BTC. It’s all about the people and making an impact,” Gerrit says.