Dr Thorsten Pötzsch

© BaFin/Matthias Sandmann

Curriculum Vitae (tabular)

1963

Born in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia

1982 to 1988

Law studies in Passau, Münster and Munich

1988

First state examination in law

1988 to 1990

Institute for Civil Law and Civil Procedure at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich
Research Assistant

1990

Doctorate at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich

1992

Second state examination in law

1991 to 1993

University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom
Associate Lecturer

1993 to 1994

RWE AG, Essen
Corporate Counsel

1994 to 1999

Federal Ministry of Finance, Bonn
Policy Officer, Stock Market and Securities Sectors, Investment Sector Division

1999

Federal Ministry of Justice, Berlin
Policy Officer, Accounting Law and Tax Law Division

1999 to 2002

Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin
Deputy Head of the Stock Market and Securities Sectors Division

2002 to 2007

Federal Chancellery, Berlin
Head of the Commercial Law, Information Society and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Division

2007 to 2016

Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin
Head of Directorate VII B, Financial Market Regulation, National and International Financial Markets

2016 to 2017

Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilisation (FMSA), Frankfurt am Main
Member of the Management Committee

January 2018 to September 2021

Chief Executive Director, Resolution Sector at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority

Since September 2021

Chief Executive Director, Securities Supervision / Asset Management at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority

Board and committee memberships:

Member of the Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Member of the Management Board of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)

Member of the Board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)

Chairman of the ESMA Sustainability Standing Committee.

Curriculum Vitae (full-text)

Dr Thorsten Pötzsch, born in Essen in 1963, has been Chief Executive Director of Securities Supervision/Asset Management at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) since September 2021. Prior to this, between 2018 and 2021, he was Chief Executive Director of Resolution.

From 2016 to 2017, Dr Pötzsch was a Member of the Management Committee of the Federal Agency for Financial Market Stabilisation (FMSA). Before this, he held various specialist and managerial roles in different federal ministries between 1994 and 2016, with his most recent role as Head of Directorate VII B, Financial Market Regulation, National and International Financial Markets. From 2002 to 2007, he worked as Head of Division at the Federal Chancellery. Before this, he held various positions in the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Justice and at RWE AG.

Dr Thorsten Pötzsch is a Member of the Board of Supervisors and of the Management Board of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and is also a Board Member at the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He is also Chairman of the ESMA Sustainability Standing Committee.

Dr Pötzsch studied law at the universities of Passau, Münster and Munich. He completed his doctorate and worked as a research assistant at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. He also worked as an associate lecturer at the University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom, from 1991 to 1993.