After leaving university Ackermann went to work in 1977 for the Swiss multinational investment bank Credit Suisse, which he left in 1996.

In the same year he joined the board of directors of the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt am Main.

[4] Ackermann agreed at the end of 2009 to continue as chief executive of Deutsche Bank for another three years until 2013.

[5] At the annual shareholder meeting in late May 2012, he "handed over the CEO baton" to co-CEOs Anshu Jain and Juergen Fitschen.

[8] Other positions held: Days after retirement and on the eve of a conference call by G7 finance ministers and central bank governors on the continuing European debt crisis, Ackerman said in a speech to the Atlantic Council that "Germany will ultimately take whatever steps [are] necessary to keep the euro zone intact", according to one report.