Eckhard Forst, Chairman of the Managing Board
After training as a bank clerk at Deutsche Bank AG in Düsseldorf and studying law, Eckhard Forst worked in different roles at Deutsche Bank AG in Düsseldorf from 1990, including the Legal Department and in Corporate and Key Account Management. In 2000, he joined Deutsche Bank AG in Paris as Managing Director in charge of Corporate Banking.
He became a member of the management of Deutsche Bank AG in Bielefeld in mid-2003 and was responsible for Corporate and Investment Banking in his capacity as Managing Director.
From 2007 to 2016, Eckhard Forst was a member of the Managing Board of Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) in Hannover, where he was in charge of Corporate Banking including Housing and Agricultural Banking. His responsibilities also included Structured Finance (Energy and Infrastructure), Institutional Clients as well as Commercial Real Estate Financing.
Eckhard Forst has been Chairman of the Managing Board of NRW.BANK since 2016. He is responsible for Human Resources, Legal, Internal Audit as well as Business development. Born in Düsseldorf, Eckhard Frost is married with two children.
Mr Forst holds various mandates including Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Portigon AG, President of the Association of German Public Sector Banks (Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands e. V.), member of the Supervisory Board of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG and member of Initiativkreis Ruhr. Mr Forst is also Honorary Consul of the Republic of France in Münster.
Gabriela Pantring, Deputy Chairwoman of the Managing Board
Gabriela Pantring is deputy chairwoman of the Managing Board of NRW.BANK, the promotional bank for North Rhine-Westphalia. She is in charge of Promotion Programme Funding Advisory & Client Services, Capital Markets and Equity and Special Financing
Ms Pantring holds various mandates, including Vice President of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB). She is also a member of the Fin.Connect.NRW steering committee.
Gabriela Pantring started her career in the mid-1980s as loan officer at Sparkasse Osnabrück and as auditor at Sparkassen- und Giroverband Schleswig-Holstein. For several years she worked for the Group Audit Department of Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale in London.
In 2002, she joined the newly founded NRW.BANK, where she assumed responsibility for the Internal Audit unit. She later headed the Corporate Steering Division and most recently the Special Promotion and Advisory Division.
In 2013, Ms Pantring became a member of the Managing Board of ILB Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg, where she was responsible for Economy, Equity & Start-ups, Treasury and Bank Operations before returning to NRW.BANK in 2016.
Gabriela Pantring holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Science in Strategic Focus degree from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Claudia Hillenherms, Member of the Managing Board
Claudia Hillenherms has been a member of NRW.BANK's Managing Board since June 1, 2022.
She is responsible for Finance, Promotion Programmes, Governance and Organisation, Information Technology and Services, as well as Housing Promotion. The business graduate and qualified banker, auditor and tax advisor changed from WIBank to NRW.BANK. From 2004 to 2020 she held various functions at Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba). Previous positions led the native Berliner to PwC, Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young and SoFFin.
Dr. Peter Stemper, Member of the Managing Board
Dr. Peter Stemper has been a meber of NRW.BANK's Managing Board since 2024. As Chief Risk Officer, he is responsible for the areas of Risk Controlling, Promotional Business Development, Credit Management and Business Support.
Dr. Stemper studied mathematics and computer science and obtained a doctorate from Gerhard-Mercator University in Duisburg before spending several years in a senior position in risk management at WestLB AG. In 2007, he joined its subsidiary, readybank ag, where he was Head of Risk Control before taking over as CEO. In 2014, he became a member of the Managing Board of Portigon AG, where he served as CRO and CFO. In 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the Board. In this role, he was responsible, among other things, for the winding down of WestLB. In 2019, he joined NRW.BANK, where he is currently Head of Corporate Development. During this time, he was responsible for the sale of the casinos in NRW (2021).
Born in Oberhausen, Peter Stemper is married and has three children.
