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, member of the Supervisory Board of the French SFIL 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. As Chief Risk Officer, she is responsible for the areas of Risk Controlling, Promotional Business Development, Credit Management and Business Support
Ms Pantring holds various mandates, including Vice President of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB) and a member of the Advisory Board of the SME Council of KfW Bankengruppe.
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.
Michael Stölting, Member of the Managing Board
After studying business administration at Cologne University, Michael Stölting joined Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale in 1989. The positions he held at WestLB included that of Head of Swap and Options Trading for Asia-Pacific at WestLB Tokyo and, from 1993, Head of Swap and Options Trading for Europe at WestLB in Düsseldorf.
Between 1998 and 2002, he was in charge of the Credit Derivatives Department in Düsseldorf and held the position of Co-Head of Credit Derivatives Europe in Düsseldorf and London. He later assumed the position of Managing Director and expanded the credit portfolio management of WestLB AG. In 2005, he was additionally appointed Vice Head of BU Credit Risk Management.
In July 2006, Michael Stölting joined NRW.BANK as Head of the newly created Risk Management unit, with responsibility for all risk types.
As of January 1, 2009, he was appointed Vice Member of the Managing Board in charge of the capital markets business. He has been an ordinary member of the Managing Board since July 1, 2009 and is in charge of Promotion Programme Funding Advisory & Client Services, Capital Markets and Equity and Special Financing. Born in Cologne, Michael Stölting is married with three children.
Mr Stölting holds various mandates. He is, among other things, Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Nordwestlotto in Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH and a member of the Board of Directors of Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg. In addition, Mr Stölting is a member of the board of the Centre for Financial Research at the University of Cologne and a board member of the IESE Business School Alumni Chapter Germany.