Helene von Roeder

Helene von Roeder
von Roeder in 2019
Born (1970-06-05) 5 June 1970
Heidelberg, Germany
EducationLMU Munich, University of Cambridge (MPhil)
OccupationCFO of Merck Group
Known forexecutive board member at Merck Group and formerly Vonovia

Helene Freifrau Roeder von Diersburg,[1] commonly known as Helene von Roeder, née Kley (born 5 June 1970), is a German business executive. From 2018 to 2023, she served on the executive board of Vonovia, where she was initially Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and from 2022 Chief Transformation Officer. Since July 2023, she has been Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, where she serves as Chief Financial Officer, among other responsibilities.

Education

From 1989 to 1993, von Roeder studied theoretical physics at LMU Munich. She then moved to Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, where she completed a Master of Philosophy in theoretical astrophysics in 1994.[2]

Career

Finance and banking

Von Roeder began her career in 1995 in risk control at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt am Main. In 2000, she joined UBS in Frankfurt am Main and London,[3] where she worked on alternative financing instruments for start-up companies.[4]

In 2004, after a brief stint at Merrill Lynch, she joined Morgan Stanley as Head of Global Capital Markets for Germany and Austria.[5][3] From 2012, she was responsible for capital markets business in Germany and Austria, and in 2013 she was appointed to the bank's regional board.[6] Her projects as an investment banker included the initial public offering of the Kion Group and the sale of Daimler's stake in EADS.[7]

In 2014, von Roeder moved to Credit Suisse as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Germany,[8] Austria and Central Europe.[9] In this role, she was responsible for all business in the region and was Member of the International Management Board.[10] She was involved in the restructuring of the investment banking division.[11]

Real estate

In early 2018, the real estate company Vonovia announced that von Roeder would join its executive board.[12] Her appointment was part of a broader management restructuring.[13] She initially took over the controlling function before being given full responsibility for Vonovia's finances.[14] She also joined the supervisory board of the Austrian subsidiary BUWOG and took on oversight functions in further subsidiaries.[15]

As CFO, von Roeder played a central role in Vonovia's acquisition of Deutsche Wohnen in 2021.[16] In the course of integrating the two companies, the executive board was restructured: in early 2022, von Roeder assumed the role of Chief Transformation Officer, taking responsibility for digitalisation and innovation at Vonovia.[17]

Science and technology

In July 2023, von Roeder joined Merck Group as CFO and Member of the Executive Board. From 2019, she had served on the supervisory board of Merck KGaA and on the shareholders' committee of E. Merck KG, where she also chaired the audit and finance committee.[18][19]

Other positions

  • 2019–May 2023: Member of the supervisory board and shareholders' committee, Merck KGaA[20]
  • 2020–2023: Member of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code[21]
  • Since April 2025: Member of the supervisory board of E.ON SE[22]

She is deputy chair of the Baden-Baden Entrepreneurs' Talks (Baden-Badener Unternehmer-Gespräche, BBUG)[23] and a board member of the Deutsches Aktieninstitut (German Equity Institute).[24]

Von Roeder is one of few women serving on the executive board of a DAX company. In 2025, she gave an interview to Stern in which she stated that women must and should pursue their own career paths, particularly where companies offer options for balancing family and career.[25]

Personal life

Von Roeder's father Max Dietrich Kley was the former CFO of BASF, and her grandfather Gisbert Kley was a Siemens board manager.[26][27] Karl-Ludwig Kley, who served as CEO of Merck from 2007 to 2016, is her uncle.[7]

Von Roeder is married and has three children.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "Röder von Diersburg, Freifrau Helene (Vonovia Immobilien Treuhand GmbH, Gelsenkirchen), GF". Die Deutsche Wirtschaft. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  2. ↑ Thomeczek, Harald (2018-01-23). "Vonovia: Klinck-Nachfolgerin kommt aus der Bankenwelt". Immobilien Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  3. 1 2 "Helene von Roeder". Merck (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  4. ↑ Rettberg, Udo (2001-12-27). "Neue Wege bei der Finanzierung junger Unternehmen". Handelsblatt (in German). p. 22.
  5. ↑ "Helene von Roeder". Finance Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  6. ↑ Böhmert, Karin (2013-03-28). "Helene von Roeder rückt bei Morgan Stanley in den Vorstand auf". Börsen-Zeitung (in German). p. 16.
  7. 1 2 "Achten Sie auf … Helene von Roeder". Manager Magazin (in German) (10). 2014. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  8. ↑ "Credit Suisse: Neue Chefin für Deutschland". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 2014-02-07. p. 1.
  9. ↑ Becker, Walther (2014-02-06). "Helene von Roeder geht zu Credit Suisse". Börsen-Zeitung (in German). p. 1.
  10. ↑ Pridun, Christoph (2014-02-07). "Helene von Roeder wechselt zu Credit Suisse". WirtschaftsBlatt (in German). p. 28.
  11. ↑ Landgraf, Robert (2014-02-06). "Umbau mit viel Gefühl". Handelsblatt (in German). p. 46.
  12. ↑ Reichel, Reiner; Slodczyk, Katharina (2018-01-23). "Aus der Investmentbank ins Immobilienfach". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  13. ↑ Landgraf, Robert; Reichel, Reiner (2018-03-07). "Neustart bei voller Fahrt". Handelsblatt (in German). p. 33.
  14. ↑ Thomeczek, Harald (2018-03-06). "Vonovia: Helene von Roeder übernimmt auch das Finanzressort". Immobilien Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  15. ↑ "Buwog-Aufsichtsrat wird neu besetzt". Kurier (in German). 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
  16. ↑ Holzamer, Thomas; Hedtstück, Michael (2021-06-28). "CFO von Roeder hebt Vonovia in den Immobilien-Olymp". Finance Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  17. ↑ Böschen, Mark; Clausen, Sven (2022-01-16). "So lief der Machtkampf an der Vonovia-Spitze". Manager Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  18. ↑ "Merck-Finanzchef tritt ab – Helene von Roeder wird Nachfolgerin". Handelsblatt (in German). 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  19. ↑ "Merck: Ex-Vonovia-Finanzchefin Helene von Roeder übernimmt Finanzressort". Manager Magazin (in German). 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  20. ↑ Wadewitz, Sabine (2019-01-29). "Merck-Familie setzt auf Kontinuität". Börsen-Zeitung (in German). p. 12.
  21. ↑ "Ehemalige Mitglieder". Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex (in German). Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  22. ↑ "Eon will Heidelberg-Materials-Chef und Merck-Finanzchefin in den Aufsichtsrat holen". Finanznachrichten (in German). 2026-04-09. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  23. ↑ "BBUG: Wer wir sind". BBUG (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  24. ↑ "Präsidium und Vorstand". Deutsches Aktieninstitut (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  25. ↑ Menne, Simone (2025-10-17). "Finanzvorständin: „Frauen sind für ihre Karriere selbst verantwortlich"". Stern (in German). Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  26. ↑ Streit, Matthias (2020-07-06). "Helene von Roeder: Vonovias CFO hat sich in der Krise bewiesen". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  27. ↑ Noé, Martin (2014-09-18). "Helene von Roeder". Manager Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2026-06-15.
  28. ↑ Reichel, Reiner; Slodczyk, Katharina (2018-05-10). "Die Baustellen der neuen Finanzchefin beim Immobilienkonzern Vonovia". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2019-06-08.
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