Aimed to advance institutional business: Former Commerzbank CEO joins Fintech

Last September, Manfred Knof's tenure as CEO of Commerzbank ended – 14 months before his contract expired . He was succeeded by Bettina Orlopp . Since then, there had been silence about him. Now, Knof has a new role. The company Valour announced that Knof will become Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The Canadian company is a subsidiary of the financial technology company Defi Technologies. Since May, its shares have also been traded on the American technology exchange Nasdaq. Valour currently offers investors around 65 exchange-traded products (ETPs) that invest in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Knof will therefore "expand ETP sales through institutional partnerships with leading financial institutions." He will also help parent company Defi Technologies "expand equity research coverage and investor base."

"We are proud to welcome Dr. Manfred Knof as Chairman of Valour. His track record as a transformative leader in European finance and his commitment to sustainable, customer-centric growth make him the ideal partner for our next chapter. This collaboration underscores our commitment to building robust, compliant, and long-term bridges between global investors and decentralized finance," commented Olivier Roussy Newton, Founder and Managing Director of Defi Technologies.

"Together, we will work to expand institutional access to digital assets," added Knof, who led Commerzbank for almost four years until last September. Other career stops included Allianz and Deutsche Bank.