Wolfgang Gerke is is President of the Bavarian Finance Center and owner of the Institut für Finanz- und Börsenwesen Frankfurt/Nürnberg. He is a sought-after expert and advisor for banks, companies and public authorities. Gerke studied in Saarbrücken, earned his doctorate in 1972 and habilitated at the University of Frankfurt in 1978. In the following years he was full professor of banking and finance at the universities of Passau, Mannheim and Erlangen-Nuremberg and received appointments at the universities of Saarbrücken, Linz, Münster and Frankfurt. Since 2006, Wolfgang Gerke has been President of the "Bavarian Finance Centre", which networks companies from the financial sector in Bavaria with academia and thus contributes to strengthening Bavaria's financial centre. In addition to this task, Gerke was the academic director of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management until 2007 and has been an honorary professor at the European Business School in Wiesbaden/Oestrich-Winkel since 2008. He is dean at the University of Mannheim, research professor at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), board member of the Schmalenbach Gesellschaft, advisory board member of the Deutsches Aktieninstitut, co-editor of the journal "Die Betriebswirtschaft" as well as member of the Stock Exchange Council of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange Expert Commission. He holds several national and international supervisory board mandates. As an independent scientist, he does not shy away from critically examining uncomfortable topics and repeatedly advocates for a stronger interlinking of science and practice. He is a sought-after speaker who knows how to inform and impress his audience with his knowledge.