Stefanie Salata is a banker with many years of leadership experience – including as Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, where she worked for many years in various regions, as a board member of Volksbank, and as Chairwoman of the Management Board at Berliner Bank. She has been responsible for numerous employees and clients in private and business banking as well as in the real estate sector.

Her career is shaped by strategic thinking, strong customer orientation, and a passion for developing people. She stands for a leadership culture that combines emotion with structure and advances teams through clear concepts and shared success.

Today, Stefanie Salata is the founder and managing director of Stella Circle – an agency for progressive leaders. Together with her team, she supports top executives and aspiring leaders through the seven phases of their professional lives. The focus lies on sparring, strategic exchange, and sustainable career development at eye level. The goal is to permanently enhance members’ professional quality and to redefine leadership.

In addition to her role at Stella Circle, she is active as a supervisory board member, advisory board member, and member of various committees in the finance and business sectors – including with WealthCap, Niiio, Freunde des DIW, and Encourage Ventures. She also advises companies on the strategic alignment of their customer-focused divisions and is involved as a business angel, with a preference for female-led startups.

Stefanie Salata stands for values-based leadership, strategic foresight, and the belief that diversity in executive teams and boards leads to better outcomes – even if there’s still a way to go before balanced representation becomes the norm.

“Leadership should be fun. Leaders must get back to shaping – not just functioning. And, of course, be economically successful.”