Deutsche Bank | MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition | Amy Sutter and Fabrizio Campelli

Management Board of Deutsche Bank, it is really a great pleasure for me to be at this event today even if only virtually. And this is particularly meaningful to me because I am an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management. I have really great memories of my time there, the S functions and the various events, but in particular I owe MIT the fact that I did meet my wife at the European S function at the Walker Memorial in 1999. Of course at MIT I also built a great global network that I've nurtured ever since leaving Cambridge so many years ago. MIT Sloan really helped me to prepare for success throughout my career and actually it is really a privilege to reconnect with MIT and alumni of the school through this very important topic. As the management board member, co-sponsor of DB Pride which is Deutsche Bank's employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees, but also the mental health sponsor for the bank, I'm really genuinely committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Learning about the low amount of venture capital funding received by women-led startups deeply troubled me. Studies show that less than 3% of all VC funding are actually allocated to businesses led by women, and we're talking about brilliant ideas, passionate entrepreneurs, all being starved of the resources needed to thrive. This is not just morally questionable, it's actually economically unsound. Closing this VC funding gap could actually add a huge amount to the global economy. At Deutsche Bank we have a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and beyond our bank-wide initiatives we're proud of our own diverse employee resource groups. Investing in women-led startups isn't just the right thing to do, it is smart business. And at DB we are actively seeking ways to bridge this gap and championing initiatives that promote gender equality both internally and externally. The recent Open for Business investor guide shows that transparent and inclusive companies like ours are 2.3 times more profitable than those who aren't. That's a win-win for both us and our clients and also demonstrates the importance of events like this. This month is Women's History Month and at Deutsche Bank we're not just talking commitment to gender equality, we are actually actively seeking to champion it. Our global network of women-led employee groups keep driving progress, including increasing the number of women we have in leadership positions, and we are on track to in fact exceed our gender diversity goals by 2025. As a leader of these initiatives and an ally, I'm proud of the progress we've made on gender equity both internally and externally, but I recognize that there is more work to do. I am genuinely thrilled that Deutsche Bank is championing the MIT Female Founders Pitch Competition. Initiatives like these are crucial to unlock funding for women with game-changing ideas and really leveling the playing field. But we can't do this alone. In that sense, a genuine special thank you to everyone who made this important event happen, including those behind the scenes, tonight's competitors, the panelists, the judges, everybody in the audience for joining and participating and raising awareness. By championing gender equality and hosting events like these, I believe we can unlock incredible potential and we can actually help women secure the capital they need and when the time comes guide them through exit strategies with the full backing of a global bank like Deutsche Bank. So let's unlock the power of women-led startups, let's build a future where ambition knows no gender. Thank you so much.