Christian Kromann does not miss his old role of CEO at SimCorp. “I was actually asked that yesterday,” he laughs. “I don’t really miss it, because I still feel part of it. I do not necessarily make everyday decisions, but the overall strategy and execution of that strategy is something I spend a lot of time on.”
Kromann, now SimCorp’s chair of the board of directors and member of the executive board at Deutsche Börse, has taken on a much larger role. “I think it was a natural progression in my career,” he explains. “Given that SimCorp ended up being an integrated part of Deutsche Börse, it was an opportunity that I didn’t feel I should turn down. I’m very happy about the choice, and I learn something new every day.”
In 2023, SimCorp was acquired by the German exchange. As SimCorp’s CEO at the time, Kromann played a crucial role in bringing the Danish financial technology firm under the Deutsche Börse umbrella.
“Being part of a very large and prosperous company like Deutsche Börse is super cool. The possibilities for Deutsche Börse are exciting and it’s great to be part of that steering wheel,” Kromann says. “Now, with SimCorp sitting solidly inside Deutsche Börse, the big ambition is what is the biggest possible role we can play for the buy side.
“Once we got through that [integration], we started to raise our eyes a little bit to see it all.”
Being the solution
After decades of experience and now in leadership hubs of SimCorp and Deutsche Börse, Kromann is better placed to see how the industry is evolving than most. As technology continues to evolve and entrench its place in the financial services industry, Kromann is at the heart of that change.
“We have a lot of buy side firms that need to use technology more to optimise their workload. It’s still the case that a lot of work is manual,” he explains.
“I think a lot of companies need to decide what they want to run themselves. Ultimately, they need to figure out what they would ask technology and service enabled technology companies like SimCorp to actually start to perform some of their work.”
He continues to point to how “most companies buy SaaS as the starting point, but we actually now are starting to see a trend where some of the more basic business functions are being done by us as well. That’s an emerging trend — probably not even emerging anymore — it’s here to stay.
“I think the good thing for us is that no matter what, technology is always a part of the solution.”
Kromann allows himself to dream. He explains that he hopes that one day, “I wake up in the morning and everybody is using SimCorp”. Although, he admits, “sometimes a dream doesn’t come fully true, but we can continue to expand what we do with our existing client page, but also continue to win clients in our core markets.”
One of the ways in which Kromann hopes to expand the SimCorp reach is through greater expansion into the US. He says that they have a “foothold” in both the US and North America more widely through an extensive list of clients, but “there’s always more to get.”
He believes that the best way to expand a business globally is through a local methodology. Kromann believes that for a business to grow exponentially in the US, it must have strong US leadership. “The reality is, our biggest competitors are all American and so we have had to build that senior leadership group working out of New York,” he explains.
Kromann points to the work they have put into growing their brand recognition in the US and, as a result, North America has become one of their largest locations — he describes this as a “massive change compared to even two or three years ago.”
Reflecting
Kromann’s position at both SimCorp and Deutsche Börse is a reflection of the work he managed to achieve as CEO of the former. Taking on the role just as the world emerged from the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic, he explains that he is pleased with the strategies they implemented.
“We made some pretty bold decisions,” he says. “It’s not like it’s smooth waters with everything, but I’m quite proud that we have executed on our key priorities.”
Kromann says that he is particularly pleased with “how well we landed SimCorp inside Deutsche Börse.” The importance of the role he played in that transition is not lost on him either, even if he does not want to take the adulation.
“Getting into Deutsche Börse has actually amplified SimCorp’s opportunities. I don’t want to take credit for that one, but it was certainly a good thing that it fitted so well to what we were already wanting.”
Aside from his time at SimCorp, what stands out for Kromann in his career?
“Gosh, I didn’t even prepare for that one,” he laughs. “The world I’ve worked in for almost my entire career is very niche, despite the fact that it’s a global business. There’s a lot of people that are linked and so you hold really long-term client relationships, but only by delivering value continuously over many, many years.”
He adds that, “still to this day, after 30 years in the industry, I have maintained a lot of these relationships in a productive manner. Sometimes shit happens, which is where you prove your relationships, but being able to be active in the same niche industry for so many years is something I’m very proud of.”
The small, tight-knit world Kromann has operated in has kept him on his toes and fighting to keep improving. “Every day is a performance measure,” he insists. “You can relatively quickly ruin your legacy. There’s many more years to continue to deliver value, so I can retire proudly in the end.”
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Image: SimCorp 
