Peter Bosek selected as CEO of Erste Group

In an extraordinary meeting held today, the Supervisory Board of Erste Group Bank AG appointed Peter Bosek to serve as CEO of Erste Group as of 1 July 2024. Following a multi-stage international selection process, the Supervisory Board selected Bosek as the best qualified candidate. He succeeds Willi Cernko, who will continue to steer the banking group’s business as CEO until then and will ensure a smooth handover.

Friedrich Rödler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, who led the selection process for the CEO succession: “I am extremely pleased that we have succeeded in bringing Peter Bosek, one of the most experienced and renowned bankers in Europe, back to Erste Group. Among the numerous international candidates, he was able to convince the Supervisory Board with his plans for Erste Group’s further development and his assessment of its prospects for the future. As an experienced retail banker, Peter Bosek will in his function as Erste Group CEO focus strongly on all customer topics and push forward the Group’s digitalization and innovation leadership.

On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to take this opportunity to express special thanks to Willi Cernko for the outstanding work he has done to date and also for continuing to set the course for the company’s future until the handover to Peter Bosek takes place.”

“I have been closely associated with Erste for more than half of my life. That is why I am all the more pleased to be returning to Erste Group as CEO after spending exciting years and experiencing a tremendous change of perspective in the Baltic States. Banking is my passion. In the coming years, I will devote all my energy to advancing Erste Group’s future and to its further development,” said Peter Bosek, commenting on his appointment.

“I am glad that our group decided to reinstate someone who knows the group well and understands our original founding purpose. Peter Bosek is an experienced banker who has always been strongly focused on digitalisation and innovations. I congratulate him on this new challenge and I am looking forward to working with him again, his energy and new ideas which will help move the group forward,” said Peter Krutil, CEO of Slovenská sporiteľňa.

Peter Bosek is currently CEO of Luminor Bank, which operates in the Baltic States. Prior to Luminor, Bosek served as CEO of Erste Bank Oesterreich and as Chief Retail Officer of Erste Group, having previously held various management positions within Erste Group over the course of 25 years. Peter Bosek is widely recognized for his role in positioning Erste Group as a frontrunner when it comes to customer-driven offerings and processes in the retail banking sphere. Among other accomplishments, he played a central role in the successful design, launch and implementation of George, Erste Group’s highly regarded digital banking platform. A native of Vienna, Bosek holds a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna and is the father of two adult sons.