Michaela Bauer has taken over as Chief Executive Officer of Slovenská sporiteľňa
From the beginning of March, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Slovakia's largest digital bank, has a new Chief Executive Officer. The successor to Peter Krutil is Michaela Bauer, who joins the largest Slovak bank from ČSOB and the KBC Group.
“Taking the helm at the banking market leader is both a great honour and a serious responsibility. Slovenská sporiteľňa stands on the firm foundations of a 200year tradition and successful transformation and I want to build further on that. My aim is to continue the success story of our 3,600-member team as Slovakia’s largest digital bank to launch further innovations, increase our clients’ prosperity and actively contribute to a better and more successful Slovakia,” said Michaela Bauer, CEO of Slovenská sporiteľňa.
Michaela Bauer brings a wealth of experience from Československá obchodná banka (ČSOB) in the Czech Republic and KBC Group. She served as a Member of the Board of Directors at ČSOB Czech Republic and as Senior General Manager at KBC Group. In these roles, she led strategic initiatives that enhanced relationships with customers and drove innovation across digital banking, technology and banking operations.
Michaela Bauer built an impressive career during her 24 years within ČSOB and KBC, where she held various leadership positions. Her broad expertise spans areas such as the sale of products and lending to both corporate and retail clients, payment solutions, IT, data management, digital channels, AI deployment, start-up investments, shared services and operations. She became Chief Innovation Officer for KBC in the Czech Republic in 2018 and was appointed to the Board of Directors of ČSOB in 2021.
Michaela Bauer studied at the University of Economics in Prague and holds a CEMS master’s degree in international management from Hochschule St. Gallen.
As of 1 March 2026, the Board of Directors of Slovenská sporiteľňa consists of:
- Michaela Bauer – Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer
- Juraj Barta – Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for Retail Banking
- Marek Sásik – Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for Corporate Banking and Financial Markets
- Milan Hain – Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for IT and Banking Operations
- Pavel Cetkovský – Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for Risk Management
Following regulatory approval – effective as of 1 April 2026:
- Slavomír Seeman – Member of the Board of Directors Responsible for Finance