Julian Wentzel

Julian Wentzel joined HSBC in 2015 and was appointed Group Chief Sustainability Officer in February 2025 after serving as interim CSO following Celine Herweijer's departure in November 2024. Wentzel has worked in banking for over 25 years across a myriad of sectors and geographies, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from Rhodes University (1987-1990).

His career at HSBC has included leadership roles as Head of Banking for HSBC Africa, Head of Global Banking UK and International Europe, and Head of Global Banking MENAT. Prior to HSBC, he held various executive positions at Macquarie Group, including leading the cash equities division, and worked at JPM Cazenove in senior investment banking positions including co-head of equities for South Africa. His international experience has armed him with strong relationships with regulators and stakeholders across multiple geographies and sectors.

Wentzel engaged closely with strategic customers on their sustainability goals during his tenure as head of global banking for MENAT. He now reports to HSBC CFO Pam Kaur, signaling a structural shift from the previous executive committee arrangement. This marks the first time Wentzel has worked in a role with sustainability at its core.

What Wentzel could bring to Group Chief Sustainability Officer at HSBC: With his extensive client-facing banking background across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, Wentzel brings deep commercial insight into how financial institutions can advise and finance client transitions to net-zero business models. HSBC has stated that his leadership and depth of experience across Global Banking and infrastructure products will be key to enabling further progress in supporting the bank's portfolio of customers to diversify and decarbonize.