Women’s revolution in finance
Inside Deutsche Bank with Manuela Maccia, Chief Investment Officer & Head of Investment Solutions
ENGLISH VERSION
For the seventeenth issue of EmpowHER, we had the honor of interviewing Ms. Manuela Maccia, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investment Solutions at Deutsche Bank Italy. It was a conversation in which Ms. Maccia guided us through a path shaped by method, curiosity and courageous choices, offering a portrait of leadership that does not emerge all at once, but is built and strengthened step by step.
Her role today can best be described as a bridging one, connecting global vision with local needs, where the complexity of the markets must be translated into clear decisions and solutions genuinely built around people. In speaking about herself, Ms. Maccia immediately brings to the forefront what represents her most: the ability to coordinate different areas of expertise and make them work together. She describes herself as an orchestra conductor, someone who brings out the best in each soloist while turning them into a real team.
Her professional journey has been both consistent and clearly defined, beginning almost thirty years ago in the financial sector. After studying macroeconomics at Bocconi, she grew within the world of investments and, following a long experience at a major French international banking group across Italy, France, and London, joined Deutsche Bank three years ago with a passion that has never faded.
For Ms. Maccia, preparation has always been a real competitive advantage. Alongside the strong foundation she built at Bocconi, an exchange program at the French university HEC broadened her perspective, showing her an Italy that was academically very strong, but at the time less effective in building a bridge between university and the job market. That comparison helped shape the way she works: theory and practice together, method combined with personal initiative. The same mindset also led her to pursue the CFA while working, all the way to Level III, during an especially demanding period of her life, with a very young child and the constant challenge of balancing ambition, discipline, and family life. That is also why she often recommends it to younger people, not only for the depth of its content, but because it trains you in rigor, motivation and resilience, the kind that truly helps you grow.
Among the most difficult decisions of her career, she points to the move to Rome to build a private wealth business. It was a defining step: her first managerial experience, a son just over a year old, and a time when neither smart working nor high-speed rail existed to make life easier. Here, her tone becomes especially practical. You cannot do everything on your own. Important choices need to be shared within the family and, if you want to sustain them over time, you have to learn to ask for help. She compares it to climbing a mountain: one step at a time, without letting the summit paralyze you, breaking down what seems overwhelming into manageable parts.
In Ms. Maccia’s account, the investment process is never a purely technical exercise. It is a constant balancing act between analysis, discipline, and the ability to read change as it unfolds. As Chief Investment Officer, her role sits precisely at the point where macroeconomic interpretation becomes strategic vision and, from there, turns into concrete portfolio decisions.
The so-called CIO View is the result of a structured process that regularly brings together the CIO Office and the group’s asset management teams to define the outlook for the months ahead. Monetary policy and market dynamics are analyzed in order to build a true strategic anchor, a reference point around which investment decisions can then take shape.
From there, the work becomes more dynamic. Through monthly discussions and closer, more frequent analysis, strategy is adapted to the specific features of different geographical areas and different types of investors. This is where theory truly meets market reality, a reality that may call for quick adjustments or fresh assessments.
What stands out most clearly in her approach, however, is her refusal to be guided by emotion or by market noise. Even in the most turbulent phases, the goal is not to react impulsively, but to build robust and diversified portfolios. Market consensus is considered, but never followed automatically. Experience and analysis remain the real points of reference.
This perspective is also reflected in her reading of the current economic environment. For Ms. Maccia, the real turning point was not simply the post-pandemic period, but the shift from the pre-2020 world, characterized by zero or even negative interest rates, to a very different phase marked by the return of inflation and the normalization of monetary policy.
In recent years, markets have had to adjust to a new set of structural factors: recurring geopolitical tensions, more persistent inflation and a macroeconomic backdrop far less predictable than in the past. In this environment, even some of the dynamics once considered almost automatic have been called into question. One example is the relationship between bonds and equities. In 2022, and to some extent afterwards, government bonds did not always play their traditional safe-haven role.
That does not mean the outlook is necessarily negative. On the contrary, the global economy continues to show a degree of resilience, corporate earnings remain solid, and the major central banks are gradually adjusting their monetary policies.
When the conversation turns to the more human and managerial side of her journey, Ms. Maccia introduces a concept she cares deeply about: bienveillance. It is a French word that captures the idea of a demanding yet constructive form of care towards the people you work with. It is not simply kindness, but a way of leading teams that combines attention, responsibility and mutual growth.
For Ms. Maccia, the impact of a manager is not measured only by results, but also by the atmosphere they create and the energy they leave behind in the people they work with. It means building an environment in which passion, rigor and collaboration become part of everyday culture, and where each person can make a meaningful contribution to a shared outcome.
Alongside this managerial vision, she also offers a very practical view of the future of the profession. A solid financial foundation remains essential, but today the sector also demands openness to new fields and new technologies. Areas such as private assets, digital innovation and artificial intelligence are gradually reshaping the way markets are analyzed and investment solutions are built. You do not need to be a programmer, but it is essential to understand these tools and know how to use them thoughtfully.
At the same time, broader skills are becoming increasingly important: the ability to work in a team, to move comfortably in international environments, to engage with different perspectives, and to develop an open and adaptable mindset. That is why, when speaking to young women who want to pursue this path, Ms. Maccia’s advice is not to limit themselves to technical preparation, but to build a broader profile shaped by experience, curiosity and openness to the world.
This is because, as her own professional story shows, the strongest careers are not built all at once. They grow over time, through choices, challenges, and turning points that call for method, courage, and the ability to evolve. It is precisely in this balance between expertise, curiosity and vision that a form of leadership emerges, one that can not only make sense of the present, but also prepare for what lies ahead.