German executives rally behind warning against 'Wolf of Wall Street' machismo
17/01/2025 15:22
By Andrey Sychev
Jan 17 (Reuters) - A LinkedIn post by the CEO of German
asset manager DWS DWSG.DE warning against growing "anti-woke"
rhetoric has sparked a wave of support from other executives
ahead of a national election next month.
"I am worried that the anti-woke rhetoric will lead us
straight back to the macho 'Wolf of Wall Street' era," Stefan
Hoops wrote in the post from three days ago, referring to the
Hollywood movie based on the memoir of controversial U.S. fund
manager and convicted fraudster Jordan Belfort.
The post has since garnered supportive comments from
high-ranking members of the German financial community,
including senior managers from Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE and SAP
SAPG.DE , as well as partners from consulting firms Deloitte
and EY, and C-suite managers from Bosch Mobility and fintech
N26, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
Hoops' post is a rare political statement from a leading
figure in German corporate circles, amid growing nationalist
rhetoric from the far-right ahead of the election next month.
The term "woke" refers to a focus on racial and social
justice but has been used by conservatives to criticize
progressive policies.
Hoops, the 44-year-old CEO of DWS, a Deutsche Bank asset
management subsidiary listed in 2018, said political discourse
had become more extreme in recent years. He emphasised the
importance of maintaining a zero-tolerance stance on sexual
harassment and ensuring equal opportunities for all.
As of Friday, his post, featuring a photo of him lifting
weights in a gym, had received 4,429 reactions, 193 mostly
positive comments, and 45 reposts.
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev. Editing by Ludwig Burger and Mark
Potter
)
((andrey.sychev@thomsonreuters.com;))