We are Penta:
Your Business Banking

Markus Pertlwieser
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Markus Pertlwieser has been CEO of Penta since February 2021.

He is a proven expert in digital business models as well as in the platform economy. Markus has 20 years of experience in developing and implementing corporate and innovation strategies and has been responsible for a variety of product innovations and new services in his career.

Prior to joining Penta, he worked for Deutsche Bank AG from 2008 to 2020 in various leadership positions, most recently as a member of the Executive Board of the Private and Corporate Clients Bank and as Chief Digital Officer. Markus started his career at the management consultancy McKinsey & Company, where he worked in strategy consulting for banks and insurance companies from 2001 to 2008.

Markus studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe and received his doctorate from the University of Kassel in 2004.

He is a member of the FinTech Council of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Lukas Zörner
Chief Product Officer & Managing Director

Lukas Zörner has helped build Neo-Bank Penta from the beginning. He has been Chief Product Officer since 2017. With his team, he is responsible for Penta’s products, data and design as well as research.

Before joining Penta, Lukas worked for the investment bank Morgan Stanley in London. He then founded his first own fintech company in London.

Lukas holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mannheim.

In 2020, the US business magazine Forbes awarded him with inclusion in the “Forbes 30 under 30” list in Europe.

Markus Steiff
Chief Growth Officer

Markus Steiff has been Penta’s Chief Growth Officer since May 2021. In his role, he is responsible for Penta’s market strategy and marketing, sales and customer care.

Markus has almost 25 years of experience in banking and in the management of FinTechs. Before joining Penta, he worked as founder and managing director of Ambidexter GmbH, a FinTech spin-off of Deutsche Bank, from 2018 to 2021. Prior to that, he spent 19 years in various leadership positions at Deutsche Bank AG, most recently as Head of Digital Agenda at the retail bank.

In addition to his work for Deutsche Bank, Markus has founded two companies of his own: one for the online and mobile distribution of financial and insurance products to private clients and another for the digital management of outsourcing for regulated financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies and FinTechs.

Maximilian Riege
Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Managing Director

Maximilian Riege is Chief Operating Officer of Penta Fintech GmbH since June 2021. In his role, he is responsible for the operational and regulatory functions including Banking & Payment Operations, Vendor & Outsourcing Management as well as Legal, AML, Compliance & Risk.

Prior to joining Penta, he was General Manager and General Counsel of Verimi GmbH, the European data, identity and payment platform. At Verimi, he headed the Finance, Human Resources and Legal & Compliance departments.

Maximilian is admitted to the bar in Germany and New York and was a partner at a law firm specialising in regulatory and commercial law. He was also a Wagner Fellow at the NYU Pollack Center for Law & Business.

Max holds an LL.M. from New York University School of Law. He also studied law at the University of Passau, the Complutense University of Madrid, and the University of Bonn.

He advised the Competition Law 4.0 Commission of the German Federal Government and publishes regularly in journals in Germany and abroad.

Luise Linden
Chief Technology Officer

Luise Linden has been Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Penta banking platform since 1 May 2022.

In her role, Luise is responsible for the company’s entire technological infrastructure that enables the development and operation of the Penta banking platform.

Prior to joining Penta, Luise spent ten years in various leadership roles at Ratepay, one of the leading buy-now-pay-later service providers. Most recently, she was Managing Director and CTO. Prior to her career at Ratepay, she worked for the consulting firms BCG Platinion and Accenture. Luise started her career as a software developer in London.

Luise studied Computer Science and Media at the Universities of Furtwangen and Madrid and holds a degree in Computer Science.

Dan Hardaker
Chief People Officer

Dan Hardaker joined Penta in March 2020, initially as Head of People & Culture and from February 2022 as Chief People Officer. Dan has almost two decades of experience in Human Resources and People Management in international companies across various industries such as Telefonica/O2, Vodafone, HSBC, Heineken and Babylon Health. Dan develops creative ideas and new tools with his team to find, retain and continuously develop the right talent in competitive markets. He has made all employees shareholders in Penta through a pioneering stock option programme.

Dan is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London, having studied Organisaton Design and Development in addition to studying Business Information Systems at Portsmouth University.

Vasilija Grubic
Head of Customer Relations

Vasilija is Head of Customer Relations at Penta and one of the first team members. She studied at the University of Duisburg-Essen and started her career at the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce. Shortly after starting at Penta, Vasilija took responsibility for the CRM team and customer management.