ECB appoints Isabel Vansteenkiste as Counsellor to President Lagarde

25 July 2025

• Isabel Vansteenkiste to become Principal Counsellor to the President and Coordinator of the Counsel to the Executive Board
• Her predecessor Roland Straub to become Deputy Director General Market Operations
• Both appointments effective as of 15 September 2025

The Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) has appointed Isabel Vansteenkiste, currently Director General International and European Relations, as Principal Counsellor to the President and Coordinator of the Counsel to the Executive Board. Ms Vansteenkiste will take up her new role on 15 September 2025. In this role, she will advise the President on a wide range of economic and strategic policy matters and support preparations for Executive Board and Governing Council meetings, as well as for high-level international engagements. She will also oversee the work of the Counsel to the Executive Board. Ms Vansteenkiste succeeds Roland Straub, who has been appointed Deputy Director General Market Operations as of the same date.

“I am very much looking forward to working with Isabel Vansteenkiste in her new role and would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Roland Straub for his hugely valuable contributions and unwavering commitment over many years, which I know will continue in his new role,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde.

As Deputy Director General Market Operations, Mr Straub will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategy and work agenda of the Directorate General Market Operations. The Directorate General is responsible for preparing and implementing monetary policy and foreign exchange operations, managing the ECB’s foreign reserves and monitoring market developments. Mr Straub joined the ECB in 2007 and previously served as Counsellor to former ECB President Mario Draghi and former Executive Board member Benoît Cœuré, as well as holding positions in the areas of research and international and European relations. He holds a master’s degree in economics from Goethe University Frankfurt and a PhD in economics from the European University Institute in Florence.

Ms Vansteenkiste has been at the ECB for 23 years, holding various professional and senior managerial roles in areas including international and European relations, economics and monetary policy. In her current position, she oversees monitoring and analysis of global economic trends and supports the Executive Board in formulating policy positions on international, EU and euro area matters. She holds a PhD in economics from KU Leuven.

For media queries, please contact Eszter Miltényi-Torstensson, tel.: +49 171 7695305.

Notes

• A list of managers is available on the ECB’s website.