ECB appoints three Directors General

29 May 2026

• Roland Straub appointed Director General Monetary Policy
• Christophe Kamps appointed Director General International and European Relations
• Petra Senkovic appointed Director General Legal Services

The Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) has appointed three Directors General to take up senior leadership roles at the ECB. Roland Straub has been appointed as Director General Monetary Policy, Christophe Kamps as Director General International and European Relations and Petra Senkovic as Director General Legal Services. The appointments of Mr Straub and Mr Kamps will take effect from 1 July 2026, and Ms Senkovic will take up her new position on 1 November 2026.

“These three outstanding colleagues have decades of invaluable experience, and the Executive Board and I look forward to working with them as we deliver on our mandate,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde. “They will help lead the strong analysis, meticulous preparation and flawless implementation on which our policy decisions rely.”

Roland Straub will be responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Directorate General Monetary Policy, which prepares for the Governing Council’s monetary policy meetings to decide on key interest rates and related policies. It supports these decisions through thorough analysis of different options and their potential impact, in conjunction with other business areas including the Directorate General Economics and the Directorate General Market Operations. Mr Straub succeeds Massimo Rostagno, who retired.

Mr Straub, who joined the ECB in 2006, is currently Deputy Director General Market Operations. He previously served as Counsellor to President Christine Lagarde, former President Mario Draghi and former Executive Board member Benoît Coeuré. He also held earlier roles across the ECB and at the International Monetary Fund. Mr Straub holds a master’s degree in economics from Goethe University Frankfurt and a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence.

Christophe Kamps will be responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Directorate General International and European Relations, which prepares the policy positions of the ECB, the Eurosystem and the ESCB on international and European issues (including ECB Banking Supervision) and coordinates the ECB’s international engagement. Mr Kamps succeeds Isabel Vansteenkiste, who became Principal Counsellor to the President in 2025.

Mr Kamps, who joined the ECB in 2005, is currently Acting Director General Monetary Policy. Earlier he served as Deputy Director General Monetary Policy, co-leader of the ECB’s Strategy Assessment (2025), Head of the Project Office for the ECB’s Strategy Review (2021-2022) and Head of the Fiscal Policies Division. He holds master’s degrees in economics from the University Paris IX‑Dauphine and the University of Cologne as well as a PhD from the University of Kiel.

Petra Senkovic will lead the strategic direction of all legal matters related to the ECB, starting on 1 November 2026. The Directorate General Legal Services provides legal advice on institutional, financial and supervisory law matters concerning the ECB and its tasks, ensuring the legal soundness of the ECB’s actions, and represents the ECB in litigation at EU and national level. The Directorate General also promotes legal research on issues relevant to the ECB and its tasks. Ms Senkovic will succeed Chiara Zilioli, who will retire at the end of October.

Ms Senkovic is currently Director General Secretariat and Secretary to ECB decision-making bodies and previously headed the Secretariat to the Supervisory Board. Prior to that she was Deputy Director General Legal Services and worked at a private law firm and a bank. She holds a master’s degree in European law from the College of Europe in Bruges, a PhD from Sorbonne University and is admitted to the Paris bar.

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

Notes

• The list of managers is can be found on the ECB’s website.