Carsten Eckert is the co-founder and CEO of INSTICUBE GmbH in Munich, Germany. Prior to this, he spent seven years as CEO and spokesman of the board of managing directors of German alternative asset managers, KGAL. In previous positions he was managing director of the German holding company and CEO of the institutional business division and pension markets of Allianz Global Investors’ insurance group, responsible for approximately ¤110bn. Eckert started his career in corporate and investment banking, asset management and pension funds advisory for HypoVereins Bank. There he held various head of department and managing director positions for almost 20 years. He holds a master’s in business administration from the University of Hamburg and is a banker by profession.