Oli Saunders: From Deutsche Bank to Global Brand Leadership
A look at Oli Saunders’ move from financial markets into advertising, data-led media and his senior brand role at DWS Group.
Introduction
Oli Saunders has taken an unusual career path.
He started in finance. Then things changed.
After more than a decade working around investment banking and financial data, Saunders moved into advertising technology and media. Today, his work sits much closer to brands, marketing and customer communication.
As of September 2026, his public professional profile lists DWS Group, where he joined as Chief Brand Officer in September 2024. DWS announced his appointment the following month.
His background is quite mixed.
Finance. Data. Advertising. Creative work.
That mix helps explain how he reached his present role.
Quick Facts About Oli Saunders
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Public name | Oli Saunders |
| Professional name | Oliver “Oli” Saunders |
| Profession | Brand, advertising and financial-markets executive |
| Current company | DWS Group |
| Current role | Chief Brand Officer |
| DWS start date | September 30, 2024 |
| Work base | London |
| Former company | Wavemaker |
| Former Wavemaker role | Global Head of Addressable Solutions / Addressability and DCO |
| Earlier employer | Adylic |
| Adylic role | Chief Product Officer |
| Earlier career | Deutsche Bank |
| Finance background | Equity Sales, Alpha Capture and Data Sales |
| University | University of Nottingham |
| Field studied | English Language and Literature |
| Other public work | COO and co-founder of FitnessOnToast |
| Creative interests | Photography, video, jazz piano and classical cello |
Who Is Oli Saunders?
Oli Saunders is a British business professional known for work across financial markets, advertising technology and brand management.
His career did not follow one straight line.
Actually, that is what makes it interesting.
Saunders first built experience inside investment banking. He later moved into media, where data and advertising became a much bigger part of his work.
He worked with Adylic, GroupM and Wavemaker before joining DWS Group.
DWS hired him to manage its global brand family and help strengthen the firm’s brand across markets.
Oli Saunders at DWS Group
Oli Saunders joined DWS on September 30, 2024.
DWS publicly announced his appointment as Chief Brand Officer on October 30, 2024. The company said the position was newly created.
His role covers the DWS brand family worldwide.
That means brand work across different markets, teams and customer groups.
DWS said Saunders would work with his team on building and strengthening the company’s brands while working closely with global marketing and public-relations activity.
The appointment also brought him back close to finance.
But this time, from the brand side.
His experience in both capital markets and advertising gave DWS a person who already understood financial services while also having hands-on knowledge of digital marketing and media.
Career at Deutsche Bank
Before advertising became his main field, Saunders spent more than 12 years in investment banking.
LBB reported that he worked as Global Head of Alpha Capture in Deutsche Bank’s Global Markets division and also spent time in Equity Advisory.
DWS gives a similar account.
Its official announcement says Saunders worked in Equity Sales and had responsibility for Alpha Capture and Data Sales at Deutsche Bank until 2018.
This was a heavily data-based part of his career.
Numbers mattered. Testing mattered.
That experience later connected quite naturally with advertising systems that use audience information, measurement and different creative versions.
Moving From Finance Into Advertising
Leaving a long banking career for advertising was a big change.
Still, the two fields shared something.
Data.
Saunders had already spent years working with information, quantitative methods and financial-market signals. Advertising gave him another place to apply that way of thinking.
It also gave him room for creative work.
Saunders has spoken publicly about photography, video and music being part of his interests outside traditional finance. His later media work brought those creative interests much closer to his day job.
Oli Saunders and Adylic
After his banking career, Saunders became Chief Product Officer at Adylic, an advertising technology business connected with Omnicom.
This job put him directly into data-led advertising.
Wavemaker confirmed his Adylic position when announcing his appointment in 2021. DWS later repeated the same career detail.
At this point, his professional focus had clearly moved away from investment banking.
Media became the main path.
Work With GroupM
Saunders later worked as a strategic adviser to GroupM’s Addressable Content Unit.
This came before his move to Wavemaker.
Wavemaker’s official announcement lists the GroupM advisory role directly before his time at Adylic.
His work centred on addressable advertising.
Basically, this means showing different advertising messages to different audience groups based on useful data and context.
Instead of one advert being pushed to everyone, companies can test and change elements based on who may see it.
Saunders became closely associated with this area.
Oli Saunders at Wavemaker
Wavemaker appointed Saunders as Global Head of Addressability and DCO in August 2021.
He was based in London.
His job involved growing the agency’s addressable-content work, building capabilities across different markets and bringing this type of advertising into the planning process.
Later sources referred to him as Global Head of Addressable Solutions.
DWS used that title when announcing his move to the asset-management company.
At Wavemaker, Saunders worked around personalisation at scale.
That sounds technical. The basic idea is simpler.
Brands have different customers.
Those customers do not always need the same message.
Data can help a brand figure out what type of creative content may work better with one audience than another.
That became a major part of his professional work.
His Approach to Data and Advertising
Saunders has described a project in which advertising results could be checked against features found inside the creative material itself.
The idea was to understand why an advert performed in a certain way.
Not guess.
Check the data.
His finance background clearly mattered here. In banking, he had already worked with systems built around information and quantitative analysis.
Advertising gave those skills a different use.
Work Around AI and Personalised Media
By 2024, Saunders was also appearing in industry discussions about artificial intelligence, personalised advertising and media production.
At Cannes Lions 2024, he took part in discussions covering AI, addressable audio, connected TV, personalisation, trust and advertising efficiency.
The topic fits his earlier work.
Advertising systems can produce and test many versions of an advert. AI can speed parts of that process up, though human brand decisions still matter.
Saunders’ work in this area came before his move to DWS.
Education
Saunders studied at the University of Nottingham.
His public professional profile lists attendance from 2004 to 2007.
MediaCat reports that he studied English Language and Literature there.
That degree may seem far removed from financial markets.
His career certainly moved in a different direction.
But communication, language, data and creative work all appeared at different stages later.
FitnessOnToast
Saunders also has entrepreneurial experience.
Wavemaker described him as COO and co-founder of FitnessOnToast.com, a lifestyle blog platform.
This work gave him experience beyond large companies.
Saunders has spoken about photography, video, websites and online audiences in connection with his creative work.
That side of his background makes his later move into media easier to understand.
He was not coming from finance alone.
He had already spent time working with content.
Photography and Music
Saunders’ public professional profile is not limited to business.
MediaCat describes him as a photographer, videographer, jazz pianist and classical cellist outside work.
LBB also reported his interest in jazz piano and visual creative work.
These interests matter because his career later moved toward an industry where numbers and creative ideas meet every day.
He had experience with both.
Oli Saunders Career Timeline
| Period | Company or Activity | Publicly Verified Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2007 | University of Nottingham | Studied English Language and Literature |
| Before 2018 | Deutsche Bank | Senior work across Alpha Capture, Data Sales, Equity Sales and Equity Advisory |
| After Deutsche Bank | Adylic | Chief Product Officer |
| Before Wavemaker | GroupM | Strategic adviser to Addressable Content Unit |
| From August 2021 | Wavemaker | Global Head of Addressability and DCO |
| September 2024 onward | DWS Group | Chief Brand Officer |
Why His Career Stands Out
Saunders has worked across fields that usually look quite separate.
He began in financial markets.
Then came advertising technology.
Now he works in global brand management.
The common thread is data.
He has repeatedly worked in roles where companies need to understand people, information and performance before making a decision.
His creative interests added another layer.
That made advertising a logical middle point between banking and brand work.
What Is Oli Saunders Doing Now?
As of September 2026, Saunders’ public LinkedIn profile still identifies DWS Group as his organisation.
His verified DWS appointment is Chief Brand Officer.
The role began on September 30, 2024.
His work covers global brand management and brand-building activity for the company.
Final Thought
Oli Saunders has built a career across finance, advertising and brand strategy.
The change was big.
Yet the connection makes sense.
His banking years gave him deep experience with data and markets. His media work brought in audiences, advertising and creative testing. DWS now gives him a role where those areas can meet.
For readers trying to understand his professional story, that is the main point.
He started with markets.
Then he moved into media.
Now he works at global brand level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Oli Saunders?
Oli Saunders is a brand and advertising executive with an earlier career in investment banking. He works with DWS Group as Chief Brand Officer.
Where does Oli Saunders work?
His public professional profile lists DWS Group. DWS appointed him Chief Brand Officer in 2024.
When did Oli Saunders join DWS?
He joined DWS on September 30, 2024.
What did Oli Saunders do before DWS?
He worked at Wavemaker as Global Head of Addressable Solutions. Earlier roles included GroupM, Adylic and Deutsche Bank.
Did Oli Saunders work at Deutsche Bank?
Yes. DWS confirms that his Deutsche Bank background included Equity Sales plus responsibility for Alpha Capture and Data Sales.
What did Oli Saunders study?
He studied English Language and Literature at the University of Nottingham.
Did Oli Saunders work at Wavemaker?
Yes. Wavemaker appointed him Global Head of Addressability and DCO in August 2021.
Is Oli Saunders connected with FitnessOnToast?
Yes. Wavemaker publicly described him as COO and co-founder of FitnessOnToast.com.
