About Frank Elderson
“That’s why I find ‘career path’ a better term than ‘career’. ‘Career’ suggests a straight line upward, while reality is often winding — with detours and dead ends. And that’s fine. It’s how you discover what truly suits you.”
Short biography
Frank Elderson is a Dutch central banker and a prominent European voice on sustainability and climate-related financial risks. Trained as a lawyer, he began his career at Houthoff before joining De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), where he held a range of senior positions, including Executive Director and a seat on DNB’s Executive Board. In 2020 he joined the European Central Bank (ECB) as a member of its Executive Board, and his ECB roles have included serving as Vice-Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board and overseeing the ECB’s Legal Services. He has also co-chaired the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Risks.
Personal details
Name: Frank Elderson
Year of birth: 1970
Current Position
2020 — Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
2021 — Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board, European Central Bank
2020 — Co-Chair, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Risks, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
Previous Positions
1995 – 1999 — Attorney at law (EU competition law), Houthoff
1999 – 2020 — Various (management) roles in Legal Services, De Nederlandsche Bank
2011 – 2020 — Member of the Executive Board, De Nederlandsche Bank
Education
LL.M., Columbia Law School (New York)
Master’s degree in Dutch law, University of Amsterdam
Fun fact
During his time at Columbia Law School, Madeleine Albright’s commencement speech inspired him to think in terms of balancing the private, public, and academic worlds—an idea that stayed with him.
Favourite Book / Film / Series
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Last updated 15 January 2026
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