Europe 2024

deutsche Version

Global Competitiveness: European Business Leaders Paving the Way Forward

Europe at a Crossroads?

In the year of the EU parliamentary elections and the US presidential elections, the European Union is in distress. Crisis after crisis is putting unity to the test and calls for practicable solutions – regardless of whether it concerns politics, the economy or our societies.

PROGRAM

The key questions are: How can Europe master these challenges and is there reason for long-term optimism?

How Europe will emerge stronger from the current crises is the overall theme of the two-day conference “EUROPE 2024” – hosted jointly by DIE ZEIT, Handelsblatt, Tagesspiegel and WirtschaftsWoche on 19 and 20 March 2024 from 9 am through 6 pm – live on stage in Berlin and on our digital stage. With “EUROPE 2024”, we are bringing Europeans together to discuss current and controversial topics. Join us and register here for the digital livestream. Participation on site is only possible by personal invitation.

Impressions

The following topics will be discussed with experts from business, politics, science and society:

How do we promote Europe’s ability to innovate in global competition?
What opportunities do AI and digitalization offer for economic growth?
How can we create security of supply and accelerate the energy transition at the same time?
How do we shape relations with international partners – from China to Turkey, from the USA to the UK?
How do we consolidate European unity – both internally and externally?
And how do we strengthen the security architecture in Europe?

Among the Speakers are

Olaf Scholz, Bundeskanzler Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Olaf Scholz Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany

Dr. Robert Habeck Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Dr. Mridul Agrawal Managing Director & Co-Founder, iuvando Health GmbH

Dr. Agrawal is a physician, scientist, and healthcare entrepreneur dedicated to advancing the care for cancer patients. He is President and co-founder of iuvando Health, a Germany-based, innovative digital health and precision oncology company, that enables patients with cancer to find and access life-saving treatments within clinical trials. Prior, Dr. Agrawal was a research fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard with a focus on blood cancer. Dr. Agrawal studied medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore), University of Zurich, and Heidelberg University, where he graduated with a doctorate degree. He also obtained a master’s degree in Health Economics from Heidelberg University. Dr. Agrawal was a scholar of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes). He has been honored with multiple highly prestigious national and international awards both in his role as a physician-scientist and entrepreneur.

Dr. Jens Baas Chairman of the Board, Techniker Krankenkasse

Dr. Jens Baas is CEO of Techniker Krankenkasse. His vision is a public health insurance for the digital age. TK is Germany's largest statutory health insurance with more than 11 million people insured. Baas is overseeing Business Development, Finance/Controlling, Information Technology, Brand/Marketing, Politics/Communications and the Board of Directors/Executive Board. Previously he worked for the Boston Consulting Group as a Partner and Managing Director responsible for payers & providers, and also serving the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. Baas holds a degree in human medicine from the University of Heidelberg. After graduating, he worked in the surgical department at the university hospitals of Heidelberg and Münster.

Michael Baumann Chairman and Scientific Director, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

Radiation oncologist Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Baumann has been Chairman and Scientific Director of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) since 2016. Baumann is spokesperson for the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), one of the two spokespersons for the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and co-chair of the Strategy Group of the National Decade Against Cancer. He is one of the key leaders in the establishment of the National Cancer Prevention Center (NCPC). © Uwe Anspach

Jens Burchardt Managing Director & Partner, BCG

Dr. Jens Burchardt is a global expert on climate protection at the Boston Consulting Group and co-founder of the Center for Climate & Sustainability at BCG. He advises clients from the private and public sectors on all topics related to the low-carbon economy. In his work at BCG, he has led decarbonization projects in various industry sectors such as oil, gas, steel, cement, chemicals, automotive, shipping, aviation and consumer goods. He also supports companies in scaling new technologies and business models in areas such as renewable heat, hydrogen, e-fuels and CCUS. Jens Burchardt is the author of several pioneering BCG publications on climate change, including "Climate Pathways for Germany" in cooperation with the Federation of German Industries. He is a regular speaker on climate change, e.g. at TED, currently advises the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Conference of the Parties (COP26-28), and was an expert in several government commissions on decarbonization.

Daniel Caspary Chairman of the CDU/CSU Group in the European Parliament

Yehor Cherniev Member of Parliament of Ukraine; Deputy Chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Chairman of the Permanent Delegation of Ukraine at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

As a member of Parliament, Mr. Cherniev focuses largely on issues related to strengthening the state's defense capabilities, increasing military support for Ukraine, maintaining and strengthening cooperation with parliaments of NATO member states, as well as parliamentary control over the implementation of NATO standarts in Ukraine. Mr. Cherniev is a former participant of Russian-Ukrainian war, participant of hostilities, volunteer soldier.

Joanna Drake Deputy Director-General, DG for Research and Innovation, European Commission

Entirely dedicated to the European Union, Joanna Drake’s career has been propelled by her relentless energy and passion for the project and the values the EU stands for. As such for the last 40 years, she has contributed to the EU in several roles at the national and European level. Since 2021, Joanna DRAKE has been the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General (DG) for Research and Innovation (DG RTD). In this role, she provides overall assistance to the Director-General in the management of the DG, contributing to the definition, coordination and implementation of strategy and policy orientation. She currently focuses mainly on the green transition policies, health (she is mission manager for Cancer) and culture, synergies and co-chairs the Group on Earth Observation for the Commission. Between 2016 and 2021, she Deputy Director-General in DG Environment where she chaired a cross-cutting Task Force spear-heading strategic positions for the DG on (inter-alia) the post-2020 Commission financial framework negotiations, Brexit co-ordination, the urban agenda and the future-proofing of the EU's environmental acquis. Between 2010 and 2015 she was director for SME's and Entrepreneurship in the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). During her tenure in DG GROW she also led the Commission's Task Force on The Collaborative Economy, New Business Models And SME's. By training, Joanna holds a doctorate in laws from the University of Malta, where she also taught EU law full time in the Department of European and Comparative Law in the run up to Malta’s EU accession. She acquired a post-graduate degree in Advanced European Legal Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. She held various legal and management posts in the private (including Head of Legal/Regulatory Department in Vodafone Malta) and public sector before joining the European Commission as head of the European Commission Representation in Malta in 2005. She also had a key role in the Malta-EU accession negotiations as member of the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee and chaired the national ‘YES movement’ in the run up to the referendum on Malta’s EU accession in 2003. Joanna is a trained actress (and still treads the boards in Brussels, agenda permitting) and is very keen on sticking to her daily dose of physical training…apart from taking care of her cat, Winston.

Jörg Eigendorf Chief Sustainability Officer, Deutsche Bank AG

Jörg is the Chief Sustainability Officer of Deutsche Bank. In this capacity, he is the Vice-Chair of the Sustainability Committee chaired by the CEO and Chairman of the Sustainability Strategy Steering Committee. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2016 as Global Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, which included the responsibility for sustainability. Since then, he has been instrumental in shaping the bank's environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. In September 2022, he handed over his function as Global Head of Communications to solely focus on ESG as first Chief Sustainability Officer in the history of the bank, reporting into the CEO. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Jörg was member of the Editorial Board and Chief Investigative Reporter of the media group WELT since 2010. Before, and held several senior positions as Economic and Financial Editor of the Welt group in Frankfurt and Berlin. In the 1990s, Jörg reported from Moscow as a business correspondent for the German weekly DIE ZEIT for six years. Jörg attended the Cologne School of Journalism and subsequently attained a Master of Economics at the University of Cologne. He has received several renowned journalism awards and was elected "Business Journalist of the Year" in Germany in 2012. © Mario Andreya

Guillaume Faury CEO, Airbus

Guillaume Faury was appointed Airbus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in April 2019 and re-appointed in 2022. Guillaume leads the Company’s Executive Committee. He was previously President of Airbus’ commercial aircraft business, a role he had held since February 2018. Additionally, Guillaume is a member of the board of directors of AXA SA (since April 2021) and is the President of the Groupement des Industries Françaises de l’Aéronautique et du Spatial (GIFAS), the French aerospace industries association (since July 2021). He was appointed President of the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) in June 2023. Prior to this, Guillaume was Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters (2013-2018), where his achievements included restructuring its manufacturing system and introducing new technologies. Before that, he enjoyed a four-year spell in the car industry at Peugeot (2009-2013), the French automotive manufacturer, rising to become the Executive Vice-President for Research and Development and a member of the company’s management board. He presided over significant advances in Peugeot’s lower-emissions hybrid-engine technology and the overhaul of the company’s product range, among other accomplishments. Between 1998 and 2008, he held various leadership positions in engineering, programmes and flight testing in Airbus’ helicopter business, which at the time operated under the name of Eurocopter. He became Executive-Vice President for Programmes and a member of the Eurocopter Executive Committee, before being appointed as Executive Director for Research and Development. Guillaume began his career in 1992 as a flight-test engineer for the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter in the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government agency responsible for the development and purchase of defence systems for the French armed forces. He graduated from the École polytechnique in Paris in 1990 and, subsequently, from the École nationale supérieure de l’aéronautique et de l’espace in Toulouse. Guillaume’s love of flying and aviation dates back to his childhood. He is a qualified light-aircraft pilot and helicopter flight-test engineer with 1,300 hours of flying experience. He was born in 1968 in Cherbourg, Normandy, and is married with three children.

Joschka Fischer Former Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minster

The former Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (1998–2005) led the Green Party in its first participation in government, on both the state (Hesse) and federal levels. From 2006 to 2007, Mr Fischer held a professorship at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (USA). Mr Fischer is a founding partner of Joschka Fischer & Company.

Prof. Marcel Fratzscher, Ph.D. President, DIW Berlin

Dr. Arina Freitag Managing Director TenneT TSO GmbH

Dr. Arina Freitag is CFO of the European electricity grid operator TenneT since 1 January 2022, with operations in the Netherlands and large parts of Germany. Arina Freitag has more than twenty years of professional experience in finance and has also gained experience in executive as well as non-executive supervisory boards of large German infrastructure companies, where regulatory aspects and the political environment play a very important role: Freitag was managing director of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH from 2017 to 2021. She started her career in 1998 at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi as an economist. In 2001, she moved to Fraport AG as Head of Financial Communications and held various management positions here in the following years, focusing on finance, operations and regulation. From 2011 onwards, she was responsible for the economic management of the Aviation division of Fraport AG. In 2015, she moved to Deutsche Bahn, where she was responsible for marketing and sales at DB Netz AG.

John Galvin, John Galvin ist seit dem 1. Juni 2022 Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung der Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH (CCEP DE). Er kam im Juni 2019 als Geschäftsführer Sales & Marketing zu CCEP DE und bringt langjährige Erfahrungen als Geschäftsführer sowie im Verkauf und Marketing bei unterschiedlichen Getränkeunternehmen in Europa und in der Region Asien Pazifik mit. So war er bis zu seinem Wechsel zu CCEP DE als Geschäftsführer beim Abfüllunternehmen Coca-Cola Icecek für Pakistan verantwortlich und zuvor, von 2008 bis 2015, als Geschäftsführer von Diageo Indonesien tätig. Der gebürtige Ire erwarb seinen BA-Abschluss in Internationalem Marketing und Sprachen an der Dublin City University und der Technischen Universität in Berlin.

John Galvin General Manager, Germany Business Unit, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners GmbH

Andreas Gerber Managing Director, Janssen Germany

Dr. Sabine Gilliam Chairwoman of the Executive Management Board of Pfizer Germany Country President, Pfizer Germany

Since the fall of 2022, Dr. Sabine Gilliam is Country President and Chairwoman of the Executive Management Board of Pfizer Germany. In this role, she is responsible for all business units and the company's strategy in Germany. The focus here is on providing the best possible care for patients with innovative therapies and on the well-being of the more than 3,000 employees in the country. Sabine has been with the company since 2010 and has led business units in the U.S. and Japan in various leadership roles, including Rare Diseases and Inflammatory Diseases. Most recently, she managed the Japanese oncology business from Tokyo. Prior to joining Pfizer, Sabine, a native of Dortmund, Germany, gained international experience in sales, marketing, pricing and market access at global, publicly traded pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Schering-Plough. Sabine is committed to a future-oriented healthcare system and Germany as a globally competitive business and research location. She is a member of the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa), where she is the regional representative for the interests of the eastern German federal states. In addition, she is Vice President in the Executive Committee of AmCham Germany (American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V.) and a member of Atlantik-Brücke and LAWG (Local Area Working Group). Not least through her stations abroad, she knows the value of diversity and advocates for intercultural understanding, equality, and inclusion. She holds a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management, Arizona, USA and a PhD in English and History from the Ruhr University Bochum. She is married and a passionate runner. © Pfizer Germany

Dr. Marc Gitzinger Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, BioVersys

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of BioVersys with over 10 years of experience in the biotech industry, having launched a university spin-off in the field of antimicrobial resistance and growing it into a multi-asset clinical stage company. Some of these assets will address significant unmet medical needs in infectious conditions such as tuberculosis and hospital acquired Acinetobacter infections. Marc has raised over $70 mio in equity financing and secured over $30 mio in non-dilutive funding. He has also established several important partnerships with a Big Pharma and other development organizations. Multi-award-winning Biotech CEO, having received amongst others the Swiss Technology Award 2011, Venture Kick 2009 and Venture Leaders 2008 and 2017 awards for his work in founding and advancing BioVersys. He is also President of the Board of the BEAM Alliance, a European association representing over 70 European and international SMEs active in antimicrobial research and development and Board member of AMR Industry Alliance. Marc is a young thought leader in the field of antimicrobial research and development. He is passionate about next generation antimicrobial therapies and leads a highly motivated team striving to bring life-saving antimicrobial therapies to patients in need. He is also co-author on several high ranked scientific publications and patents in the field.

Christoph Habereder Managing Director, Organon D-A-CH

Dr. oec. Joachim Haes Senior Director Government & Public Affairs Europe, Intuitive

Dr. oec. Joachim Haes is Senior Director Government & Public Affairs Europe with Intuitive, a pioneer in the realm of robotic-assisted surgery. Before taking over that role, he was in charge of Government Affairs for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and Head of the Intuitive Futures Forum, the company’s platform for political dialogue and a showroom for the da Vinci surgical robotics technology in Berlin. Before joining Intuitive in 2018, Joachim held a number of management positions with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo and taught health communication at the University of Lugano, Switzerland.

Charlotte Haunhorst Head of Digital and Member of the Editorial Board, Handelsblatt

Alexandra-Corinna Heeser Freelancing Journalist

Felix Holtermann US Correspondent

Born in Stuttgart in 1987. Studied economics and journalism in Cologne and Auckland, New Zealand. Previous positions include „Südwest Presse“, „Süddeutsche Zeitung“ and „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung“. Business editor and advisor to the radio director at the West German Broadcasting Corporation (WDR). With Handelsblatt since 2017. Banking and fintech reporter in Frankfurt, US correspondent in New York covering tech and automotive since 2022. State Street Institutional Press Award, German Journalism Prize, Ernst Schneider Prize, Private Media Prize, Georg von Holtzbrinck Prize, DDV Prize for Business Journalism. Author of „Geniale Betrüger – Wie Wirecard Politik und Finanzsystem bloßstellt“ (nominated for the German Business Book Award). © Max Brunnert

Kaja Kallas Prime Minister, Estonia

Gabriele Katzmarek, MP Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD parliamentary group

Born in Marl in 1960 she was trained as a chemical laboratory technician. After-wards she worked as a lecturer in youth and adult education, as a trade union sec-retary and district manager in the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IG BCE) until 2013. Mrs. Katzmarek joined the SPD in 1989. Since 2013, she has represented the citi-zens of the Rastatt/Baden-Baden region (Baden-Wuerttemberg) in the Bundestag. Today she is among others a member of the Committee on Economic Affairs. She has been Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD parliamentary group since 2019. Mrs. Katzmarek is also the chairwoman of the ASEAN Parliamentary Group since 2022. © Fionn Große

Olivia Kortas Ukraine Correspondent, DIE ZEIT

Olivia Kortas is DIE ZEIT’s Correspondent in Ukraine. Previously, she worked as an international reporter for media such as Deutsche Welle, Der Standard, and De Groene Amsterdammer, focusing on topics such as migration, crisis, and democracy. Between 2018 and 2021, she lived and worked in Warsaw.

Matthias Krupa Foreign Correspondent France, DIE ZEIT

Matthias Krupa, born in Bonn in 1969, studied in Cologne and initially worked as a journalist at WDR and ARD for Tagesschau, Tagesthemen and Bericht aus Bonn. In 1999, he moved to the Berliner Zeitung. In 2001, he joined DIE ZEIT in the political department, becoming deputy head of department in 2005. From 2011, he was DIE ZEIT's European correspondent in Brussels before returning to Hamburg in 2016 to join the political desk as editor for Europe. He has been reporting from France as a correspondent for DIE ZEIT since fall 2021. © Vera Tammen

Philipp Lahm Tournament Director of UEFA EURO 2024

Philipp Lahm, one of Germany’s most successful footballers, was born in Munich on 11th Nov 1983. He played for Germany in 113 international matches between 2004 and 2014, and captained the national team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. For over a decade he was a regular and an icon of his home team FC Bayern, with whom he won 21 titles; in 2011 he was made captain and led the team to numerous honours including the 2013 treble – the UEFA Champions League, the Bundesliga (German league cup) and the DFB cup (German cup). He is known as Mr. Fairplay, as he did not receive a single red card in 757 games and did not serve a suspension. In December 2017 he was the sixth player to be named honorary captain of the German national team. In the same month he was appointed honorary ambassador for Germany's bid to host the UEFA Euro 2024. Since June 2019 he has been one of two managing directors in the DFB Euro GmbH and, as tournament director, is preparing the 2024 European Championship in Germany. In 2007 he founded the Philipp Lahm Foundation for Sport and Education. He is chairman of the organization and actively involved in promoting and running its projects, especially the Philipp Lahm Summer Camp and Philipp Lahm School Tour. In his projects Philipp Lahm Summer Camp, Philipp Lahm School Tour as well as Soccer in Philippi and Shongi Soccer and the newly initiated project Treffpunkt Fußball, he is committed to equal opportunities and participation. In 2015, he founded Philipp Lahm Holding, which includes the traditional company Schneekoppe. With Schneekoppe, he pursues the goal of making natural and healthy organic food accessible to everyone. © Getty Images

Lieutenant General Markus Laubenthal Vice Chief of Defence, German Armed Forces

Lieutenant General Markus Laubenthal assumed duties as Vice Chief of Defence of the Bundeswehr in April 2020. He previously served as Director General for Forces Policy in the Federal Ministry of Defence for two years. Lieutenant General Laubenthal joined the Bundeswehr in 1982 and held command positions from platoon to division level. In 2014 he became the first foreign Chief of Staff of the Headquarters United States Army Europe in Wiesbaden. Lieutenant General Laubenthal served 2002-2003 in Kosovo and 2013-2014 in Afghanistan. © Sebastian Wilke/Bundeswehr

Bruno Le Maire Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, France

Steffi Lemke, Bundesministerin für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz

Steffi Lemke Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany

Dr. Andrej Levin Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Dr. Andrej Levin is Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He is also the Head of BCG X in Central Europe, where Andrej drives the digital agenda for BCG’s tech, build and design unit, managing AI and GenAI transformations. Further Andrej Levin is the founder and global leader of Auto.AI – where he supports global OEMs and OESs to unlock the potential of AI and GenAI.

Dr. Bodo Linscheidt Deputy Director-General for Digitalisation, Sustainable Consumption and Product Policy, Resource Conservation, Federal Environment Ministry

Dr. Bodo Linscheidt is Deputy Director-General for Digitalisation, Sustainable Consumption and Product Policy, Resource Conservation at the Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV). One of the key issues in his directorate is the National Circular Economy Strategy of the Federal Government, which is currently under preparation.

Chuck Magro Chief Executive Officer, Corteva Agriscience

Chuck Magro is the Chief Executive Officer of Corteva Agriscience. Prior to joining Corteva on November 1, 2021, he served as President and CEO of Nutrien from the company’s launch in 2018 until April 2021. From 2014 to 2018, Magro served as President and CEO of Agrium, which merged with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan to create Nutrien. As President and CEO of Nutrien, Magro led more than 27,000 employees to achieve best-in-class engagement, top safety performance and exceptional business results. He also led the company through numerous M&A transactions, expanding globally and restructuring the industry. Prior to this role, he held a variety of other key leadership positions with the company, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, and Vice President of Manufacturing. He joined Agrium in 2009 following a productive career with NOVA Chemicals. From 2018 to 2022, Magro served on the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. Previously, he served as Vice Chairman of the International Fertilizer Association and past Chair and Board Member of The Fertilizer Institute. He also served as a Board Steward for the World Economic Forum’s Food Systems Initiative, providing strategic leadership to build inclusive, sustainable, efficient, and healthy global food systems, as well as on the Boards of the International Plant Nutrition Institute, Nutrients for Life Foundation, the Business Council of Canada, and the Business Council of Alberta. Magro currently serves on the Boards of CropLife International, Business Roundtable, the IMAGINE Food Collective, Ingredion, and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. He is also a member of the University of Waterloo Dean’s Advisory Council. Magro holds a Bachelors of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) degree from the University of Waterloo and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Windsor. © Corteva

Emmanuelle Maire Head of Unit, European Commission

Mareike Müller Correspondent for Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe (Riga), Handelsblatt

Cem Özdemir Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Germany

Kevin Peters SVP & Managing Director, MSD Germany Human Health

Kevin Peters is the Managing Director of MSD Sharp & Dohme, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company employs over 2,300 people and focuses on human and animal health across 9 sites. Previously, Kevin served as Managing Director in both Korea and Thailand; leading both organization to support the access of MSD medicines and vaccines across complex health care systems. He also served on the Board of Governors as Vice President for both country industry associations and was highly active within the American Chambers of Commerce. Prior to these roles he was Chief Marketing officer in China in which he was responsible for developing marketing strategy as well as developing the vaccine business to include the launch of HPV vaccines. He was also responsible for the preparation for the launches in oncology. Previous roles include Global Franchise Lead for Immunology, collaborating with Janssen Pharmaceuticals on our immunology partnership and various sales, marketing and operations roles in the UK and across Europe including as Regional Leader for our Diversified Brands portfolio. Kevin joined MSD in the UK in 1996 and is British by nationality. Kevin received his BSc. Hons in Physiology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. During his travels, he has acquired varying proficiency in numerous languages. © MSD

Sonja Pierer Country Manager Intel Germany and Director EMEA Digital Sales

Sonja Pierer is Country Manager Intel Germany and Director, EMEA Digital Sales within Sales and Marketing Organization at Intel since beginning of 2023 after successfully leading the Business Consumption Team of Intel Germany since October 2021 for all verticals. Sonja started her career with Cisco, where she held various Enterprise Sales positions covering customers from different segments. After 7 years with Cisco, she moved on to become the Regional Director for DACH at VCE and afterwards the Sales Director for EMEA with NCR. Getting the chance to become the Managing Director at Experis, Sonja decided to use this opportunity to not only gain new experiences outside of the IT world but also to own full P+L responsibility of Experis Germany and dive deeper into all responsibilities a Managing Director has. She gained further knowledge from leading the B2B Marketplace of new B2B seller recruitment within Amazon before she joined Intel in 2021. Sonja completed her Diploma of Computer Science and Economics at the University of Passau, is ITIL certified and is also a Project Management Professional certified by PMI. Sonja Pierer lives with her partner and 2 dogs near Munich.

Patrick Pouyanné Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, TotalEnergies SE

A Graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Chief Engineer of the French Corps des Mines, Patrick Pouyanné held various positions in the French Industry Ministry and in ministerial offices from 1989 to 1996, including Environment and Industry Technical Advisor to the Prime minister from 1993 to 1995 and Chief of Staff to the information technology and space minister from 1995 to 1996. Patrick Pouyanné joined the company TotalEnergies (ex Total) in January 1997, with positions in Angola and Qatar in 1999. In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration & Production, then Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and R&D in Exploration & Production in 2006. In January 2012, he was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee. On October 22nd, 2014, the Board of Directors appointed Patrick Pouyanné as Chief Executive Officer, and he became simultaneously President of the Executive Committee. On May 29th, 2015, Patrick Pouyanné was appointed at the Board of Directors and on December 16th, 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. Patrick Pouyanné is also member of the Board of Cap Gemini, Association Française des Entreprises Privées (AFEP), Institut du Monde Arabe, Ecole Polytechnique and Institut Polytechnique of Paris. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Alliance for Education, French association against dropping out of school. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Association Française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement He has been a Knight of the Legion of Honor since April 2015

Dr. Jana Puglierin Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations; Head of Berlin office

Dr. Jana Puglierin is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and head of its Berlin office since January 2020. Previous positions included the German Council on Foreign Relations, the German Bundestag, and Bonn University. She is the deputy spokesperson of the Advisory Board of the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS) and an member of the Advisory Board to the Federal Government for Civilian Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding. Her work focuses on German and European foreign, security, and defence policy, as well as Germany’s role in Europe and transatlantic relations. © seesaw-foto.com

Terry Reintke, Mitglied des Europäischen Parlaments

Terry Reintke, MEP Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group

Terry Reintke is Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. She has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014. Terry grew up in the industrial region of the Ruhr area. This background has shaped her profile as progressive Green politician committed to a green and fair industrial transition, to social rights and to gender equality. Terry studied political science in Berlin and Edinburgh. She is 36 years old. © European Union 2022 - Source : EP

Celia Šašić Ambassador of the UEFA EURO 2024

Celia Šašić (b. 1988) is one of the stars of women’s football. She played in the Women’s Bundesliga for SC 07 Bad Neuenahr (2004-2013) and 1. FFC Frankfurt (2013-2015). Her international career began in 2005 and she played for Germany in 111 matches before retiring from football in 2015. She won the UEFA Women’s EURO twice and the Algarve Cup three times with the national squad, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League and DFB Cup with FFC Frankfurt. She was awarded the Fritz Walter medal in 2005, and was UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe in 2012 and 2015. In 2020 she was elected to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body. Celia Šašić is an ambassador for UEFA EURO 2024 and has been DFB Vice President for Equality and Diversity since March 2022. Celia stands for equal opportunities, the inclusive power of soccer and the conviction to succeed in soccer with fair play, discipline and sovereignty. © Getty Images

Juliane Schäuble US correspondent, Der Tagesspiegel

Juliane Schäuble is the US correspondent for Tagesspiegel. Before moving to DC in 2018, she headed the newspaper's politics department and was responsible for the front page. Juliane Schäuble graduated from the University of Potsdam with a degree in political science and studied at American University in Washington, DC for a semester. In 2022, she co-authored a book about the conservative women’s movement in the US (“Guns n' Rosé: Konservative Frauen erobern die USA” with Annett Meiritz). Juliane is a member of the White House Foreign Press Group.

Dr. Gundbert Scherf Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Helsing

Dr. Joachim Schmalzl Executive Member of the Board of the DSGV, Business and Digitalization Strategy Division

Dr. Joachim Schmalzl has been an Executive Member of the Board of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association in Berlin since March 2016. Prior to that, he spent almost twenty years working for Stadtsparkasse Köln and its successor, Sparkasse KölnBonn – most recently as the board member responsible for organization, process and product management, controlling, finance and risk management. Dr. Schmalzl studied business administration in Mannheim and earned his doctorate at the Department of Information Systems at the University of Göttingen. He started his professional career at the management consultancy McKinsey & Company in Düsseldorf. At DSGV, Dr. Schmalzl is responsible for business and digitalization strategy. Furthermore, he is a member of the supervisory board of EURO Kartensysteme GmbH, a company that performs tasks in the area of card-based payment transactions in the common interest of the German banking industry. He also is chairman of the board of the European Payment Initiative (EPI). © Laurin Schmid

Judith Wallenstein Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Judith Wallenstein is a Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she is active in the healthcare sector. She is also the global leader of BCG's CEO Advisory practice group. With a strong focus on the biopharma industry, including strategy, M&A and R&D excellence, she works particularly in the areas of oncology, vaccines and rare diseases. For several years, she led the Sustainability and Social Impact practice group in the Europe/Middle East region. As a BCG Fellow from 2015 to 2018, she researched the sharing economy and the future of work. In 2005, she was the first ambassador of the BCG Henderson Institute in New York. Wallenstein, who initially saw her career in diplomacy before joining BCG, holds master's degrees in history and French and German literature from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and was recognized as one of the most influential women in German business in 2016 and 2021.

Amy Webb Founder and CEO, Future Today Institute

Christian Wermke Italy Correspondent, Handelsblatt

H.E. Armando Varricchio Ambassador of Italy to Germany

H.E. Armando Varricchio has been Italian Ambassador to Germany since June 2021. He focuses on European and transatlantic affairs and deals with the most complex international issues, especially security issues. As a G7 and G20 Sherpa, he deals with the most important global issues - economic and financial -, both at national and European level. As a young diplomat, he witnessed the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union. Armando Varricchio was born in Venice and graduated with honors (Laurea con lode) in International Relations from the University of Padua. He embarked on a diplomatic career in 1986 at the age of 24 and reached the rank of ambassador in 2014. Prior to this, following his military service with the Arma dei Carabinieri, he worked in the private sector as assistant to the financial director of the Italian textile company Marzotto Group.

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stellvertretende Leiterin des Hauptstadtbüros der WirtschaftsWoche

Sonja Álvarez Deputy Head of Politics, WirtschaftsWoche

Horst von Buttlar Editor-in-Chief, WirtschaftsWoche

Stephan-Andreas Casdorff Publisher, Tagesspiegel

Ruth Ciesinger Online Editor, Tagesspiegel

Dr. Rainer Esser Managing Director, ZEIT Publishing Group

Dr. Rainer Esser studied law in Munich, Geneva and London. He continued his studies in the United States with a Master of Law at the University of Georgia before receiving his final degree in 1986. After graduating from the German School of Journalism (Deutsche Journalistenschule) in Munich, he worked as a lawyer for various law firms. Since 1989 he also holds a PhD in International Law of the University of Regensburg. From 1989 -92 he served as Editor in Chief at Bertelsmann International in Munich and eventually joined Munich-based Spotlight Publishing House (Spotlight, écoute, ECOS and ADESSO) as Managing Director. After serving as Managing Director of Main-Post Publishing House in Würzburg in the late nineties he started his current position as CEO of DIE ZEIT in 1999. In 2011, he also took on the role as Managing Director of DvH Medien GmbH. © Vera-Tammen-

Susanne Ehlerding Head of Background Agriculture & Nutrition, Tagesspiegel

Rieke Havertz International Correspondent, ZEIT ONLINE

Jürgen Klöckner Editor, Handelsblatt

Kevin Knitterscheidt Deputy Head of the Podcast, Live & Video Department, Handelsblatt

Nicolas Köhn Managing Director at Tagesspiegel

Nicolas Köhn is Managing Director of the Tagesspiegel Group. Until the end of 2023, the digital expert and lawyer was responsible for business development at the digital asset manager LIQID as Chief Commercial Officer. He previously held the same role at the international corporate joint venture heycar (Volkswagen, Daimler, Renault & Allianz) for five years. Previous positions include the digital and e-commerce companies OUTFITTERY and Home24. Köhn studied law at the Georg August University in Göttingen and completed his second state examination at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. © Annette Koroll

Dr. Christoph von Marschall Diplomatic Correspondent to the Editor-in-Chief, Tagesspiegel

Anke Myrrhe dep. Editor-in-Chief, Tagesspiegel

Anke Myrrhe, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Tagesspiegel since April 2021, studied journalism and French philology at “Freie Universität Berlin”. She joined Tagesspiegel in 2007 for the sports desk, later she was head of the local news section. She is also one of the authors of the award-winning daily newsletter "Checkpoint" and a commentator on the rbb programme "Radioeins". Additionally, she co-hosts the weekly "Checkpoint" podcast. © Nassim Rad/Tagesspiegel

Petra Pinzler Correspondent in the Berlin editorial office, DIE ZEIT

Petra Pinzler is the Berlin correspondent for DIE ZEIT and writes about economic and political topics. She studied economics and political science at the University of Cologne and attended the Cologne School of Journalism. In 1994, she joined the business editorial department of DIE ZEIT. From 1998 to 2001 she was a correspondent for DIE ZEIT in the United States of America and until 2007 a European correspondent in Brussels. Since then, Petra Pinzler has worked in the Berlin office. In her latest book, "Der Unfreihandel", she takes a critical look at global trade policy. © Moritz Küstner

Roman Pletter Head of Business and Economics Section, DIE ZEIT

Dr. Anna Sauerbrey Foreign Affairs Coordinator, DIE ZEIT

Mark Schieritz Deputy Head of the Politics Department, DIE ZEIT

Miriam Schröder Managing editor, Tagesspiegel

Jessica Springfeld Head of Corporate Video and Voice, Handelsblatt

Jessica Springfeld studied journalism at TU Dortmund University before starting her career at TV station n-tv. She has been an integral part of the Handelsblatt Media Group since 2010. She was initially instrumental in setting up the video editorial team at Handelsblatt Online before later moving to the publishing side. Today, Jessica Springfeld heads the video and podcast team at solutions by Handelsblatt Media Group.

Thomas Trappe Head of the background editorial, Tagesspiegel

Thomas Trappe, born in 1981, grew up in Thuringia and now lives in Berlin. He is head of the background editorial team “Gesundheit & E-Health” at the Tagesspiegel and is co-author of the Spiegel bestsellers “The Journey of Our Genes” and “Hybris”. © Christian Marquardt

Christian Tretbar Editor-in-Chief, Tagesspiegel

Gregor Waschinski France correspondent, Handelsblatt

Gregor Waschinski has been the Handelsblatt's France correspondent since June 2021. Before that, he spent three years as a political correspondent in Berlin. Before Handelsblatt, he worked for the news agency AFP in Washington and Berlin. Trained at the German School of Journalism, studied political science and economics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, master's degree in European studies at Sciences Po Paris.

Andrea Wasmuth Managing Director, Handelsblatt Media Group

Jochen Wegner editor-in-chief of ZEIT ONLINE and member of the editorial board of DIE ZEIT

Jochen Wegner is the editor-in-chief of ZEIT ONLINE and a member of the editorial board of ZEIT. He is a co-host of 'Alles gesagt?', which is among the most listened-to German podcasts. Wegner was "Editor-in-Chief of the Year", "Digital Leader in Gold", received the "Grimme Online Award", the "Scoop Award", and the "German Podcast Prize". © Andreas Chudowski

Anja Wehler-Schoeck International Editor, Tagesspiegel

Anja Wehler-Schoeck is the International Editor at the German newspaper Tagesspiegel. Prior to that she served as editor-in-chief of IPG Journal, a debate forum for international and European policy. Previously, she worked as Political Counselor at the German Embassy in Washington, DC and headed the Amman office of the German Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung as Country Director for Jordan and Iraq. © Nassim Rad/Tagesspiegel