Marcus Chromik, Chief Risk Officer at Commerzbank AG

Dr. Marcus Chromik is Chief Risk Officer at Commerzbank AG. His areas of responsibility include business segment asset and capital recovery, big data & advanced analytics, and group credit risk management. Previously, Dr. Chromik has worked for Deutsche Postbank AG and McKinsey & Company, Inc. He holds a PhD in Physics from Munich University. For more information, see his full CV. 

Lisa Davis, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens AG

Lisa Davis is a Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG. Based in Houston, Texas, she is also Chair and CEO of Siemens Corporation, USA. Her responsibilities include the Power and Gas Division as well as the Power Generation Services Division. Previously, Davis has worked for Shell, Texaco, and Exxon. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. For more information, see her full CV.

Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board, voestalpine AG

Dr. Wolfgang Eder is Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG. He joined the company in 1978; since 2004 he has been the Group CEO. Under Eder’s leadership the voestalpine Group has tripled its annual revenue to EUR 13 billion, and has evolved from a traditional, mainly Austria-based steel producing company into a global technology and capital goods group.

Jim Fitterling, CEO, The Dow Chemical Company &
COO, DowDuPont Materials Science Division

Jim Fitterling is the chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company and chief operating officer for the Materials Science Division of DowDuPont, a nearly $80 billion holding company comprised of The Dow Chemical Company and DuPont with the intent to form independent, publicly traded companies in agriculture, materials science and specialty products sectors.

As a member of Dow’s most senior leadership, Fitterling – who joined Dow in 1984– has played a key role in developing and executing Dow’s strategy to invest in a market-driven portfolio of advantaged and technology-enabled businesses that create value for shareholders and customers. He served as the business lead in the successful launch of Dow’s Sustainability 2025 goals. For more information, see his full CV.

Dr. Svenja Falk, Managing Director, Accenture Research

Svenja Falk is Managing Director in Accenture Research. She is responsible for Health & Public Services and oversees the theme “Future Workforce” globally.  Svenja also leads the workgroup on digital business models under the umbrella of the Platform Industrie 4.0 to develop actionable policy recommendations for Governments. Svenja is on the Board of the Accenture Foundation Germany and responsible for its program “Skills to Succeed”. She has spoken and published widely on digital business models, the future of work with partners such as the World Economic Forum. Svenja is a honorary professor at the Justus-Liebig Universität Giessen and a fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

Theresa Fallon, Founder and Director, Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies

Theresa Fallon is the founder and director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels. She is concurrently a member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Theresa’s current research is focused on EU-Asia relations, Sino-Russian relations, maritime security, global governance, and China’s Belt & Road Initiative. She has testified numerous times to the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs and Subcommittee on Security and Defense, and has been featured in international media including the BBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Previously she was a Senior Associate with the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) in Brussels and a member of the Strategic Advisors Group for the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). From 2003 to 2007 she worked in Beijing as a researcher and consultant. From 1998 to 2003 she was the Moscow representative of PlanEcon, a research and consulting firm, and taught in the first MBA program established in Russia at the American Institute of International Business in Moscow. She was educated at the University of Chicago, Loyola University and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Her articles have appeared in American Foreign Policy Interests, The Asan Forum, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of CSIS, China Brief, The Diplomat, ISN Security Watch, PlanEcon Energy Report, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Newsbrief and other academic publications.

In 2017, she was listed by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 20 women to follow on Twitter in the areas of foreign policy and national security. She was awarded the Vietnamese Ambassador’s Distinction Award for her contributions to strengthening the relationship between Vietnam and the European Union in 2014. 

Olaf Gersemann, Chief Editor Business, Finance & Real Estate, DIE WELT
Olaf Gersemann has been Chief Editor for Business, Finance and Real Estate at DIE WELT since 2010. Before joining DIE WELT, Mr. Gersemann was the team leader of the foreign correspondents at the "Financial Times Germany", the Washington Correspondent and Business & Policy Editor for "Wirtschaftswoche", as well an editor for Careers and Young Careers at "Handelsblatt".

Richard Grenell, U.S. Ambassador to Germany

Richard Grenell has been U.S. Ambassador to Germany since May 2018. Previously, he was a partner with Capitol Media Partners. His public sector experience encompasses work as National Security and Foreign Affairs Spokesman for Mitt Romney as well as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy for the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. He has also served as Alternate Representative to the UN Security Council. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. For more information, see his full CV.

Ryan Heath, Political Editor, POLITICO Europe

Ryan is political editor at POLITICO Europe, with particular responsibility for shaping POLITICO’s 2019 European elections coverage. Ryan served for three years as the original author of our Brussels Playbook column. He began writing for national newspapers in his native Australia in 1999, and is the author of two books including the cult classic “Please Just F* Off, It’s Our Turn Now,” an account of how the Baby Boomers / 68er generation are viewed by the Millenial generation. After working as a speechwriter for the British civil service, he joined the European Commission working for President Jose Manuel Barroso and Vice President Neelie Kroes as a spokesperson. Ryan is regular policy commentator on outlets such as BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Deutsche Welle. He has reported from major events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, G7 summits and US political conventions.

Donatus Kaufmann, Member of the Executive Board, thyssenkrupp AG

Dr. Donatus Kaufmann is member of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp since 2014 and responsible for Legal, Compliance, Technology, Innovation and Sustainability. Furthermore, he has the responsibility for the regions North America and Western Europe. Prior to this, Dr. Kaufmann worked as Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Metro. At the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, he held the same positions and additionally served as Head of Corporate Division Law, Trademarks, Insurance and Real Estate. He also was head of the family office of the group’s owner family. Donatus Kaufmann studied law, history, political science and business administration at the Universities of Göttingen, Bonn, Paris-Sorbonne and Hagen, received a Doctorate in International Commercial Law and ran through the International Executive Program at INSEAD. His areas of expertise include international trade, regulatory affairs and risk management.

For more information, see his full CV.

Dieter Kempf, President, BDI (Federation of German Industries)

Dieter Kempf is President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), a position he has held since January 2017. In addition, he serves on various supervisory boards and as honorary professor at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. Previously, Kempf has been President of Bitkom and has held positions at Datev, including 20 years as Chairman, and Arthur & Young (now Ernst & Young).  For more information, see his full CV.

Alexander Linn, Business Tax Partner, Deloitte

Dr. Alexander Linn is a Business Tax Partner at Deloitte. He holds a PhD in Economics and with more than 10 years of business experience, he specializes in restructuring, sustainable strategic tax planning, business model optimization and EU law. Alexander Linn advises large and medium-sized multinational corporations involving both German- and US-based companies. He is a member of the Deloitte Germany EU Competence Group.

Bernhard Mattes, President, German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)

Bernhard Mattes was born in Wolfsburg in 1956 and studied economics at the University of Hohenheim. He held a variety of sales-related posts at BMW from 1982 to 1999. He then joined the Management Board at Ford Werke, which he chaired from 2002 to 2016, and simultaneously (from 2006) held the post of Vice President of the European Ford Customer Service Division. Since January 1, 2017, he has had a seat on the supervisory board at Ford Werke and on the Presidential Board of DEKRA. On March 1, 2018, Mattes became President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA).

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Dr. Thomas Mayer, Founding Director, Flossbach von Storch Research Institute

Thomas Mayer is Founding Director of the Flossbach von Storch Research Institute. Before this he was Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group and Head of DB Research. Thomas Mayer held positions at Goldman Sachs, Salomon Brothers and, before entering the private sector, at the International Monetary Fund and the Kiel Institute. Thomas Mayer received a doctorate in economics from Kiel University in 1982. Since 2003 and 2015, he has been CFA Charterholder and honorary professor at University of Witten-Herdecke, respectively. 

Inga Michler, Economic Reporter, WELT

Dr. Inga Michler is an economist and business reporter for WELT, where she started as a financial editor in 1998. Her writing focuses primarily on major economic trends as well as on family businesses in Germany, philanthropy and education. Michler is also an experienced moderator, chairing large conferences for the paper such as the "Welt-Waehrungskonferenz" and "Weltkonferenz Frauen im Top-Management" and has published three books. For more information, see her full CV.

Ulrich Nussbaum, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Dr. Ulrich Nussbaum has served as State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy since April 2018. He is also professor of International and European Commercial Law and Financial Relations at Jacobs University Bremen. Previously, Dr. Nussbaum has held the position as Chairman of the Presiding Board at the German Transport Forum as well as Senator of Finance in Berlin and Bremen.  His experience also includes various roles and senior positions in the fisheries sector and in the fields of administration, finance and trade. He holds a degree in law and political science.

For more information, see his full CV.

Frank Riemensperger, Chairman, Accenture Germany

Frank Riemensperger has been Chairman of Accenture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2009. The trained computer scientist and expert for digitization holds a seat in the acatech Senate, the German Academy for Engineering Sciences, and is a board member of DFKI, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, Frank is a member of the executive committees of the German IT association BITKOM and the German association of IT users VOICE and a member of the steering committees of the Plattform Industrie 4.0 and of the Plattform Lernende Systeme. He is the Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany and a member of the Feldafinger Kreis.

Rodney E. Slater, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, and former US Secretary of Transportation

Former US Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C. He helps clients integrate their interests in the overall vision for the transportation system of the 21st Century – a vision he set as transportation secretary to promote a safer, more efficient, environmentally sound and sustainable worldwide transportation infrastructure. Secretary Slater also helps state and local government clients address the vexing challenge of closing the gap between transportation demand and capacity by employing public/private strategies and innovative financing solutions. Secretary Slater’s practice focuses on many of the policy and transportation objectives that were set under his leadership, including automobile use and development, aviation competition and congestion mitigation, maritime initiatives, high-speed rail corridor development, and overall transportation safety and funding. He continues to embrace the framework he established as secretary for making transportation decisions that called for more open, collaborative and flexible decision making across the transportation enterprise here and abroad.

For more information, see his full CV.

Michaela Summerer, Junior Consultant, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Michaela Summerer is a junior consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a Research Assistant at the World Trade Institute in Bern. Her work focuses on market access regulations for LDCs and Rules of Origin in preferential trade agreements. She holds a dual Master’s degree in Global Studies/ Global (Economic) History from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Vienna.

Dr. Alexander Börsch, Chief Economist and Head of Research, Deloitte 

Alexander Börsch is Chief Economist and Head of Research at Deloitte Germany, where he also leads the Brexit task force. He is a member of Deloitte’s global Economics team and of the EMEA Research Center. Previously, he worked as senior economist in the strategy consulting and the investment management industries. Alexander Börsch is the author of numerous studies on German and European economics, Brexit, the geography of innovation as well as the impact of demographic change. His research has been covered by Handelsblatt, The Wall Street Journal, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Economist, and Spiegel Online among others. He has also published in a number of peer-reviewed journals and a monograph with Cornell University Press.  Alexander Börsch studied economics and political science at LMU Munich and received a Ph.D. from the European University Institute in Florence. He was a visiting researcher at the London School of Economics, Warwick University and Insead.

Frank R. Samolis, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs

Frank Samolis is co-chair of Squire Patton Boggs' International Trade Practice division. He advises clients on international trade matters, including trade law, trade policy and legislation, and international trade negotiations. He is also chair of Squire Patton Boggs' India Practice Group and the leader of our Colombia Desk, Latin America Task Force.

For more information, see his full CV.

Dr. Alexander Imberg, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs

Alexander Imberg is the Chair of Squire Patton Boggs’ Global German Practice and based in the firm’s San Francisco office. He is a licensed lawyer in both the US (California) and Germany. As a native German he has been living and working in the US since 1996, where his practice focuses on complex, commercial and products liability litigation for German and other European clients from the automotive, technology and energy industry sectors.

Dr. Robert Weber, Partner, White & Case LLP, Frankfurt a.M.

Robert Weber advises large international corporations on corporate law and on M&A transactions (including tax and capital market law issues). During his last 20 years as a lawyer he has structured numerous complicated legal matters and major transactions and has provided successful solutions to his clients. Based on his experience he gives clear and reliable legal judgement to management and supervisory board members when difficult business decisions have to be made. He also advises on corporate governance, compliance and liability issues. 

Dr. Alexander Kiefner, Partner, White & Case LLP, Frankfurt a.M.

Alexander Kiefner advises companies on all aspects of corporate law, with a focus on the law of listed stock corporations and affiliated companies, including capital markets law issues. Members of the management and supervisory board benefit from his expertise in the areas of corporate governance, compliance, corporate litigation, and intra-group financing. Noted for his cutting-edge knowledge of corporate law, Alexander Kiefner has undertaken various speaking engagements for professional organisations such as Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Börsenzeitung and Bund der Unternehmensjuristen.