Sabine Bendiek, Chairwoman of the Management Board, Microsoft Germany

Sabine Bendiek has been Chairwoman of the Management Board, Microsoft Germany since January 2016. She holds a Master of Science degree in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (MSc) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Mannheim. At the beginning of her career, Bendiek worked for McKinsey, Booz Allen as well as Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems. Subsequently, she was responsible for Dell’s Small and Medium Business in Germany, Switzerland and Austria where she contributed a significant share to the company’s earnings. Prior to joining Microsoft Germany, Bendiek held the position of Vice President and General Manager for EMC Germany. In her capacity as General Manager of EMC, Bendiek assumed responsibility for all business activities in the German market. She focused on the transformation of the company into a provider of hybrid cloud and software solutions. Meanwhile, Bendiek looks back on more than 20 years of professional experience as an executive in the technology industry. She is also a member of the executive board of the industry trade association BITKOM.

Roland Boehm, Divisional Board Member, Corporates International at Commerzbank AG

 
Roland Boehm is Divisional Board Member, Corporates International at Commerzbank. Roland is responsible for the business with international corporate clients and Commerzbank's network of international branches and subsidiaries. Before taking on his current role in January 2016, Roland served as the Divisional Head of Debt Capital Markets Loans, which includes Commerzbank’s Syndicated Loans, Schuldschein, Strategic Asset Finance and Aircraft Business sectors. Prior to its merger with Commerzbank in 2009, Roland was responsible for the loan syndication business at Dresdner Kleinwort for Europe and Developing Markets.
From 2012 until 2017, Roland has been Chairman of the Loan Market Association (LMA), having been elected as a member in 2009.

Peter Flanagan, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP

Peter Flanagan counsels clients on a broad range of compliance requirements affecting international trade and investment. These include most notably export controls, economic sanctions constraints, defense trade limitations, and the implications of related non-U.S. requirements. He has deep experience in assisting multinational clients with complex compliance, enforcement, and licensing matters before the key U.S. trade controls agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State.

For more information, see his full CV.

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.

Eric Holder, Former U.S. Secretary of Justice & Partner, Covington & Burling LLP

Eric Holder advises clients on complex investigations and litigation matters, including those that are international in scope and involve significant regulatory enforcement issues and substantial reputational concerns. Mr. Holder, who was a partner at Covington from 2001 to 2009, rejoined the firm after serving for six years as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States.
Including his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Holder has served in government for more than thirty years, having been appointed to various positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation by Presidents Obama, Clinton and Reagan.

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.

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.

Frank Sportolari, President, AmCham Germany & President, UPS Germany

Frank Sportolari is AmCham Germany's President and has been President of United Parcel Service Deutschland since September 2011. Frank Sportolari joined UPS in 1986 as a management trainee in the Finance and Accounting department in Munich, Germany. He held various positions of increasing responsibility within the Finance and Accounting function, including working as the Controller in Munich, Cologne and Neuss for UPS in Germany, before moving to Madrid in 1996 where he was the Controller for UPS Spain & Portugal. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Sportolari had Controller assignments at UPS Italy and the Europe Region headquarters in Brussels, where he coordinated the UPS Controllers across the Europe Region. In 2002, Frank was appointed Country Manager of UPS Italy, a position he held until 2004, when he took on the role of European Region Strategy Manager for 3 years before returning to Italy as Managing director from 2007 until 2011.

Tim Stratford, Former U.S. Trade Representative, Chairman of AmCham China & Partner at Covington & Burling Beijing

Tim Stratford is managing partner in Covington & Burling LLP’s Beijing office. He is also presently serving as Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. Mr. Stratford’s practice is focused on advising international clients doing business in China. As a former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Stratford is the most senior former U.S. trade official working as a member of the U.S. business community in China. Except for the five years he spent in Washington, DC in government service (2005-2010), Mr. Stratford has lived and worked continuously in the greater China region since 1982.

For more information, see his full CV.

Dr. Nadine Galandi is Head of the Deloitte Neuroscience Institute, where she develops new service offerings using neuroscientific technologies. She has several years of consulting experience and has managed CX and UX improvement projects for companies in the pharmaceutical, MedTech, and several other industries. Before joining Deloitte, Nadine Galandi led a strategic planning department at an international pharmaceutical company. She holds a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry.