Northern Bavaria’s New Chapter Chair: Meet Matthias Koeplin

AmCham Germany’s Northern Bavaria Chapter has a new chair: Matthias Koeplin from KPMG. Learn more about his ideas and visions for the chapter in our interview.
Copyright: Unsplash

 

Mr. Koeplin, you have just joined AmCham Germany as a new Chapter Chair in  challenging times. What plans, ideas and visions do you have for AmCham Germany’s chapter Northern Bavaria?

In addition to many other points on my list, the business community in Northern Bavaria is characterized by medium-sized companies and numerous “hidden champions” in different industries. Nürnberg has a GDP of 134 billion Euro and an export rate of approximately 50 %. As part of the former American sector and due to its inner German border during the Cold War, North Bavaria has historically strong ties with the US. Henry Kissinger and Ludwig Erhard were born in Northern Bavaria. As chapter chair, it is my vision to bring back together the transatlantic community in our region and to get it involved. We need a clear commitment to unrestricted trade, a competitive and open business climate and the transatlantic partnership.

 

Which experience from your everyday professional life can you bring to AmCham Germany in particular?

As Office Managing Partner of KPMG in Nuremberg, I enjoy the pleasure to meet a lot of different clients in our region, from entrepreneurs to corporate management. Most of them do business in the US or are indirectly affected by political decisions in the White House. In my role as Chapter Chair, I would like to connect people with the same challenges and to bring them together with other experts from our AmCham Germany community. I spent some time in the US, living in Los Angeles and later in New York City. I still travel there at least annually. The transatlantic partnership is at most importance to me personally. Beside my new role as Chapter Chair for Northern Bavaria, I am therefore also highly engaged in the NextGen program of AmCham Germany.  

 

Are you already planning concrete projects that you would like to implement?

The biggest strength of AmCham Germany is its network of business partners and the different forums where those partners get together. Starting from June, there will be, at least quarterly, an opportunity to listen to a guest speaker, get involved in the transatlantic discussion and to meet other members of our great community. The first events are already organized and will be sponsored by KPMG Nuremberg and, thanks to Susanne Deissenberger, by Thermo Fisher Scientific. We also planned events together with other like-minded organizations like the Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft or the Metropolregion Nürnberg. Over the next months, I will personally reach out to our other members in the region to start a dialog about what we can achieve in Northern Bavaria and how to include their support in future formats and the overall chapter.

 

About Matthias Koeplin
Matthias Koeplin is partner at KPMG and has been involved in AmCham Germany’s activities for many years. He’s part of the NextGen initiative (class of 2018/2019) and has a strong focus on innovation in the context of the transatlantic partnership.

For more detailed information please contact:

Heather Liermann

Head of Department

Membership Engagement & Development