Association / Bodies

The Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks (BBUG) are supported – legally and financially – by a not-for-profit organization of the same name that was established in 1955 under the name "The Society for the Promotion of Young Enterprisers.

Approximately 130 of the most important German companies primarily coming from industry, but also from the sectors of banking, insurance, commerce, transport, media and communications (including almost all of the DAX 30 corporations as well as medium-sized global players) are among its members. Together they represent the backbone of the Germany economy.

Executive Board

  • Dr. Karl-Ludwig KLEY, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, E.ON SE, Essen (Chairman)
  • Dr. Kurt BOCK, former CEO, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Deputy Chairman)
  • Dr. Stephan LEITHNER, Partner, EQT Partners GmbH, Munich (Treasurer)
  • Werner BAUMANN, CEO, Bayer AG and CEO of Bayer HealthCare AG, Leverkusen
  • Martin BLESSING, Member of the GEB, President Wealth Management, UBS Group AG, Zurich
  • Dr. Christine BORTENLÄNGER, CEO, Deutsches Aktieninstitut e.V., Frankfurt
  • Dr. rer. nat. Volkmar DENNER, CEO, Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen
  • Dr. Ralf DIETER, CEO, Dürr AG, Bietigheim
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph FRANZ, President, Roche Holding, Basel
  • Dipl.-Kfm. Susan von HEILL, Managing Partner, Faustmann & Rodenkirchen, Duisburg
  • Dr. Markus KERBER, Director General and Member of the Presidential Board, BDI, Berlin
  • Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter LEIBINGER, Chief Technology Officer, Vice Chairman of the Managing Board, Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG, Ditzingen
  • Wilfried PORTH, Member of the Executive Board, Daimler AG, Stuttgart
  • Prof. Dr. Siegfried RUSSWURM, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen, Nürnberg
  • Carsten SPOHR, CEO, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Frankfurt

Honorary Chairman

  • Prof. Dr. h.c. Horst WEITZMANN, Badische Stahlwerke GmbH, Kehl

Board of Trustees

  • Kerstin ANDREAE, MP, Deputy Chairwoman of the Alliance 90/The Greens Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag
  • Dr. Frank APPEL, CEO, Deutsche Post AG, Bonn
  • Oliver BÄTE, CEO, Allianz SE, Munich
  • Burkhard BALZ, Member of the European Parliament, EPP Group, Strasbourg/Brussels
  • Hubertus von BAUMBACH, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (requested)
  • Jürgen BERTSCH, former Managing Director, BBUG
  • Dr. Thomas BUBERL, CEO, AXA Group, Paris
  • John Cryan, former CEO, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt
  • Joachim DREES, CEO, MAN SE, Munich
  • Dipl.-Wirtschaftsing. Franz FEHRENBACH, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen
  • Dipl.-Ing. Franz HANIEL, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, Duisburg
  • Dr. Heinrich HIESINGER, CEO, ThyssenKrupp AG, Düsseldorf
  • Hartmut JENNER, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG, Winnenden
  • Joe KAESER, CEO, Siemens AG, München
  • Dieter KEMPF, President, BDI (The Federation of German Industries), Berlin
  • Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Ingo KRAMER, President, BDA (German Federation of Employers‘ Associations), Berlin
  • Harald KRÜGER, CEO, BMW AG, Munich
  • Christian KULLMANN, CEO, Evonik Industries AG
  • Dr. Richard LUTZ, CEO, Deutsche Bahn AG, Berlin
  • Bill McDERMOTT, CEO, SAP AG, Walldorf
  • Thomas RABE, CEO, Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, Guetersloh
  • Detlef SCHEELE, Chairman of the Board, Federal Employment Agency, Berlin
  • Wolfgang SCHMIDT, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin
  • Dr. Werner SCHNAPPAUF, Senior Advisor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Berlin
  • Eric SCHWEITZER, President, DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry), Berlin
  • Dr. Johannes TEYSSEN, CEO, E.ON SE, Düsseldorf
  • Hans VAN BYLEN, CEO, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Düsseldorf
  • Dr. Dieter ZETSCHE, CEO, Daimler AG, Stuttgart
  • Martin ZIELKE, CEO, Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt