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 on the initiative of the German economy.

Approximately 120 of the most important German companies primarily coming from industry, but also from the sectors of banking, insurance, commerce, transport, digital business, media and communications (including almost all of the DAX 40 corporations as well as medium-sized global players) are among its members. Together they represent the backbone of the German economy.

Executive Board

  • Dr. Kurt BOCK, Chairman of the Advisory Board, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Chair)
  • Dr. Christine BORTENLÄNGER, Executive Member of the Board, Deutsches Aktieninstitut e.V., Frankfurt (Deputy Chair)
  • Dr. Stephan LEITHNER, Member of the Board, Deutsche Börse AG (Treasurer)
  • Kerstin ANDREAE, Chairwoman of the Management, BDEW Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft e.V.
  • Werner BAUMANN, CEO, Bayer AG and CEO of Bayer HealthCare AG, Leverkusen
  • Hubertus von BAUMBACH, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG, Ingelheim
  • Birgit BOHLE, Member of the Board for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Labor Director, Deutsche Telekom AG, Frankfurt
  • Dr. Thomas BUBERL, CEO, AXA Group, Paris
  • Dr. rer. nat. Volkmar DENNER, Chairman of the Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen
  • Dr. Ralf DIETER, CEO, Dürr AG, Bietigheim
  • Dr. Joachim LANG, 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
  • Helene von ROEDER, CFO, Vonovia SE, Bochum
  • Karl von ROHR, Deputy CEO, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt

Honorary Chair

  • Dr. Karl-Ludwig KLEY, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, E.ON SE, Essen

Board of Trustees

  • Peter ADRIAN, President, DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry), Berlin
  • Dr. Frank APPEL, CEO, Deutsche Post AG, Bonn
  • Oliver BÄTE, CEO, Allianz SE, Munich
  • Burkhard BALZ, Member of the Executive Board, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt
  • Dr.-Ing. Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO, E.ON SE, Essen
  • Dr. Roland BUSCH, CEO, Siemens AG, Munich
  • Markus DUESMANN, CEO, AUDI AG, Ingolstadt
  • Dr. Rainer DULGER, President, BDA (German Federation of Employers’ Associations), Berlin
  • Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Franz FEHRENBACH, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph FRANZ, Chairman, Roche Holding, Basel
  • Belén Garijo, M.D., Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
  • Martin JÄGER, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Berlin
  • Dieter JANECEK, Member of the German Bundestag and Spokesperson for Digital Economy and Industrial Policy, Bündnis90/Die Grünen, Berlin
  • Hartmut JENNER, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG, Winnenden
  • Ola KÄLLENIUS, CEO, Daimler AG, Munich
  • Christian KLEIN, CEO, SAP SE, Walldorf
  • Carsten KNOBEL, CEO, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Dusseldorf
  • Christian KULLMANN, CEO, Evonik Industries AG
  • Dr. Karl LAMPRECHT, CEO, Carl Zeiss AG, Oberkochen
  • Dr. Richard LUTZ, CEO, Deutsche Bahn AG, Berlin
  • Martina MERZ, CEO, thyssenkrupp AG, Essen
  • Dr. Reinhard PLOSS, CEO, Infineon Tecnologies AG, Neubiberg
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Siegfried RUSSWURM, President, BDI (Federation of German Industry), Berlin
  • Detlef SCHEELE, Chairman of the Board, Federal Employment Agency, Berlin
  • Wolfgang SCHMIDT, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin
  • Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Carsten SPOHR, CEO, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Frankfurt
  • Michael THEURER, Member of the German Bundestag and Deputy Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Berlin
  • Angela TITZRATH, CEO, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, Hamburg
  • Sonja WÄRNTGES, CEO, DIC Asset AG, Frankfurt
  • Reiner WINKLER, CEO, MTU Aero Engines AG, München
  • Oliver ZIPSE, CEO, BMW AG, Munich