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.-Ing. Stefan HARTUNG, Chairman of the Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH, Gerlingen-Schillerhöhe
  • Ola KÄLLENIUS, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Stuttgart
  • Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter LEIBINGER, Chief Technology Officer, Vice Chairman of the Managing Board, Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG, Ditzingen
  • Helene von ROEDER, Member of the Management Board (Innovation and Digitalization), 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
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph FRANZ, Chairman, Roche Holding, Basel
  • Belén GARIJO, M.D., Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
  • Jochen HANEBECK, CEO, Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg
  • Martin JÄGER, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Iraq
  • Dieter JANECEK, Member of the German Bundestag and Economic Policy Spokesman, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Berlin
  • Hartmut JENNER, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board, Alfred Kärcher SE & Co. KG, Winnenden
  • Christian KLEIN, CEO, SAP SE, Walldorf
  • Carsten KNOBEL, CEO, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Dusseldorf
  • Dr. Manfred KNOF, CEO, Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt 
  • 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
  • Andrea NAHLES, Chairwoman of the Executive Board, Federal Employment Agency (BA)
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Siegfried RUSSWURM, President, BDI (Federation of German Industry), Berlin
  • Wolfgang SCHMIDT, Member of the German Bundestag, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Berlin
  • Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Carsten SPOHR, CEO, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Frankfurt
  • Michael THEURER, Member of the German Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, 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