Our mission

We provide thought and debate regarding current and future challenges.

What drives us

The Baden-Badener Unternehmer Gespräche (Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks) forge connections between business and society, commerce and politics. We bring people together. Over three weeks of meetings, we invite our guests to reflect and to question, encouraging them towards new approaches and to search out previously unknown answers. In short: to surprise them. We use unexpected and unconventional methods to challenge so-called certainties for the common good – that is what we stand for. By doing this, the BBUG helps business leaders increase their awareness of the responsibilities they have to their companies and to society. And we’ve been at it since 1955. Consequently, we have become one of the most important, long-standing institutions involved in developing the next generation of leaders in German business and society. Since 1955, more than 150 conferences have taken place in Baden-Baden, with 300 further events happening abroad. The BBUG alumni network consists of over 3,000 top executives and today represents one of the largest cross-sector networks in Germany. The BBUG is a non-profit association supported by some 120 member organizations from across industry, commerce, transport, the digital economy, media and communication, as well as banking and insurance.

Our members

Our organization

Our organisation
Our organisation

The Baden-Badener Unternehmer Gespräche (Baden-Baden Entrepreneur Talks) are legally and financially operated by the non-profit association of the same name.

Executive Board

  • Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Chair)
  • Dr. Christine Bortenlänger, former Executive Member of the Board, Deutsches Aktieninstitut e.V., Frankfurt (Deputy Chair)
  • Dr. Stephan Leithner, Deputy CEO, Deutsche Börse AG, Eschborn (Treasurer)
  • Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the General Executive Management Board, BDEW (Federal Association of Energy and Water Management), Berlin
  • 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, Labour Director, Deutsche Telekom AG, Frankfurt
  • Dr. Thomas Buberl, CEO, AXA Group, Paris
  • Tanja Gönner, General Directorate, BDI (Federation of German Industry), Berlin
  • 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. h.c. Peter Leibinger, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Leibinger SE, Ditzingen
  • Helene von Roeder, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
  • Karl von Rohr, former Deputy CEO, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt
  • Dr. Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Frankfurt am Main (Honorary Chair)

Board of Trustees

  • Peter Adrian, President, DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry), Berlin
  • 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
  • Dr. Rainer Dulger, President, BDA (German Federation of Employers’ Associations), Berlin
  • 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 Ukraine
  • 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, Düsseldorf
  • Dr. Manfred Knof, CEO, Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt
  • Christian Kullmann, CEO, Evonik Industries AG, Essen
  • Dr. Karl Lamprecht, CEO, Carl Zeiss AG, Oberkochen
  • Dr. Richard Lutz, CEO, Deutsche Bahn AG, Berlin
  • Andrea Nahles, Chairwoman of the Executive Board, Federal Employment Agency (BA)
  • Prof . 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 to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Berlin
  • Angela Titzrath, CEO, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG, Hamburg
  • Sonja Wärntges, CEO, Branicks Group AG, Frankfurt
  • Lars Wagner, CEO, MTU Aero Engines AG, Munich
  • Oliver Zipse, CEO, BMW AG, Munich

Our team

Michael Schwarz
Michael Schwarz
Michael Schwarz
Managing Director
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Phone: +49(0)7221 9789-11
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Beate Ando
Beate Ando
Beate Ando
Senior Manager Programmes and Alumni
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Phone: +49(0)7221 9789-12
Mobile: +49(0)151 22542905
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Anne Küchlin
Anne Küchlin
Anne Küchlin
Senior Manager Digital Communications
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Phone: +49(0)7221 9789-17
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Katrin Kuhne
Katrin Kuhne
Katrin Kuhne
Head of Accounting and General Administration
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Phone: +49(0)7221 9789-14
Mobile: +49(0)160 8429919
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Our sustainable network

Our sustainable network
Our sustainable network

In addition to the three-week programme in Baden-Baden, a core feature of BBUG participation includes four joint trips overseas, as well as numerous alumni events both in Germany and abroad. The foreign excursions serve to broaden perspectives on many of the topics discussed. We are interested in a wider European viewpoint and in solving cross-border issues. Our alumni can also keep in contact across eight BBUG regions. Additionally, we publish our own newsletter and the “Perspektiven - Das Magazin der BBUG” magazine.

Our beginnings

Our beginnings
Our beginnings

“In light of the increasingly complex dynamics of our technical, economic and social development, the challenges posed in terms of character, knowledge, education and conduct, far from diminishing, grow ever stronger. [...] The education of the next generation of business leaders is strained by the extraordinary workload, the pace of everyday business, and the natural tendency to focus inwardly on one’s own organization. As such, there is limited opportunity to contemplate and discuss fundamental questions; no moment of quiet to rise above the daily roar and consider the ‘business of tomorrow’ with an executive eye kept trained on the workforce, the wider economy, and the general public.”
These were the thoughts expressed in 1955 in the BBUG’s founding document to the top representatives of German industry. Today, 150 sessions later, the wording may differ, but the ideas remain the same. When the BBUG was established, the shadow of the recent war still loomed large. After years of dictatorship, extermination and displacement, the aim was “to permanently counteract the deficiency, both quantitative and qualitative, in leadership potential for the next generation of industry [...]”. The BBUG was established by individuals including Wilfried Guth and Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben, alongside 30 founding organizations plus the BDI, the DIHT and the BDA.

Our award: The Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben Medal

The Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben Medal
The Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben Medal

The Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben Medal honours those individuals who have made particular contributions to the BBUG. Its namesake, Wolf-Dietrich von Witzleben (1886-1970), was one of the BBUG’s founding fathers. In 1953, as a member of the Siemens supervisory board, he took over as chair of the BDI (Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie [Federation of German Industries]) working group for the promotion of young business leaders. With the founding of the “Society for the Promotion of Young Business Leaders” as a supporting association, the BBUG conferences launched as a regular event in 1955.

Our home: Palais Biron

The beautiful Palais Biron built in the 19th century is our conference venue.
The beautiful Palais Biron built in the 19th century is our conference venue.
The beautiful Palais Biron built in the 19th century is our conference venue.
The beautiful Palais Biron built in the 19th century is our conference venue.

There is no place quite like Palais Biron for the BBUG. Its peaceful ambience provides the perfect setting in which to cultivate the special character, the intensive climate of discussion, and the lasting effects of these talks.