2026 Symposium Schedule
2026 Symposium Schedule
Monday, 2nd February 2026
Opening Ceremony
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Amb. Susanne Baumann (German Ambassador to the UK, Member of the German Society Advisory Board)
Amb. Andrew Mitchell (British Ambassador to Germany)
Residence of the German Ambassador
Finance Panel
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Dr. Ingrid Hengster (CEO Barclays Germany)
Dr. Dirk Klee (CEO BlackRock Switzerland)
Shaw Library, Old Building
SHeconomy: Female Executives Leading by Example (presented by BCCG)
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
Ilka Hartmann (Managing Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany)
Katja van Doren (CHRO RWE)
Susanne Marell (Executive Director of Corporate Affairs for the Schwarz Group)
Colette Rückert-Hennen (Board EnBW)
Wolfson Theatre, CKK Building
Development Aid in Crisis: New Paths in Times of Humanitarian Conflicts
Dr. Bärbel Kofler (Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, SPD)
Prof. Adnan Khan (Former Chief Economist to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK)
Auditorium, Central Building
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Tuesday, 3rd February 2026
“Zeitenwende” Talk
10:00 am - 11:00 am
room tba
Olaf Scholz (Former Chancellor of Germany, SPD)
What Matters in Germany: Government Modernisation and Reform in a Polycrisis
12:00 pm - 01:00 pm
Philipp Amthor (Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation, CDU)
Shaw Library, Old Building
European Defence Panel
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
René Obermann (Chairman Airbus)
Dr. Bastian Giegerich (Director-General and Chief Executive of The International Institute for Strategic Studies IISS
Shaw Library, Old Building
International Diplomacy
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ischinger (Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Member of the German Society Advisory Board
Shaw Library, Old Building
Wednesday, 4th February 2026
Germany's Economic Future: Between Growth and Green Transition
Michael Kellner (Member of Bundestag & Energy Policy Representative, The Greens)
Jörg Kukies (Former Minister of Finance, SPD)
Shaw Library, Old Building
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Invisible Wars? Defending Ukraine in the Context of Russian Disinformation
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Roderich Kiesewetter (Member of Bundestag, CDU)
Amb. ret. Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven (Former German Ambassador to Poland)
Auditorium, Central Building
Journalism Talk
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Paul Ronzheimer (Deputy Editor-in-Chief BILD)
Thursday, 5th February 2026
Finance Talk
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Auditorium, Central Building
Philipp Freise (Co-Head of European Private Equity at KKR)
British-German Relations Panel
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Phil Brickell (Member of Parliament, Labour)
Kai Whittaker (Member of Bundestag, CDU)
SU - The Venue, Saw Swee Hock Centre
Sports Business Talk
1.30 pm - 2.30 pm
SU - The Venue, Saw Swee Hock Centre
Simon Rolfes (Managing Director Sport, Bayer Leverkusen)
The Next Generation's Agenda: Young Politicians on Climate, Social Justice, Economy and Polarisation
3.30 pm - 4.30 pm
Dr. Wiebke Winter (Chair of the CDU Parliamentary Group in Bremen)
Finn Flebbe (Chairman Young Liberals)
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
Revitalising Germany's Competitiveness: Modernising the State and Mobilising Investment
Michael Brehm (Founder Redstone VC)
Martin Klingst (Journalist & Managing Director of the Initiative for Effective Governance)
Shaw Library, Old Building
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Friday, 6th February 2026
AI Panel
8:30 am - 9:30 am
Room 2.04, Marshall Building
Leopold von Waldthausen (Founder Zeit AI)
Politics Talk
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Room 2.04, Marshall Building
Dietmar Bartsch (Member of Bundestag, die Linke)
Venture Capital Panel
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Hannah Leach (Co-Founder & Partner, Houghton Street Ventures)
Filip Dames (Founder of Cherry Ventures)
Auditorium, Central Building
Journalism Panel
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Luisa Nuhr (Head of News & Editor-in-Chief at The Pioneer)
Mark Damazer (Ex-Controller BBC Radio 4)
Christoph Prössl (ARD London Correspondent)
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Football Talk
Shaw Library, Old Building
Raphael Honigstein (Football Expert & Journalist)