7th European Corporate M&A Conference

Marco Brockhaus is the founder and CEO of Brockhaus Capital Management AG (“BCM”).

As a technology holding, BCM focuses on long-term majority investments in technology driven and innovation led growth companies in the German-speaking region. With three consecutive private equity fund generations under the brand of Brockhaus Private Equity (BPE), Mr. Brockhaus has established around two decades of successful track record in this segment.

Several of his former portfolio companies have evolved to be market leaders in their respective industries and created outstanding value for investors, such as well-known examples like Wirecard AG, which today is part of the German lead index “DAX” or 360 Treasury Systems AG, which was sold to Deutsche Börse in 2014.

Throughout his career, Marco Brockhaus has held a number of supervisory and advisory board positions in the portfolio companies and has been involved in numerous start-up and family-run businesses. From 2011 to 2015 he was a member of the executive board of the Bundesverband Deutscher Kapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaften (BVK). Before founding BCM and BPE, Marco Brockhaus started his career at 3i and Rothschild.

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Feix is Professor at the University of Applied Sciences Augsburg, Germany since 2012. His research interests are focused on M&A, Corporate Finance and Corporate Strategy. Additionally, he is program director and manager of the international Master Program ”International Business & Finance (IBF)“. Besides, he teaches M&A at Harvard University (US), M&A at INSECC University in Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux, Global Innovation Management at Geneva University (Switzerland) and Corporate Finance at Bucharest University (Rumania). Before he rejoined the world of science he worked more than 15 years as inhouseconsultant for Daimler AG, and as Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy for Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH and later Knorr-Bremse AG. Within this timeframe he realized globally more than 70 transactions with his teams. Additionally, he is board member of the Bundesverband M&A since 2007, where he does focus on corporate valuation, integration strategies and digital M&A tools and processes. Early 2020 his new M&A-book “A digital End-to-End M&A Process Design – M&A in the 20s: The Challenges and Levers of Digitalization and Business Model Innovation“ was released. This M&A Process Design framework was for the first time applied for the Harvard summer term lectures 2019 on “Global M&A Design for the Twenty-First Century: Digital Business Model Innovation and Cross-Border Deals”. Early 2019 his M&A and strategy advisory boutique tfX-advisory was inaugurated, which will initiate 2020 a M&A-Best Practice circle with leading international Blue Chip companies.

Since 2018, Markus Fleischer is Senior Manager M&A at A1 Digital, a newly founded company for B2B digitalization and 100% subsidiary of Telekom Austria Group. He directs sourcing, valuing and negotiating of European acquisition targets in the Cloud, IoT, Analytics and Cyber Security space.
Previously he gained experience as manager at Accenture Strategy and Kapsch in designing and implementing corporate business-technology strategies, new digital business models and digital transformation projects for large multinationals.
In 2009 Fleischer graduated from university of applied science of Vienna and from 2014- 2016 he has undergone the MBA program at IESE Business School of Barcelona.

Oliver Grigats top skills cover Merger & Aquisitions, Corporate Finance and Business Strategy. As Head of Corporate Development with Christian Bürkert GmbH & Co KG, after his occupation as project manager, Grigat is accountable for the Corporate Strategy, Transaction Management and Post Merger Integration of the firm. Previously Grigat gained experience with a startup company in the energy sector as VP business development and as a strategy consultant with Accenture.
In 2006 he graduated from Wiesbaden Business School with the Bachelor of Science in Insurance and Finance and completed the master degree Business Consulting at Wismar Business School and IE Business School of Madrid four years later.

Maximilian Grub is an experienced lawyer who has advised on a wide range of national and international M&A transactions. He also specialises in restructurings and complex corporate law structures. His clients, many of whom from the automotive, energy and private equity sectors, particularly appreciate his negotiating skills and creative legal advice.
Maximilian joined CMS in 1995 after a stint with Fulbright & Jaworski in New York. In 1998/99, he spent a year with CMS in London and became a partner in 2000.

Technology law expert Markus Häuser advises international technology and media companies as well as companies from various other industry sectors, e.g., finance, insurance and healthcare, on digital business and technology transactions, such as outsourcing and IT projects and complex development cooperations. His practice furthermore focuses on the legal issues surrounding data analytics, cloud services, smart data, mobile services and e-payment systems. Markus’ special legal expertise is also regularly sought by industrial companies in the context of Industry 4.0, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and Internet of Things (IoT) questions.
Markus joined CMS in 2001 and was made partner in 2008. He was a Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Intellectual Property Law scholar and also worked as a research assistant at the institute. Markus regularly publishes on technology and media law topics and is much in demand as an expert speaker at congresses and seminars.

Dr. Florian Hofer, born 1977, is Associate General Counsel of Daimler AG. He is responsible for the worldwide legal support and coordination of the Daimler Group’s M&A activities. The department is also responsible for the legal structuring of strategic cooperation and industrialization projects.

Dr. Florian Hofer studied law at the Universities of Konstanz and Edinburgh. Before joining Daimler, Mr. Hofer worked as a lawyer in a major international law firm.

Matthias Homann, born 1968, is Vice President Global Sales Operations Post-Merger-Integrations at SAP SE.  Mr. Homann has 8 years of professional experience in Post-Merger-Integration projects at SAP focusing on sales strategy and sales operations for acquisitions varying from small-tuck-ins to integration of major software companies.

Dr. Volkmar Jäger joined Freudenberg as a Director in the Corporate Strategic Planning and Business Development department in 2016 where he mainly focuses on M&A transactions for the different Freudenberg divisions. Before, he worked nine years with the also family owned German automotive supplier and filtration specialist MANN+HUMMEL where he served besides his responsibilities for M&A also as Head of Taxes and Customs. Volkmar started his career at the Transaction Advisory Services department of EY where he worked seven years in the valuation service line. He holds a diploma in business administration of the university of Mannheim, a Certificated Public Accountant (CPA) certificate and received a doctorate degree for his thesis about enterprise valuation from the university of Nuremburg.

Florian Jonda is a Director Post Merger Integration M&A at ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. Since joining the company in 2015, Florian is responsible for M&A-related integration and carve-out activities within the ProSiebenSat.1 Group. Florian started his career at Accenture and has worked for several years in the areas of strategy, M&A and restructuring. He holds a diploma in Business Informatics from the University of Applied Sciences in Furtwangen and received a joint MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.

Pankaj Khanna has managed the M&A activities of Siemens Mobility (> 8 billion euros revenues) since 2012. Together with his team he handles global acquisitions, divestments, JVs, minority holdings and venture capital investments from strategy through the transaction phase and all the way up to post-closing management. He started his professional career in management consulting before he took over various operative commercial management (CFO) positions in the industry and infrastructure business of the Siemens Group.

Khanna studied economics and business administration on a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation) in Germany and in the UK and earned an M.B.A. in the USA.

Stephan Knuppertz heads the Corporate Finance & Financial Services activities of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG – a leading provider and driver of digital transformation in the global print media industry. He joined Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in 1998 as General Manager of the global Vendor Finance division before assuming additional responsibility for the Group’s Corporate Finance division including ECM, DCM, Banking and M&A.

Bernhard Kraska is Director Mergers & Acquisitions at NORMA Group SE, a MDAX listed global market and technology leader in Engineered Joining Technology solutions. Having joined NORMA in 2016, Bernhard is focusing on putting the inorganic growth strategy of NORMA into practice. Bernhard´s main responsibilities encompass sourcing, advising on and executing international and complex M&A acquisition processes in all segments of NORMA Group.

After having completed his Master studies in Accounting and Finance at University of St. Gallen, Bernhard Kraska worked for various years at renowned companies like PwC M&A and Roche, before he joined NORMA GROUP SE in 2016.

Dr. John Lange is Senior Vice President at Axel Springer hy, the consulting arm of Axel Springer specialized in digital transformation. As one of the most experienced experts for corporate venture investing in Germany, he advises companies and investors on the development and implementation of investment strategies in the digital environment and is a sought-after speaker on this topic. Between 2005 and 2017, he was Managing Director and CFO of Axel Springer Digital GmbH, the holding company for digital investments and in this role co-responsible for the successful development of the digital investment portfolio. Axel Springer´s digital investments have been the key driver of the successful transformation and profitable growth of the company which generates more than 80% of its operating result with digital activities. Previously, he supported the international growth of Intershop, the pioneer in e-commerce software, with a successful IPO and a dual-listing on Nasdaq. John holds a degree in business administration and a doctorate in innovation controlling.

John Magee is an American who has lived and worked in Germany for three decades. He helps Americans and Germans to understand each other.

From 1999 until 2002 as a consultant within Siemens, and from 2003 until 2008 as an independent, John supported the post-merger integration of Westinghouse Power Corp., at that time the largest acquisition in Siemens history.

In 2009 Cornelsen Verlag Berlin published John’s book – Verstehen sich Deutsche und Amerikaner (Do Germans and Americans understand each other). Since 2003 John has been helping cross-border combinations write their story of successful integration, whether DAX30 companies, German Mittelstand or US Fortune25 companies. From 1995 until 1999 John advised the Leadership of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag on core issues of German-American relations.

John Magee is an historian by training. He received his B.A. from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and his M.A. from Die Freie Universität in Berlin. John resides in Bonn.

Marvin Meyer ist Senior Vice President M&A bei der Software AG und weist über elf Jahre Erfahrung in Corporate Development und Mergers & Acquisitions auf. In seiner aktuellen Position verantwortet er die Investitionen des Unternehmens sowie die Kauf- und Verkaufstätigkeiten weltweit. Bevor Marvin Meyer 2008 bei seinem aktuellen Arbeitgeber Software AG eingestiegen ist, arbeitete er bei KPMG im Bereich Transaction Advisory Services an den beiden Standorten Frankfurt am Main und Manchester, UK. Er verfügt über einen Executive MBA von der Kellogg-WHU sowie ein Diplom in Betriebswirtschaftslehre von der Goethe-Universität in Frankfurt am Main.
Marvin Meyer is Senior Vice President M&A at Software AG and has 11 years of experience in Corporate Development and M&A. In his current position he is responsible for the company’s buy- and sell-side activities, including equity-linked partnerships, worldwide. Prior to joining Software AG in 2008, Marvin worked at KPMG in the Transaction Advisory Services departments in Frankfurt and Manchester. He holds an MBA from Kellogg-WHU and a MSc in Business Administration from Goethe-University in Frankfurt.

Bernhard Mohr joined Evonik in 2012 to set up the Corporate Venturing activities of Evonik. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in the chemical and venture capital industry. Prior to joining Evonik, he was working for BASF where he held international positions in venture capital, strategic marketing, corporate development, controlling and research & development.

He holds master degrees in chemistry from the Universities of Stuttgart/Germany and Cincinnati/USA and earned his doctoral degree at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz/Germany. He completed postgraduate assignments in Japan, the US, and France, working with Nobel laureates Robert H. Grubbs and Jean-Pierre Sauvage. Bernhard Mohr is active in various industry and board supervisory committees.

Dr. Karl Michael Popp is Senior Director M&A in the Global Business Development and Ecosystem Team in the Office of the CEO of SAP SE. In this area, he works on inorganic growth projects of SAP SE, such as due diligence and integration of technology companies as well as strategic partnerships. In his career, he has completed more than 30 acquisitions and corresponding merger integrations worldwide and worked with over 50 companies on partnerships.

He is the author of several books and a speaker on software due diligence, post merger integration, digitization of M&A processes as well as business models and platform business models in the software industry.

Dr. Popp is a long-standing member of the German M&A Association (Bundesverband M&A) as well as a former board member of the Gesellschaft für Post Merger Integration (now part of the Bundesverband M&A) and works in the program committee of the European Workshop on Merger Integration and of the Think Tank Denkfabrik Wirtschaft. He studied economics and received his doctorate in information systems from the University of Bamberg.

Alexander Rakosi is a partner at CMS Austria and on the transactions team in the Vienna office. He advises leading corporations and financial institutions in the fields of M&A, private equity and restructuring. He also does banking and regulatory work, both domestically and internationally.
After studying law in Vienna and at the University of Michigan Law School where he obtained his LL.M., Alexander Rakosi worked at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York for several years in the areas of M&A, private equity and corporate finance. Alexander Rakosi has also been admitted to the bar in England and Wales and in New York.

Tobias Ramminger is Managing Director at Lincoln International in Frankfurt and responsible for the German speaking industrials sector since October 2018. Prior to that he was Head of M&A and Strategic Projects at Schaeffler Group, a MDAX-listed global automotive and industrials supplier. At Schaeffler Tobias has been responsible for the implementation of the Group’s global M&A strategy and the execution of various projects and portfolio measures focusing on industrial automation and e-mobility.

He started his career in management consulting and investment banking at Rothschild. Tobias holds a Diploma in Business Administration from Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL) and a Master of Laws from Saarland University.

Tobias Rauss is Head of M&A at Brose Group, a global automotive supplier.  He previously held similar positions at Knorr-Bremse AG and Carl-Zeiss AG. Tobias has 15 years of experience in the areas of M&A, Corporate Venturing, Corporate Development, PMI and Corporate Finance. He started his career in the M&A division of BayernLB and in the Advisory Services of BDO AG. Tobias studied law at the Universities of Tübingen, Vienna and Freiburg. He completed his legal clerkship at the OLG Düsseldorf and obtained an MBA at Sydney Graduate School of Management, Sydney, Australia.

Mark Schieritz is the Economics Correspondent of the German weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT. He is based in Berlin and covers national and international economic affairs and has written extensively about the global economic architecture, monetary and fiscal policy and regulatory issues. Before joining DIE ZEIT, he was Finance Editor at the Financial Times Deutschland in Frankfurt. Mark Schieritz has won numerous awards for his reporting and frequently appears as a commentator in national radio and television programes. He holds a degree from the London School of Economics, taught macroeconomics at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft in Berlin. He has written two books and occasionally contributes to academic journals.

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Christoph Stancke is a senior M&A manager at AniCura based in Stockholm, actively building and expanding a leading European platform for veterinary care by acquisitions. Before, he was Senior Manager M&A at Otto Group based in Hamburg with a special focus on multi-channel retail, retail media and new ventures. Christoph also worked as a M&A lawyer for Baker & McKenzie in Frankfurt and Chicago. He successfully co-founded Markthalle Neun, a contemporary urban market place for regional food entrepreneurs based in Berlin. Altogether, Christoph combines more than 12 years of international experience in M&A, PE, VC and new business development, from a strategic, financial and legal perspective.

Robin Staszek has been CFO of Hasso Plattner Ventures since January 2018.

He is responsible for internal and external reporting as well as financial analysis and structuring of investments. Previously, he held a similar position in the area of indirect and direct venture capital & private equity investments in the family office of the Plattner family.

After graduating as MSc. in intl. Finance he gathered several years of experience as a financial analyst with various major German companies.

Rolf Strauch is Chief Economist and Management Board Member in charge of Economics, Policy Strategy, and Banking of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which he joined in July 2010. He is responsible for economic and financial analysis and policies, strategic orientation, and the country monitoring work that the ESM and EFSF undertake. He represents the ESM and EFSF in European fora, negotiates with Member States, and handles relations with credit rating agencies.

Prior to this, Mr Strauch worked at the European Central Bank from 2000–2010 in the Directorate General Economics on fiscal, monetary, and structural policies. He also served previously as an economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank and as a researcher at both the University of Mannheim and the University of Bonn.

Mr Strauch holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Bonn. He is the author of numerous articles and economic publications.

Eva Talmacsi is a partner at CMS UK based in London and admitted to the bar in England & Wales and New York. Eva advises clients including private equity and venture capital funds, corporates, financial institutions, investment banks on a broad range of M&A and corporate finance matters in the UK, Europe and beyond. She has over 20 years of experience in leading, managing and supervising complex and often high-profile cross-border private and public company mergers & acquisitions, privatizations, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures, restructurings, general corporate and commercial matters, as well as equity capital markets transactions in the UK, US and Europe. She obtained an LL.M. degree at Columbia University School of Law, New York. Before joining CMS Eva had practiced law at Clifford Chance (four years as a partner). She is a member of the CMS TMC Sector Leadership Group.

Timo Tauber has 13 years of experience in M&A and has been Head of M&A of Viessmann Group since 2016. The Viessmann Group is one of the leading international providers of climate solutions. Founded in 1917, the family business employs approximately 12,000 people around the world and generates EUR 2.5bn in annual group revenue.

As Head of M&A at Viessmann Group Mr. Tauber is responsible for the overall M&A Strategy, Deal Sourcing and Execution of Buy-Side and Sell-Side M&A projects as well as the operational deal monitoring after the acquisition process.

Prior to joining Viessmann Group, Mr. Tauber worked for 5 years in Private Equity for Brockhaus Private Equity and for 5 years as an M&A Advisor for Rödl & Partner advising on small and midcap transactions in the DACH region. Since 2013 Mr. Tauber is a lecturer at Frankfurt School of Finance.

Philipp Wachter ist Founder and Managing Director of wdp GmbH / Wachter Digital Partners, one of Germany’s leading digital strategy consulting firms. Philipp Wachter has more than 15 years experience in digital strategy and operational implementation. He has been successfully providing consulting services and serving clients since 2009. His main expertise is in management auditing and coaching, organizational development, new business segments, growth and change strategies.

Prior to founding wdp, Philipp Wachter worked as Online Diversification Manager for Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, where he was in charge of key internet projects for the magazine segment. When Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt was acquired by the group, he took over as Managing Director Online Operations and Portfolio for economy one. From 1999 to 2006, Philipp Wachter played a significant role in developing OnVista into a sustainably profitable media business. He was responsible for product management, sales and marketing for portals onvista.de and onmeda.de, as well as new business development. He also gained substantial experience in project and change management, amongst others at Roland Berger Management Consultants.

Philipp Wachter holds a BA Hons. in European Business Administration from the University of Middlesex and an MBA from Reutlingen University.

Marcus Wandrey is a senior legal counsel at German media company Axel Springer SE. He graduated from the University of Regensburg and holds a PhD from LMU Munich. Prior to joining Axel Springer in 2013, he was a lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP specializing in M&A, private equity, joint ventures and IPOs. Marcus advises Axel Springer group companies on M&A transactions in Germany and abroad, with a particular focus on classifieds media. Digital classifieds portals, encompassing jobs, real estate and other segments, are a strategic priority and main growth driver of Axel Springer. Marcus is also a member of the Board of Directors of Axel Springer’s subsidiary DanCenter A/S, a vacation rental company offering holiday homes throughout Scandinavia and Northern Germany.

Jörg Zätzsch advises in particular start-ups and emerging growth companies – from start-up to exit. He also represents venture capital as well as private equity funds and strategic investors that finance such businesses. His focus is on M&A transactions, financing rounds, corporate law and Employee Participation Schemes often in an international context. Jörg has special technology, digital and life sciences expertise. In particular his advise on exits comes highly recommended.
He joined CMS in 1999 and became a partner in 2004. Jointly with Stefan-Ulrich Müller, he heads the CMS “Venture Capital Excellence Cluster”.

Alexander Becker is Director M&A at SCHOTT AG since 2013. Prior to that, he was Director at Doertenbach & Co., a mid-market M&A advisory boutique, responsible for the origination and execution of buy- and sell-side M&A transactions, valuation opinions and advisory in financial restructuring situations. From 2008 till 2009 he was Vice President in the Project and Public Structured Finance department, responsible for the origination and evaluation of financings for project finance and LBO transactions at Dexia Kommunalbank Deutschland. Alexander started his career at the Citigroup Corporate and Investment Bank as an Analyst in the Corporate Finance and Equity Execution department in Frankfurt. Later he worked as Associate in the Corporate Finance department in Frankfurt and in the Acquisition and Leveraged Finance group in London.

Leon Saunders Calvert runs the Capital Markets & Advisory business at Thomson Reuters where we service M&A and capital raising professionals with data, news, insights, and workflow tools to allow them to provide expert advice and deal execution for companies and government institutions. He joined Thomson Reuters in 2007, and has held various roles, primarily in commercial management, as the EMEA Head of Banking & Research, and in content strategy, as the Global Head of the Deals, League Tables and Private Equity franchises. Before this he ran the research and data teams at Mergermarket, a provider of M&A intelligence to the advisory community, and he started his career as an M&A Analyst at an advisory boutique, Regent Partners. He has a Master‘s degree in International Management.

Gunnar is a Senior Tax Underwriter in AIG’s M&A group and focuses on contingent tax risk policies. Prior to joining AIG, Gunnar worked in private practice for Allen & Overy and K&L Gates in Germany where he focused on M&A tax and tax structuring for multinational corporations and private equity investors across all sectors including real estate. Previously Gunnar worked as a tax inspector for the German tax authorities. Gunnar has a law degree (Staatsexamen) from the University of Heidelberg and he is admitted to the German Bar Association (Rechtsanwaltskammer) and the German Chamber of Tax Advisors (Steuerberaterkammer).

Ulrik Horn is a Tax Director in SAP’s Global Tax Department. He is part of the Tax M&A Center of Excellence with a clear focus and specialization on in-house tax advisory services around all kinds of M&A transactions. Besides acquisition, divestment and legal integration projects Ulrik is also managing the tax affairs of SAP’s corporate venture activities. Before joining SAP he served in the German Tax M&A consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers and advised both corporate and private equity clients buy- and sell-side on all tax aspects of M&A deals, in particular tax due diligence, tax structuring and tax planning, acquisition financing, and post-deal integration matters. Ulrik has about 9 years of experience in Tax M&A consulting, including other areas of expertise such as international taxation and transfer pricing. He is a qualified German tax advisor (Steuerberater) and holds a degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Mannheim. He is also experienced as a professional speaker at tax conferences and seminars with a primary focus on M&A and international taxation.

Ben Husemann is Head of M&A at BENTELER Group. Since joining BENTELER at the beginning of 2017, he is responsible for all M&A activities of the automotive, steel/tube and distribution business. Previously, he worked as Senior Manager in Transaction Advisory at EY and was project leader at the Corporate M&A department of Siemens AG in Munich. He started his career with Siemens‘ regional company in the Netherlands, where he served as M&A and Risk Consultant before moving on to a business controller function. Ben holds a diploma in Business Administration from the University of Applied Science in Berlin and a Master‘s degree in Finance from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.

Roland Kemper is a Senior Counsel at DEKRA SE’s Group Legal & Compliance & Data Protection department. He has been with DEKRA Group since 2008. DEKRA is an international provider of testing, inspection, and certification services. DEKRA’s mission is to enhance safety in technical and other difficult environments. At DEKRA, Roland is primarily working on M&A projects, on M&A-related information technology law and know-how matters, and on corporate governance matters. He is a Member of the Boards of Directors of DEKRA’s management holdings in the UK, the US, and Denmark. Between 2006 and 2008, he was an in-house counsel in the telecommunications industry (Nokia Siemens Networks). Roland Kemper is a law graduate (University of Bonn, first state exam; The George Washington University Law School, master of laws; King’s College London, post-graduate diploma) and a management graduate (FU Hagen; LSE, Master of Science). He is admitted to the practice of law in New York State (2006) and Germany (2005). He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Science & Technology, Business Law, and International Law sections and of DIS, the German Institute of Arbitration.

Pankaj Khanna has managed the investment and ventures activities, including M&A, within the Siemens Mobility Division (> 8 billion euros revenues) since 2012. Together with his team he handles global acquisitions, divestments, joint ventures, minority holdings, and venture capital investments from strategy through the transaction phase and all the way up to postmerger integration. Khanna studied economics and business administration on a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation) in Germany and in the UK (graduate in business administration/ Diplom-Kaufmann), and earned an MBA in the US. After holding a management consulting position for several years he took over various operative commercial management (CFO) positions in the industry and infrastructure business of the Siemens Group.

After his studies in Bayreuth and first experiences as an inhouse-counsel at FAG Kugelfischer, Carsten Knecht joined the German sewing machine pioneer Dürkopp Adler in 2003 as in-house counsel. In 2005, he started to work at the newly established Messer Group holding company which has been built after the divestiture of the German, US and UK activities of former Messer Griesheim to Air Liquide. Since 2015, Carsten Knecht as Head of M&A Legal is responsible for coordinating the global M&A activities of Messer Group.

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Markus Kreitinger is Head of M&A / Corporate Development at GFT Technologies SE, a publicly listed international IT services company with more than 5,000 employees in 12 countries. Since he joined in early 2014, Markus has been responsible for driving and executing GFT Group’s global M&A strategy. Prior to GFT, he worked in international M&A roles within the Corporate Development department of two DAX 30 companies. He started his career in investment banking/M&A advisory and holds a diploma in business administration from Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Marc Kühn was appointed Global Head of Corporate Strategic Planning at Freudenberg Group in 2012. He is executive advisor to the corporate board and owner family, a member of the Global Executive Team with responsibilities for M&A, strategic planning and business integration. Most recently he was responsible for establishing a new Freudenberg division in Japan and Greater China via a public-to-private transaction. From April 2010 to July 2012 he was Head of M&A at Freudenberg & Co. KG, Germany. In 2008, he was appointed Head of M&A at Plansee SE, Austria, and GTP Corp., USA. From 2006 to 2008 he was Senior Manager Finance at Freudenberg & Co. KG, Germany. In January 2001, he started working as Senior Project Manager Equities at DZ BANK AG, Germany. Marc A. Kühn holds a diploma in business administration from Mainz University of Applied Sciences and has completed an executive leadership program at INSEAD.

Fabio M. Natalucci is a Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department with responsibility for the IMF’s global financial markets monitoring and systemic risk assessment functions. He is responsible for the lead chapter of the Global Financial Stability Report that gives the IMF’s assessment of global financial stability risks. Prior to joining the IMF, Fabio was a Senior Associate Director in the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board, where he conducted research and current analysis on the relationship between monetary policy, financial regulatory policy, and financial stability. Between October 2016 and June 2017, Mr Natalucci was Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Financial Stability and Regulation at the U.S. Department of Treasury. His responsibilities included leading U.S. engagement on financial regulatory cooperation in the G-20, representing the U.S. Treasury at the Financial Stability Board, coordinating between domestic and international post-crisis regulatory reforms, and monitoring developments and vulnerabilities in global financial markets. Fabio holds a doctorate in Economics from New York University.

Dr. Stefan Neuhaus ist seit Anfang 2013 als Corporate Director M&A bei der Henkel AG & Co. KGaA in Düsseldorf tätig. Er leitet Akquisitions- und Desinvestitions-projekte für die drei Unternehmensbereiche Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care und Adhesive Technologies. Zuvor war Herr Neuhaus als Senior Project Manager M&A bei der thyssenkrupp AG tätig. Insgesamt blickt er auf mehr als 30 abgeschlossene M&A-Projekte mit einem aggregierten Transaktionsvolumen von mehr als 10 Mrd. € zurück.
Herr Neuhaus hat Wirtschaftswissenschaft in Bochum und Helsinki studiert und an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum über die Finanzierung von betrieblichen Pensionszusagen promoviert.

Steffen Scholz ist seit 2007 Leiter der M&A-Abteilung der Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG. Diese Funktion beinhaltet neben den Akquisitionen ebenfalls die Post Merger-Prozesse zur erfolgreichen Integration der akquirierten Unternehmen. In seiner über 15-jährigen M&A-Tätigkeit leitete er Übernahmen und die Bildung von Joint Ventures in Asien, den USA und Europa. Vor seiner Zeit bei Trumpf leitete er zahlreiche M&A-Projekte und die strategische Planung beim Automobilzulieferer Mann+Hummel. Als studierter Maschinenbauer mit späterer Ergänzung zum Wirtschaftsingenieur und einem MBA in London gewann er außerdem zusätzliche Erfahrungen in verschiedenen Führungsfunktionen im Vertrieb von Maschinenbauprodukten.

Christian Staby heads the corporate M&A department of Knorr-Bremse AG. Since joining Knorr-Bremse AG in 2014, he was responsible for over ten transactions both in the global truck as well as rail supply segments. Before joining KB, he had held positions in private equity and venture capital funds for 15 years. Prior to that, he held a senior position in the corporate development department of Deutsche Bank AG, was project leader at Bain & Co. in Munich and Zurich, a manager in the Investment Management department of Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Co. and worked for Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York and Paris. Immediately after graduation he joined a cigarette manufacturing subsidiary of Philip Morris in Argentina for a one-year industry training program. Mr Staby graduated from LMU in Munich as Master in Business Administration and holds an MBA from IMD, Lausanne.

Jörg Wuttke ist seit 1997 Geschäftsführer und Generalbevollmächtigter der China-Repräsentanz eines DAX30-Unternehmens. Seit 2011 leitet Wuttke die China Task Force des Business and Industry Advisory Committee der OECD. Von 2007 bis Mai 2017 war Wuttke Präsident der Europäischen Handelskammer in Beijing. Von 2001 bis 2004 war er Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender der Deutschen Handelskammer in Beijing, die er mitbegründete. Darüber hinaus ist Wuttke Mitglied im Kuratorium des Mercator Institute for China Studies.

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