Dr. Volker Wissing

Dr. Volker Wissing was born in Landau, Germany in 1970. Appointed a double Minister, he is both the German Federal Minister for Digital and Transport as well as the Federal Minister of Justice. From 2016 to 2021, he was a member of the state parliament, Deputy Minister-President and Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. He is a Member of the German Bundestag from 2004 to 2013 and again since 2021. He chaired the Finance Committee there from 2009 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999 he worked as a judge and public prosecutor, from 2000 to 2004 as deputy chief of staff to the Minister of Justice of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. He was appointed a judge at Landau Regional Court in 2001 and was a practising lawyer from 2013 to 2016.

Wolfgang Schmidt

Wolfgang Schmidt is Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks. He also holds the post of Commissioner for the Federal Intelligence Services.

Prior to his appointment in December 2021, he served as State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance. Previously, he served as State Secretary and Plenipotentiary of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to the Federation, the European Union and for foreign affairs.

Wolfgang Schmidt is a lawyer by training, having studied in Hamburg and Bilbao, Spain.

Claudia Plattner

Claudia Plattner has been the President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) since 1 July 2023. Claudia Plattner was born in Mainz in 1973. She has more than 20 years of experience in IT functions for companies and institutions. Most recently, she served as the Director General for Information Systems at the European Central Bank and previously held a senior position as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of DB Systel GmbH, the internal IT service provider of Deutsche Bahn. Claudia Plattner holds a degree in mathematics (TU Darmstadt) and a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Tulane University (USA).

Gerd Chrzanowski

Gerd Chrzanowski is a passionate entrepreneur who places great importance on economic responsibility and values-based action. In his role as General Partner Schwarz Group, he is resolutely committed to the megatrends of digitalization, sustainability and healthy nutrition – acting ahead and serving as a catalyst for the economy in Germany and Europe. After almost 25 years at the companies of Schwarz Group, Chrzanowski understands the retail industry better than virtually anyone else. As the General Partner Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG, he has been responsible for the strategic leadership of the companies of Schwarz Group, including Lidl, Kaufland, Schwarz Produktion, PreZero, Schwarz Digits and Schwarz Corporate Solutions, since December 2021. With roughly 575,000 employees in 32 countries, the companies of Schwarz Group are one of the leading retail groups worldwide, and that calls for responsible corporate management with strategic foresight. Chrzanowski’s innovative strength is evident in his approach to modern technologies and forward-thinking concepts. For instance, he understood the importance of the circular economy early on and supported the founding of the environmental service provider PreZero. His involvement in the areas of cloud computing and cybersecurity also formed the basis for Schwarz Group’s strategic expansion toward digitalization. From 2014, Chrzanowski was the Chief Executive Officer of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, Chief Executive Officer of SB Dienstleistung KG, and Deputy General Partner as well as member of the Executive Board of Schwarz Dienstleistung KG, before assuming his current role. During this time, he set trends in IT, mobility and digitalization, which have permanently shaped Schwarz Group’s strategic direction. From 2008 to 2014, he served as the Chief Central Services Officer at Lidl in Germany, having completely restructured the sales department there. Chrzanowski started his career with the companies of Schwarz Group in 2000 as an in-house consultant at Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, where he drove innovative solutions at an early stage. Born in Offenburg, he graduated from Bochum University of Applied Sciences with a degree in Business Administration and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Manchester Metropolitan University. Before he went to university, he completed an automobile salesperson apprenticeship.

Dr, Wladimir Klitschko

Arye Sharuz Shalicar

Major General Jürgen Setzer

Major General Jürgen Setzer entered the military in 1980 and graduated in computer science from Bundeswehr University Munich in 1984. He attended the General Staff Officer Course at Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg and took part in the United States Army Command and General Staff Officers’ Course at Fort Leavenworth. He has held leadership and staff positions at almost all levels. His tours of duty cover the Balkans and Afghanistan.

Since April 2018 he serves as Vice Chief of the Cyber and Information Domain Service and Bundeswehr Chief Information Security Officer (CISOBw). He is in charge of space related aspects for the Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters.

Jonas Andrulis

Jonas Andrulis is an AI researcher, engineer and serial entrepreneur. After studying industrial engineering at KIT in Karlsruhe, he worked as an AI expert in consulting and banking. He founded two AI software companies in logistics and computer vision. After three years in AI research at Apple in Cupertino, he founded his third AI start-up, Aleph Alpha, in Heidelberg in 2019.

Prof. Dr. Achim Kempf

Achim Kempf studied physics at the University of Heidelberg and completed his doctorate at the University of Munich (LMU). Following five years of research at the University of Cambridge and three years at the University of Florida, he is currently Professor of Applied Mathematics and Physics at the University of Waterloo. He is a member of the Institute for Quantum Computing and of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, located in Waterloo near Toronto, Canada. In 2004, he was awarded the Canada Research Chair for the Physics of Information.

Dr. Rainer Dulger

Rainer Dulger was elected as Confederation of German Employers Associations President in November 2020 and in this role represents the role, representing the interests of more than 1 million companies with around 30 million employees. Previously he was President of Gesamtmetall from 2012 to 2020. Together with his brother, Rainer Dulger runs ProMinent GmbH, which manufactures and sells metering pumps worldwide. He studied mechanical engineering in Kaiserslautern mechanical engineering in Kaiserslautern and was subsequently awarded a Dr.-Ing.

Dr. Theodor Weimer

Theodor Weimer has been CEO of Deutsche Börse AG since January 2018. In addition, since mid-2020, he has been a Member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank AG and Knorr-Bremse AG.

After his studies of economics and business administration in Tübingen and a stay at the University of St. Gallen he worked as an assistant lecturer at Bonn University. After his PhD, Mr Weimer became a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in 1988. In 1995, he joined Bain & Company where he was a Senior Partner and Member of the Global Management Committee. In 2001, he started at Goldman Sachs, where he became Partner in 2004. In mid-2007, Theodor joined UniCredit Group as Co-Head of Investment Banking. From the beginning of 2009 until the end of 2017, he was Spokesman of the Management Board of HypoVereinsbank. In addition, he was a Member of the Global Executive Committee of UniCredit Group since 2013.

Mathias Döpfner

Mathias Döpfner is a German journalist, book author, and the chairman and CEO of Axel Springer (BILD, WELT, POLITICO, INSIDER). He joined the company in 1998 as editor-in-chief of the German daily Welt and became CEO in 2002. Ever since, he has pushed the digital transformation of the company. Today, over 85 percent of the group’s revenues and 95 percent of profits come from its digital business. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Netflix and Warner Music Group.

Christian Müller

Christian Müller is Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group. Schwarz Digits offers digital products and services relating to cyber security, cloud, artificial intelligence and secure communication that meet the high German data protection standards - for the greatest possible digital sovereignty. In addition, Christian Müller has been responsible for the business of Schwarz IT KG since January 1, 2018 - first as a divisional director, then as a board member and since July 1, 2021 as CEO. As a service provider, it manages the entire digital infrastructure and software solutions of Schwarz Group companies and provides support for their IT projects. Since joining Schwarz Group on January 1, 2004, Christian Müller has held various positions of responsibility. He started his career at Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG in the IT department.

Rolf Schumann

Rolf Schumann is Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, the IT und digital division of the Schwarz Group. Schwarz Digits offers digital products and services relating to cyber security, cloud and artificial intelligence that meet the high German data protection standards - for the greatest possible digital sovereignty. In addition, Rolf Schumann is responsible for the digital activities of the companies of Schwarz Group with a focus on e-commerce, loyalty, retail media and digital innovations. With over 30 years of experience in the strategic planning of IT projects and digital transformation, he is constantly driving technology and innovation-related topics across all industries. Before joining the Schwarz Group, Rolf Schumann was in charge at SAP as General Manager worldwide for the Platform & Innovation division. From 2008 to 2012, Rolf Schumann dedicated himself to the topic of clean tech and founded the start-up company Better Place, with a focus on electromobility. Prior to that, he was CTO for Europe at SAP. Before joining SAP in 2000, Mr. Schumann spent nine years at Siemens, where he was responsible for data center operations in Europe and the planning of Internet architecture.

Dieter Lange

Dieter Lange studied business administration and psychology and spent many years on the ethnical study of various cultures. He has extensive experience in business as a product manager, as well as marketing manager and constantly combines western knowledge with eastern wisdom.

He is among those rare top management trainers who provide change in companies. Dieter Lange stimulates in particular through his positive and optimistic style – but he does not walk away from the issue of change processes.

His brilliant rhetoric, moving linguistic images and metaphors turn his presentations into unique adventures in free speech. He is usually the highlight of every congress!

Wiebke Thelo

Wiebke Thelo is Head of SAP Quality, Security & Production. In this role, she is responsible for the global quality management of software development on behalf of the SAP Executive Board. The focus of her portfolio includes cyber and product security for SAP's application portfolio, customer implementation and validation services as well as ensuring a high standard of SAP's quality management system. Since joining SAP SE in 2004, Wiebke Thelo has held various leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer for SAP Application Development, Head of Internal Operations for SAP Analytics Applications, Chief Operating Officer for Engineering Cross Functions and the management of business controlling for SAP Technology Development. Wiebke Thelo studied economics at the University of Hohenheim and holds an Executive MBA from Mannheim Business School & ESSEC.

Paul Kaffsack

Paul Kaffsack is co-founder of Myra Security. The Security-as-a-Service company's mission is: "We protect what matters - in the digital world". Myra protects business critical infrastructure against Internet-based attacks in real time - including for the German federal government, banks and corporations.

Dr. Nadine Sengül-Stritzelberger

Nadine Sengül-Stritzelberger, a Ph.D. physicist specialized in quantum information, is a Managing Consultant at UBS within a team focusing on Next-Generation Technologies. Her responsibilities include identifying and mitigating cybersecurity risks that could arise in the future from large-scale quantum computers, as well as exploring potential future applications of quantum technologies in the financial sector.

Dr. Ulrike Franke

Dr. Ulrike Franke is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), based in Paris. Her areas of research include German and European security and defence, the future of warfare, and the impact of new technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence on geopolitics and warfare. Ulrike has published widely on these and other topics and regularly appears in the media. She co-hosts Sicherheitshalber, a German-language podcast on security and defence. She also teaches at Sciences Po Paris.

Niklas Finken

Niklas Finken started his career at Aleph Alpha with an internship in 2021, after studying Economics and Business Economics, followed by a Master’s in Business Information Management. Initially part of the customer team, he worked on developing language model solutions, including RAG-based systems. Niklas Finken then transitioned to an AI Engineer role in the product team, focusing on tool development for LLM applications and data curation for fine-tuning.