Vita

Dirk Hamann is specialized in corporate laws, M&A, and other transactions and projects in various industry sectors, including energy and natural resources. He consistently advocates the concrete implementation and scaling of sustainable business practices and impact investments. He is deeply convinced that the enormous financial resources in the investment sector should be channeled into just and rational investments in order to preserve and expand the natural foundations of life.

As one of the most distinguished lawyers in Europe, Dirk works in large-scale transactions with major industrial companies, is legal advisor to various ministries in the Federal Republic of Germany, and has broad access to international and national clients from various economic sectors as well as to politics and civil society. He advised the Swedish state-owned utility group on its market entry into Germany, and helped transform the German group parts in a series of restructuring steps into what is now known as Vattenfall Europe. Dirk was taking care of the public welfare interests on the instruction of the Federal Republic of Germany in the defense sector and the national security agreement and was advising Germany in the large aircraft manufacturing sector and the WTO-trade law context in relation to the EU commission vis a vis the USA. His advisory activities included corporate litigation, e.g. international and domestic arbitration and court proceedings, as regulatory aspects in the industries, including the German Foreign Trade Act.

Honorary positions (selection)

Club of Rome, German Association DCoR – Member, Member of the Presidium
Berlin University of Digital Science (in formation) – Advisory Board Member
Arts & Nature Social Club – Executive Board Member
Desertec Foundation – Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Legal Representative 2008-2010
Harry Westermann Award of the University of Münster 1992

Stations (selection)

Rimôn Law – Corporate Partner
Öko-Test AG – Supervisory Board Chairman
Herbert Smith Freehills, Mergers & Acquisitions – Corporate Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – Partner, Global Co-head Sector Group Energy & Natural Resources

Vita

Gregor has been successfully developing and establishing new business models and divisions for over 25 years – both with and for large international companies, SMEs and start-ups in a range of different industries, as consultant, founder, and manager. Among other projects, the development of the first eCommerce services in Germany, the first free Internet access provider, Sony’s digital online music service in Europe, the Fussball.de community and the German Engineering Cloud University stand out.

He first came into contact with the start-up scene in 1998 through projects with Sony Europe’s venture capital fund. Since then, he has been active as a founder, advisory board member, early stage investor and mentor for start-ups at APX, the Axel Springer and Porsche accelerator program, the Founder Institute, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, EIT Food.
As Founder and Managing Director of be ventures Berlin GmbH, he has been supporting start-ups and SMEs for 10 years now with his knowledge and experience in strategic questions regarding the orientation of companies, adaptation to a constantly changing environment through the continuous integration of innovation, digitalization, change management, and regeneration, among other things.

In addition, he has been teaching the Master Class “Value-based Innovation and Entrepreneurship” in Business Psychology at HMKW for five years, as well as being a guest lecturer for universities and companies. At the same time, Gregor has focused more strongly on theory and practice of regenerative economics during this time. Practical results include co-founding and volunteering as a Board Member of the two non-profit and impartial associations Initiative Regenerative Marktwirtschaft IRM and Verein zur Bekämpfung des unlauteren Greenwashing.

Honorary positions (selection)

Aurelia Stiftung – Board Member
Initiative Regenerative Marktwirtschaft e.V. – co-founder, board member
Verein zur Bekämpfung des unlauteren Greenwashing e.V. i.G. – co-founder, treasurer
Plug & Play, TU Berlin, APX – Mentor

Stations (selection)

be ventures Berlin GmbH – Founder, Managing Director
Deutsche Telekom AG – Executive Vice President Personal Social Networks
Sony Europe GmbH – Director
Markenfilm GmbH & Co. KG – Member of the Advisory Board

Vita

Daniel is pioneering a just and sustainable development within science, as an entrepreneur as well as an activist since the early 1990s. For many years, he held leading positions in scientific institutions of excellence, as well as in the steering committees of civil society organizations.

From the very beginning, Daniel has been working in the field of sustainable investments. In the late 1990s, he was involved in the development of the world’s first sustainability rating for investments, the “Frankfurt-Hohenheim Guidelines for the Ethical-Ecological Assessment of Investments and Companies”, as well as the “Darmstadt Definition of Sustainable Investments” under the leadership of the former member of the German Council of Economic Experts, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Scherhorn. As member and Scientific Director of the Research Group Ethical-Ecological Rating of the Goethe-University Frankfurt a.M., Daniel advocated for sustainable finance market regulations. As Scientific Director of the European Centre for Sustainability Research at Zeppelin University and as Senior Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), he focused on agroecology and regenerative economies, and sustainable investment strategies.

As a mandated expert, he conducted professional events on sustainable investments, European and international financial policies, sustainable risk management, due diligence methodology, and investment valuations with members of the German Bundestag, business associations, foundations, and public institutions. In international cooperations, he represented the topic area as an invited expert for national and transnational institutions with a large number of lectures and expert contributions. For banks and financial intermediaries, he acted as an independent expert advisor and implemented numerous due diligence reviews for sustainable real asset projects, mainly in anti-desertification and agroforestry.

In 2010, Daniel launched the United Sustainability Group to open up a new investment horizon for the generation of ecological and infrastructural livelihoods worldwide, and to implement impact investments in the field of sustainable real assets.

Honorary positions (selection)

World Future Council Foundation – Councillor
Scientists for Future – Member Advisory Board
DCoR Club of Rome, German Association – Member
HMC Hamburg Messe u. Congress, Internorga Future Award – Chairman of Judgement Panel
BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt – Fellow for Responsible Leadership
Society for Ecological Economy (Vereinigung für Ökologische Ökonomie) – Member
VDW Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler – Member
Desertec Foundation – Founding Donor
Kapp Award for Ecological Economics 2000 (formerly Schweisfurth Award)

Stations (selection)

IASS Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies – Senior Fellow
Zeppelin University, ECS European Centre for Sustainability Research – Vice-Director, Research Leader
GIZ German Agency for International Cooperation – Country Evaluator
Council for the Sustainable Development of the Federal State Brandenburg – Member of the Financial Policy Experts Panel
HMC Hamburg Messe u. Congress, goodgoods: sustainable consumergoods fair – Co-Founder, Exhibition Partner, Chairman
Messe Frankfurt GmbH, Ecostyle Trade Fair – Co-Founder, Advisory Board Chairman
Utopia.de, Utopia Foundation – Co-Founder, Curator
Natural History Museum London, Darwin Initiative – Research Fellow
University Hohenheim, Institute for Household and Consumer Economics – Research Leader
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy – Research associate

Vita

Hannes is an expert in the sustainability valuation and accounting of companies and investments as well as researcher in the field of method development for corporate sustainability management.

During his studies at Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Hannes was a student assistant at the European Centre for Sustainability Research (ECS) under the direction of Vice Director Dr. Daniel Dahm. In 2018, he founded a start-up company for digitalization and consulting in medium-sized companies in Constance on Lake Constance.

In 2022, he completed a Master’s degree at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he deepened his expertise in methods and standards of corporate sustainability management and the systemic interrelationships of the socio-ecological crisis. He is a member of various think tanks and organizations, including the World Capital Institute (WCI) and the German Institute for Standardization DIN.

From 2020 to 2024 he worked as Assistant to the Management Board and Investmet Analyst for United Sustainability. Now, as Expert for sustainability assessment and accounting.

Honorary positions (selection)

DIN Committee “Sustainable and Green Financing and Investment” – Member
WCI World Capital Institute – Executive Committee Member
German youth national rowing team

Stations (selection)

Matchdigital Management GmbH – Managing Director, Co-Founder
Zeppelin University, ECS European Center for Sustainability Research – Student Assistant

Vita

Kalle is dedicated to building structures for economic and social change. As a physicist and entrepreneur, he combines excellent scientific mathematical methodology and business experience with strong communication and networking skills.

In 2017, Kalle earned his Ph.D. by conducting research under Prof. Dr. Laurens W. Molenkamp and establishing a novel nanostructure fabrication process for the fundamental research of quantum phenomena.

Inspired by the novel capabilities of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), he applies his experience in solid-state and quantum physics to a scalable reorganization of collaboration in organizations. In 2019, he and like-minded individuals founded Your.Company GmbH, a responsibility-ownership (Verantwortungseigentum) startup for collaborative product development and commercialization.

The core technology of the network company is the mathematical principle he developed for the fair distribution of collective value creation (real value algorithm, BMWK funded). The algorithm lays a foundation for real value economics.

In his central role in setting up and financing the company’s growth, Kalle is intensively involved in topics such as property and capital theory as well as corporate development.

Honorary positions (selection)

Elite Network Bavaria – International doctoral program
EXIST start-up scholarship holder
Solidarity CoWorking Space FRANZ!werk in Tübingen – Co-Initiator

Stations (selection)

Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg – Doctoral Candidate
your.company GmbH – Co-Founder

Vita

Anna is an expert in the field of Climate Action and Sustainability Accounting. She co-founded several initiatives promoting life-serving movements like FindingSustainia and The Climate Bet. Her international background, living and working 6 years in Asia, Africa, and the US, allows her to take up a global view of the grand challenges of our times. As a keynote speaker, she stands for a passionate, open-minded, and proactive approach towards our common future, underlined with a broad expertise, and a focus on co-creation and innovative thinking.

Anna is working on her Ph.D. in Accounting & Controlling, holds an MBA in Renewables, and M.A. in Political Sciences. For her master’s thesis, she spent 6 months in Eastern and Western Africa, located inter alia in the Ministry of Finance in Senegal researching the effect of budget support on the national budget. The renowned postgraduate program of the German Development Institute offered her insights into the process of WTO accession of Laos with a 3-months research period abroad resulting in a monography that has been translated into several languages.

For 5 years, Anna worked for German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in the context of eco-industrial development in Asia and the MENA region. For another 5 years, she worked as an advisor for the Ministry for Environment, Agriculture, Conservation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia on the German Energy Transition, specifically on aspects of Energy Storage, Grid Integration of Renewables, and Hydropower.

Annas academic research is about sustainability control systems and is strongly connected with the valuation and accounting of new investment horizons for the generation of ecological and infrastructural livelihoods worldwide, and the development of new models of sustainable economic value creation.

Honorary positions (selection)

Club of Rome, German Association DCoR – Member, Member of the Presidium
Female Investor Network – Member
Think Tank 30 of the German Association Club of Rome – Associate member
Women & Energy – Member, Advisory Board Member until 2019
EAF European Academy for Diversity in Leadership – Fellow
swd German Economy Foundation – Fellow

Stations (selection)

University of Düsseldorf, Manchot Graduate School – PhD Candidate
Energy Engineers GmbH (TÜV Nord) – Expert Integration of Renewable Energies & Storage
Energy Agency North Rhine-Westphalia – Expert Hydropower
GIZ German Corporation for International Cooperation – Expert Eco Industrial Development with positions in Taiyuan/Beijing, Jakarta, Hyderabad/New Delhi, and Tunis
DIE German Development Institute – Postgraduate

Vita

Alexandra Wandel is chairwoman of the World Future Council’s (WFC) Management Board. The Council brings together 50 eminent members from all around the world who have already successfully promoted change and sustainable development. Since 2010 she has set up partnerships for the Future Policy Award with twelve UN agencies on topics such as biodiversity, forests, oceans and coasts, desertification, and agroecology. The Award has given prizes to 60 impactful and innovative policies from 40 countries since 2010.

Alexandra has obtained a master’s degree in International Relations with Honours from the University of Amsterdam and studied political science and public law at the Free University Berlin.

Before her position at the WFC, Alexandra was the European Trade and Sustainability Programme Coordinator of Friends of the Earth International in Brussels. Between 1999 and 2006, she coordinated European NGO activities including at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conferences in Seattle, Doha, Cancun, and Hong Kong and the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

She was an advisor to the European Commission’s Delegation in Johannesburg and to EU Commissioner Lamy on globalization, trade, and environment on behalf of the major European environmental NGOs: Friends of the Earth Europe, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Greenpeace and Birdlife. Earlier she worked for EcoPeace Middle East in East Jerusalem, the Egyptian Youth for Development and Environment in Cairo, and was personal assistant to Eva Quistorp, MEP, Brussels, and Elisabeth Schroedter, MEP, Potsdam.

Alexandra is the mother of two girls.

Honorary positions (selection)

UNCCD UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Life on Land Award – Jury Member
VoFG Voice of Future Generations, UNESCO – Member
Basel Peace Office – Board Member
DCoR Club of Rome, German Association – Associate Member
Lichtpunkt, Traumatherapy and Psychosocial Centre for Refugees in Hamburg – Founding Member

Vita

Rolf has been active in the fields of business valuation, financial engineering, and controlling in the corporate consulting and finance industry for more than 30 years. Initially, with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, he provided financial advice and support to companies and investors and consulted in large transaction operations. Among others, he has valued more than 100 companies in the energy industry, for example for the Bundesanstalt für vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben BvS.

In his role as an expert for the quantitative integration of illiquid asset classes in strategic asset allocation and the valuation of companies and real estate, Rolf is a member of the think tank of the Association for the Promotion of Ethics and Sustainability in Investment (Verein zur Förderung von Ethik und Nachhaltigkeit bei der Geldanlage) CRIC e.V. Further professional focuses of his expertise are the solution of valuation problems that cannot be solved with standard procedures as well as the assessment of the capitalization rate in the valuation of unlisted companies.

Rolf lives and works in Switzerland.

Stations (selection)

Helvetia Packaging AG – Member of the Board of Directors, CEO
CRIC Tank, CRIC e.V. – Member
bbw Hochschule (University of applied sciences) – Lecturer (Risk Management)
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Unternehmensberatung GmbH – Corporate consultant
Metro Group Asset Management GmbH & Co. KG – various strategic concepts and feasibility studies
HEAG Holding AG – various controlling projects
BvS – various controlling and due diligence projects

Vita

Harald Schindele is an architect and co-founder of the architecture office HS Architekten. The office develops spaces for sustainable living and has taken on a pioneering role internationally in issues of socio-ecological transformation of architecture and the construction industry with its projects in the field of circular and life-serving buildings. They have received various awards especially for densification and revitalization of existing built structures, the use of recyclable and ecologically high-quality materials, circular construction, and social inclusion.

After studying architecture at the TU Braunschweig and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, Harald founded the architecture firm HSH Architekten in Berlin in 1997, which later became HS Architekten in partnership with Markus Hirschmüller.

His expertise has led him to serve as a guest critic and, together with his partner Markus, as a lecturer at some of the most prestigious international institutions for design, art, and architecture, including the Bauhaus Dessau, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), London, the Art Center College of Design, UCLA, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). The joint office participated in the Biennale Brazil, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo in 2003 and 2005, the 14th Architecture Biennale in Quito in 2004, and the Architecture Biennale Convertible City in the German Pavilion in Venice in 2006.

HS Architekten has been awarded various first-rate prizes and recognitions in the field of sustainable and circular construction, most recently with the Berlin KlimaSchutzPartner-Award 2021 and the first place in the ideas competition “Re-Use am Bau” (Re-Use in Construction) 2022 by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate Action.

Harald and Markus are members of the Association of German Architects (BDA), the State Advisory Board for Wood, supporting members of Architects for Future, partners of the Concular GmbH for circular construction, and are in close exchange with the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for the qualification of the pre-certification phase for existing buildings.

Recognitions & awards (selection)

Hans Schaefers Award 2001: Die nächste Generation, project: Auguststr. 62
Fundação Bienal de São Paulo 2003 und 2005
14. Architecture Biennale in Quito 2004
10. Architecture Biennale in Venedig 2006
Deutscher Fassadenpreis (aluminum facade), project: Abspannwerk Buchhändler Hof (E-Werk)
Bundespreis für Handwerk in der Denkmalpflege 2010, project: Café Moskau, SYSTAL GmbH
Berlins beste Bauten: Exhibition fot the Architekturpreis Berlin 2013
Best of Houzz Award 2017
KlimaSchutzPartner-Award Berlin 2021, project: Ahorngärten
Ideas competition “Re-Use am Bau” 2022, first place, project: Ahorngärten
18. Architecture Biennale Venedig 2023
BDA Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA Landesverband Berlin e.V. – Member

Stations (selection)

Architectural Association School of Architecture, London – scholarship holder
Architecture office Hoyer und Schindele – Co-Founder
HS Architekten BDA – Co-Founder

Vita

Markus Hirschmüller is an engineer, architect, and co-founder of the architecture firm HS Architekten. The office develops spaces for sustainable living and has taken on a pioneering role internationally in issues of socio-ecological transformation of architecture and the construction industry with its projects in the field of circular and life-serving buildings. They have received various awards especially for densification and revitalization of existing built structures, the use of recyclable and ecologically high-quality materials, circular construction, and social inclusion.

His architectural studies took him to the Technical University Braunschweig, University Stuttgart, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles.

Markus is a certified passive house planner, energy efficiency expert, and historic building energy consultant. As one of the leading experts for the further development of historical monuments, Markus has been developing solutions for energy-efficient and substance-preserving construction for 20 years, including the transformation of Berlin’s industrial and cultural monuments such as the Abspannwerk Buchhändler Weg (E-Werk), Café Moskau, and most recently the BUFA Campus.

HS Architekten has been awarded various first-rate prizes and recognitions in the field of sustainable and circular construction, most recently with the Berlin KlimaSchutzPartner-Award 2021 and the first place in the ideas competition “Re-Use am Bau” (Re-Use in Construction) 2022 by the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate Action.

Harald and Markus are members of the Association of German Architects (BDA), the State Advisory Board for Wood, supporting members of Architects for Future, partners of the Concular GmbH for circular construction, and are in close exchange with the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for the qualification of the pre-certification phase for existing buildings.

Recognitions & awards (selection)

Hans Schaefers Award 2001: Die nächste Generation, project: Auguststr. 62
Fundação Bienal de São Paulo 2003 und 2005
14. Architecture Biennale in Quito 2004
10. Architecture Biennale in Venedig 2006
Deutscher Fassadenpreis (aluminum facade), project: Abspannwerk Buchhändler Hof (E-Werk)
Bundespreis für Handwerk in der Denkmalpflege 2010, project: Café Moskau, SYSTAL GmbH
Berlins beste Bauten: Exhibition fot the Architekturpreis Berlin 2013
Best of Houzz Award 2017
KlimaSchutzPartner-Award Berlin 2021, project: Ahorngärten
Ideas competition “Re-Use am Bau” 2022, first place, project: Ahorngärten
18. Architecture Biennale Venedig 2023
BDA Bund Deutscher Architektinnen und Architekten BDA Landesverband Berlin e.V. – Member

Stations (selection)

Architectural Association School of Architecture, London – DAAD scholarship holder
Architecture office Hoyer Schindele Hirschmüller – Office Partner
HS Architekten BDA – Co-Founder
DENA German energy agency for federal funding programs – Energy efficiency expert
WTA e.V. Scientific-technical working group for the preservation of buildings and monuments – Energy efficiency expert

Vita

Martin Hoffmann studierte Physik an der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg und promovierte dort anschließend in theoretischer Physik. Er begeisterte sich sowohl für das Programmieren als auch für die Weiterentwicklung von Theorien über magnetische Eigenschaften und Unordnung in Materialien, hauptsächlich Legierungen und Keramiken. Sein Hauptanliegen war die Suche nach neuen Funktionalitäten und die Verbesserung der Eigenschaften von Materialien für mögliche IT-Anwendungen.

Nach seinem Abschluss ging Martin an das Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung (IFW) Dresden, an das Institute for Solid State Physics (ISSP), Japan, und schließlich als Senior Scientist an die Johannes Kepler Universität (JKU) Linz, wo er bis heute wohnt. Dort untersuchte er Legierungen von Seltenen Erden für magnetische Anwendungen in Speichern und Elektroautos sowie magnetische Keramiken zur Verbesserung der Energieeffizienz von Computertechnologien.

In Linz begann er als Koordinator der Regionalgruppe von Scientists4Future zu arbeiten und beschloss, mehr zu Fragen der Nachhaltigkeit und der ökologischen Krisen beizutragen. 2022 wurde er Generalsekretär des Austrian Chapter des Club of Rome und später Vorstandsmitglied der cooppa Mediengenossenschaft eG, die sich mit Kommunikations- und Forschungsprojekten zu verschiedenen Themen der Nachhaltigkeit beschäftigt.

Durch seine Erfahrung verfügt Martin über ein breites Netzwerk von Experten aus Wissenschaft, NGOs und Unternehmen in Österreich und international. Sein derzeitiges Hauptthema ist die Verbreitung und lokale Anwendung des neuen Club of Rome Berichts Earth4All.

Ehrenämter & Anerkennungen (Auswahl)

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg – Doktorand (magna cum laude)
Förderverein der Scientist4Future Austria – Vorstandsmitglied, Kassenwart

Stationen (Auswahl)

cooppa Mediengenossenschaft eG – Vorstandsmitglied
Club of Rome, Austrian Chapter – Generalsekretär
Johannes Kepler Universität Linz – Senior Wissenschaftler
Institute for Solid State Physics, Universität Tokyo – Wissenschftlicher Mitarbeiter
Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden – Wissenschftlicher Mitarbeiter

Vita

Moritz is a passionate sustainability expert with more than 15 years of experience and a strong network in the international food, agribusiness, and renewable agriculture sectors.

Since his training as a banker at Westdeutsche Landesbank, which was liquidated in the wake of the 2007-2008 financial crisis, he has been fascinated by the role of the financial sector in relation to sustainable development. While working for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), he worked with small-scale aquaculture farmers and small-scale food businesses in Indonesia and Mozambique, among other countries, experiencing first-hand the influence of the financial sector in shaping production and supply chains in the global food and agriculture sector.

After stations at his family’s organic distillery and as founder of an online store for sustainable outdoor clothing, he spent seven years managing Sustainable Food Systems GmbH, a consulting spin-off of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland. With SFS, he developed methods and solutions for the transformation of the food and agricultural sector, including at the interfaces with the financial sector, and accompanied manufacturers, retail chains and investment firms in the assessment and management of sustainability in international agricultural supply chains.
Moritz loves to spend his free time in nature, climbing mountains or surfing.

Honorary positions (selection)

Economy for the Common Good – Member of the Matrix Development Team
GREEN BRANDS Switzerland – Member of the Jury

Stations (selection)

Sustainable Food Systems GmbH – General Manager
Destillerie Dwersteg GmbH & Co.KG – Owner (family business)
Bergjacke.de, Sustainable Outdoor-Wear – Co-Founder
GIZ German Agency for International Cooperation – Independent Consultant

Vita

Günter Koch is a pioneer in computer science since the mid-1970s, not least on account of his role as the main author of the standard textbook “Einführung in die Informatik” (Introduction to Computer Science) in 1977. In various publications, projects, and through his memberships in renowned technology and software institutes, especially as head of the European Software Institute (ESI, 1993-1997) and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT, 1998-2003), he dealt with software engineering, process data processing and with quality assurance of software in the first half of his career.

After graduating from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 1975 with a degree in computer science, he continued to work, lecture, and research at the university on application-oriented software, its architecture, and control until 1981. In the early 1990s, due to his achievements and qualifications, he was offered a habilitation-equivalent visiting professorship at the Graz University of Technology, whereupon he worked in various university lectureships in the following years. Due to his pioneering work in computer science, he received the Kaplan-Erfindermedaille (Kaplan Medal) from the Austrian Patent Owners and Inventors Association in 2001.

As an entrepreneur, Günter founded and managed 2i Industrial Informatics (formerly Biomatic GmbH) from 1981 and headed a technology and start-up center in Germany.

His most prestigious positions include his board roles at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) at the time called Austrian Research Centers (ARC), which is considered the Austrian equivalent of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and from 2006 to 2008 his position as managing director of the Central European Institute of Technology (CEIT) in Austria.

Throughout his career, Günter was concerned with the issues of research policy, the knowledge society and economy, and the Economy for the Common Good. In 2004, he was an initiator and member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Intellectual Capital, which published the RICARDIS Report on issues related to defining “knowledge assets”. Together with Professor Ursula Schneider from Graz, he is regarded as the inventor of intellectual capital reporting and the standard intellectual capital reporting model. For this work and the reform of Austria’s largest research center, among other accomplishments, Günter was awarded the Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst erster Klasse (Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st Class), by the Austrian Federal President in 2006.

Günter now lives and works in Vienna and Tenerife.

Honorary positions (selection)

New Club of Paris – Co-Founder and Secretary General
Recipient of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
Recipient of the Kaplan Medal of the Austrian patent holders and inventors’ association
World Capital Institute – Board Member
Research Association of the Economy for the Common Good (today KlimaVerbund) – Chairman

Stations (selection)

GIS GmbH – Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board
TOPCALL AG – Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Offertcom GmbH – Chairman of the Supervisory Board
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology (formerly ARC) – Chairman of the Management Board
Forschung Austria (Association of the major Austrian research centers) – President
Arsenal Prüfzentrum – Chairman of the Supervisory Board
ESI European Software Institute Bilbao – General Director
EU Commission High Level Expert Groups on Intellectual Capital – Initiator and Member
Humboldt Cosmos Multiversity – President

Vita

Sebnem has 15 years of experience as an applied research scientist and is an expert on smart grids for the energy, transportation, and industrial sectors and spent 10 years in the R&D division of Siemens on cyber-physical and decentralized energy systems, recently as a Senior Key Expert. She brings this experience from applied engineering research and development, and furthermore from architecting proof of concepts, product development, and decentralizing protocols on energy-efficient blockchains to United Sustainability.

With her academic background in computer science and business administration, Sebnem specialized in applied informatics in peer-to-peer systems. After her career at Siemens, she founded Freeelio, an open innovation collective, in 2017, and co-founded the German Blockchain Association together with other blockchain startups and projects. Sebnem led its energy working group for two years until the adoption of the German Blockchain Strategy in 2019.

During that time, she collaborated with a wide range of solar solution providers, such as Africa GreenTec and SolShare in Sub-saharan Africa and Bangladesh, as well as in Germany, such as Polarstern, SMA Solar, and energy efficiency service providers on a range of proof of concepts on using decentralized business and financial models for energy systems and their environmental and social good. Projects from this time, Energy Solidarity Token and The Sun Protocol led to Electraseed Fund in 2019-2020, which received funding and mentorship from “Ledger Project, The Venture Builder for Human Centric Solutions”.

Her insights from the R&D led to the collaboration with Younergy Solar SA in October 2021 on Younergy Crypto as an alternative finance solution and the launch of the minting of YCo2 credits from existing solar projects to fund more solar in November 2022 on Gnosis Chain.

Sebnem currently manages the Ethics and Philosophy resort at Token Engineering Commons (TEC) and leads system model sensemaking sessions with DADA Art Collective. She is a Kernel Fellow (Genesis Block) as well as in the Founder Circle of ReFiDAO, a founder-led web3 regenerative finance accelerator.

Stations (selection)

Siemens AG – Senior Key Expert for Cyber-physical Systems, Senior Key Expert for Prescriptive Analytics & In-field Applications, Senior Research Scientist
Freeelio – Founding Researcher
German Blockchain Association – Co-Founder, Head of the Energy Working Group
Younergy Solar SA – Crypto Ecosystem Architect

Vita

Sebastian is an expert in renewable energy and management systems for climate protection and sustainability. In the late 1990s, he helped to found Germany’s first pure green power company. He is a founder, manager, and recognized expert in the renewable energy business sector.

In 1996, Sebastian graduated as an engineer in energy and process engineering from the Technical University in Braunschweig. While still a student, he initiated his first company before participating in the founding of unit energy stromvertrieb GmbH two years after graduation, where he served as managing director from 2000 to 2002. The company was the first German company to sell pure green electricity. With the consulting approach of GALLEHR+PARTNER® and Gallehr Sustainable Risk Management GmbH, Sebastian has been working as a consultant for major companies in the energy-intensive industry and power generation since the early 2000s.

Between 2002 and 2015, Sebastian led the e5-European Business Council for Sustainable Energy, and since 2015 he has remained associated with the association as Vice-Chair. In the course of this activity, he has been involved in various technical studies and in international committees. In addition to regular participation in international climate negotiations since 2005, he chaired the Eco Innovation Panel of DG Industries’ EuropeINNOVA Program in 2006 and 2007 and was responsible for the Smart Grids area in DG INFSO’s ICT Lead Study on Energy Efficiency in 2008. In 2008, he was one of the founders of the DESERTEC Foundation.

In science, Sebastian Gallehr was a Research Line Leader and Financial Auditor between 2006 and 2013 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Climate Forum since 2020. Since 2013, Gallehr has been a member of the Ethical Ecological Rating Research Group at Goethe University Frankfurt/Main.

Sebastian is married and has two children.

(GALLEHR+PARTNER® is a trademark registered in Germany by Sebastian Gallehr and refers to the services of the entrepreneurial network to which Gallehr Sustainable Risk Management GmbH also belongs.)

Honorary positions (selection)

DESERTEC Foundation – Co-founder
EuropeINNOVA Programs der DG Industries – Chair
e5-European Business Council for Sustainable Energy – Head
GCF Global Climate Forum – Non-executive member of the Board of Directors
Forschungsgruppe Ethisch Ökologisches Rating – Member

Stations (selection)

Gallehr Sustainable Risk Management GmbH – Founder, Managing shareholder
MioSol GmbH – Managing shareholder
unit energy stromvertrieb GmbH – Founder, Managing Director

Vita

Fritz Hinterberger is an economist working in societal and ecological contexts for more than 40 years now. His focus lies on how sustainable development can boost the quality of life and prosperity for all on our planet while respecting its natural boundaries as well as fair distribution. As a mandated expert, Fritz contributed to the development of Austrian climate change policies and the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. He has excellent contacts in the Austrian NGO scene as well as high-ranking institutions in science and politics.

Born as a baby boomer 60 years ago in the province of Upper Austria, his “politicization” towards sustainability began in the 1970s through reading books such as “Limits to Growth” and “Global 2000” and active participation in the resistance against the start-up of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant.

After his doctorate in monetary social policy, he joined the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy in 1993, where he was head of the department for Ecological Economics and Ecological Economic Policy as well as interim head of the department for Material Flows and Structural Change.

In 1999, he founded the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) Vienna, which focuses on both science-based communication and practical (consulting) work and research.

Since 2019, he holds a senior scientist position at the University of Applied Arts Vienna cooperating with the national UniNEtZ project and serves as Vice President of the Austrian Chapter of the Club of Rome.

Honorary positions (selection)

Club of Rome, Austrian Chapter – Vice President
Justus Liebig University Giessen – Doctorate (summa cum laude)

Stations (selection)

Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy – Head of Department for Ecological Economics and Ecological Economic Policy, 1993-2000
Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) Vienna – Founder
University of Applied Arts Vienna – Senior Scientist
cooppa Mediengenossenschaft eG – Co-Founder

Vita

With almost three decades of experience in the management of large insurance companies such as Munich Re and Generali, Monika is an internationally recognized expert in her industry. Most recently as Executive Board Member at ERGO Group as well as Generali Deutschland AG, she holds various positions as a non-executive Board Member and Senior Advisor since 2018.

Monika’s vita is characterized by a strong focus on sustainability, especially climate change and gender equality. She is a member of the Initiative Women on Supervisory Boards (FidAR) and ambassador of the International Female Network of the Insurance Industry (ISC). Her commitment to combating climate change and to sustainability is also reflected in her membership in the German Association Club of Rome. Here she advocates for a sustainable transformation of the economy by aligning corporate decision-making processes and business models with a strong concept of sustainability.

She is a non-executive member of the executive committee of the Institute of Insurance Economics at the University of St. Gallen and co-author of the standard reference work “Gabler Versicherungslexikon”.

Honorary positions (selection)

Deutsche Gesellschaft Club of Rome Projekt GmbH – Managing Director
ISC international female network of the insurance industry – Ambassador
FidAR e.V. Initiative Women on Supervisory Boards – Member
Instituts für Versicherungswirtschaft der Universität St. Gallen – Executive Committee Member

Stations (selection)

Marco Insurance PCC Limited – Independent, non-executive Board Member
British Reserve Insurance Co Ltd – Independent, non-executive Board Member
MS Amlin Marine NV – Independent, non-executive Board Member and Chair
MS Amlin SE – Independent, non-executive Board Member
Feil, Feil & Feil – Senior Advisor
ERGO Group – Executive Board Member, non-executive Board mandates in subsidiaries
Generali Deutschland AG – Executive Board Member, non-executive Board mandates in subsidiaries
Generali Versicherung AG – Executive Board Member

Vita

Frank Schweikert is a biologist and marine researcher, journalist, environmental activist, and entrepreneur. He has a superior international network of foundations and donors, to science, and civil society, as well as to politics and business.

As the initiator of the research and media ship Aldebaran, he is the owner of the most famous private maritime research ship in Europe. Frank is also the founder of the annual Hamburg Climate Week, which uses numerous events to draw attention to the urgency, feasibility, and long-term cost-effectiveness of climate protection measures. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, by this, he created the largest climate protection communication event in Europe with a high political signal effect. The Hamburg Climate Week was recognized by the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development as a worldwide education initiative.

Supported by Messe Düsseldorf and the German Water Sports Industry Association (Bundesverband Wassersportwirtschaft), he has been curating the “love your ocean” sustainability initiative at the “boot Düsseldorf” trade fair together with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation under the umbrella of the German Ocean Foundation since 2016. He is the founder and managing director of GlobalGreen InnoTech GmbH and, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, heads two networks of industry and research for the detection and elimination of plastics from water bodies. In 2021, it initiates an alliance to support the “UN Decade of Ocean Exploration for Sustainable Development.”

Honorary positions (selection)

Extended meeting of the Board with the Assembly of the Mission for the Adaptation to Climate Change, including Societal Transformation of the European Union – Member 2019-2021
German Society for Marine Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Meeresforschung) – Deputy Chairman
German Marine Litter Association (Bundesverband Meeresmüll) – Co-Founder, Chief Member of the Board of Directors

Stations (selection)

German Ocean Foundation – Chief Member of the Executive Board, Founder
Research and broadcast vessel ALDEBARAN – Owner, Initiator
Young Scientists Competition “Forschen auf See” – Founder
Hamburger Klimawoche – Founder, Curator, Speaker of Advisory Board
GlobalGreen InnoTech GmbH – Managing Director
Messe boot Düsseldorf “love your ocean” sustainability initiative – Co-founder, Curator

Vita

Soenke Thomsen is an entrepreneur, personally liable shareholder, and spokesman of Lehmann&Voss&Co. KG in Hamburg, a chemical company that has been marketing chemical and mineral specialties to industrial clients for more than 125 years. The family business is now in its 4th generation.

After studying architecture in Germany and Spain, Soenke initially worked for several years as an architect in renowned offices in Düsseldorf and Hamburg. After completing a part-time MBA, he joined the family business in 2004, where he rose through several positions to become managing director of the parent company as well as the company groups holding.

Soenke is committed to sustainability and the preservation of natural livelihoods, both in his companies and in his private life, with a particular focus on digital and innovative approaches. Soenke joined United Sustainability through a private project that aims to combine sustainability and inclusion with digitalization, as well as through the strong overlap of guiding values and intentions.

Vita

Georg Fischer is a shareholder of Blanc & Fischer Familienholding GmbH, an internationally active group of companies with production plants in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. The company includes, among others, the sink specialist Blanco and the E.G.O. Group, a leading manufacturer of components for the household appliance industry.

After an apprenticeship at Deutsche Bank and various industrial internships, he joined the family-owned company E.G.O. in 1972. In 1988, he first took over sales management for the European market, later taking on responsibility for sales and marketing worldwide as Managing Shareholder. In 2007, he joined the supervisory board of the German E.G.O. Group and the Board of Directors of the parent company (Blanc&Fischer Familienholding GmbH).

Since 2018, he has been on the supervisory board of Naturata AG, a leading supplier of organic and biodynamic foods. He joined the circle of shareholders of United Sustainability through his involvement in the retail and wholesale of organic food and in the field of sustainable energy production.

Stations (selection)

Naturata AG – Member of the Board of Directors
Blanc&Fischer Familienholding GmbH – Member of the Board of Directors
E.G.O. Elektro-Gerätebau GmbH – Supervisory Board Member
E.G.O. Zug AG – Managing shareholder

Vita

Wolfgang Kluge is an artist, entrepreneur, and investor from Hamburg. After an initial station as an engineer in the automotive industry, he successfully led a firm in the field of tax consulting, auditing and financial accounting. After selling his company, he devoted himself full-time to fine arts and painting.

Since the late 2000s, Wolfgang has graced the international art scene, with exhibitions from Spain to China. His works are marked, among other things, by his trademark initials “WHAK”. They are equally dedicated to current political crises as well as to the conditions of human life and sensibility, bringing both together in socio-critical examinations.

Wolfgang lives and works in Hamburg.

Vita

Frank Otto is an entrepreneur, investor, and music producer. As a media entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of private radio and private television in Germany, he is involved in various private radio and television stations. In 2011, he accompanied Hamburg as the environmental capital with his tv-station greencapital.tv.

Frank is committed to worldwide sustainable development for many years. Among many engagements, he is co-founder of the German Ocean Foundation, ambassador of the World Future Council, and sponsor of the Hamburg Climate Week. Furthermore, he is active in various voluntary functions and is also involved in the support of culture and music as a private donor, amongst others for Lesen ohne Atomstrom, millionways and Viva con Agua.

In 2013, he received the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz am Bande der Bundesrepublik Deutschland).

Honorary positions (selection)

Recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 2013
World Future Council – Ambassador
German Ocean Foundation (Deutsche Meeresstiftung) – Co-Founder
Hamburg Chamber of Commerce – Member of the Committee for Media and Creative Industries
Hamburger Presseclub – Member of the Board
EBC Hochschule University of Apllied Sciences – Member of the Curatorium
Luca-Foundation – Member of the Board
Hamburg Leuchtfeuer, Leuchtfeuer Foundation – Member of the Curatorium, Co-Founder
Foundation Popkurs – Co-Founder
Clubstiftung – Member of the Advisory Board