Prior to joining Berlin Global Advisors, Hauke Hansen worked as a Senior Consultant at Strategic Minds Company in Berlin, where he advised on strategic and economic issues. Earlier in his career, he held positions at the German Taxpayers Association and its affiliated institute, focusing on fiscal policy, public finance, and economic analysis, including the preparation of policy studies on e-government and venture capital.

Hansen holds a Master’s degree in General Management from IU International University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Hamburg.

Dr. Albert Schander serves as an Advisor to BGA and is also the founder & managing partner of Clairfield in Germany and a member of the board of Clairfield International. Prior to Clairfield, Albert worked as co-head of corporate finance for an international investment banking group where he was responsible for international equity financing projects and IPOs. Further milestones in his career were BAI (Deutsche Bank Group) in Milan, KPMG in Milan, and Lehman Brothers in Frankfurt where among other responsibilities, Albert advised on numerous crossborder M&A transactions.

Albert studied law and economics at the Universities of Passau, Pavia in Italy and Munich and is qualified as an attorney-at-law in Germany. He earned his law degree from Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and his Ph.D. from Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena.

Mr. Dorn is responsible for financial accounting and controlling. He has in-depth experience in both the management and implementation of all commercial processes in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Dr. Alexandra Schwarzkopf is a BGA Senior Advisor based in Frankfurt, where her company “SchwarzkopfConsulting” advises international executives and decision-makers on cultural and political communications. Alexandra has studied law, literature and history at the Universities of Heidelberg, Geneva and Frankfurt and became a scholarship member of an International Graduate Program from the German Research Foundation. Within this program she wrote her joint PhD in Political Communication at the Universities of Frankfurt and Trento. Alexandra speaks German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Alla Konovalova is a Senior Advisor at BGA and independent business expert based in Berlin, previously she was located in Mantova, Italy. Throughout her career she has worked with diverse industrial sectors including food, fashion, building materials, furniture, and cosmetics, with a focus on Eastern Europe. Most recently she was a representative of leading Italian manufacturers of industrial machinery in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. She has experience working on international tenders, providing market and customer analyses and successful growing a customers’ client base. She was in charge of developing project financing in coordination with customers and banks in target and manufacturing countries.

Alla holds a degree in commodity science and business administration from Lviv University of Trade and Economics, Ukraine. She brings in a broad set of language skills including Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, English and German.

Heinrich joined BGA as a Senior Advisor in June 2025. He is also Program Director China of the German Foreign Service Academy, Senior Fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center and Lecturer at the Ludovica and Andrássy University Budapest.

Before retiring after 40 years in the German Diplomatic Service in September 2024 he held the Chair for Diplomacy endowed by the German Foreign Office at Andrássy University Budapest for 4 years, where he also served as the University´s Program Director “International Relations and European Studies” and as Director of its Center for Diplomacy.

Previously, he was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (July 2016 – August 2020), Special Ambassador for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue and for International Academic Relations, and Deputy Head of the Policy Planning Staff of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. Other assignments in his diplomatic career have taken him to Washington, Tokyo, Madrid and La Paz.

In between, he was a visiting fellow at the Henry L Stimson Center, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institutions, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Transatlantic Academy of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC.

Heinrich studied political science, modern history and sociology at Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA (USA), at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Institut des Hautes Etudes de L`Amérique Latine of the Sorbonne Nouvelle as well as at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster.

He has published extensively on international relations. In 2025 he (co-) edited the following books: “Europe and the emerging New Global Order. Rethinking Europe’s Security Framework”; “Religion and Diplomacy” “Race to Space. How Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Bramson are Conquering Space and the Role of NASA, ESA, China and Russia” and various articles on Hungary and Central/ Eastern Europe.

Amr Diab is a BGA Advisor and the former co-head for the Investment Banking Division of Morgan Stanley in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and a Member of the Executive Committee for Morgan Stanley – MENA. During his tenure at Morgan Stanley, he oversaw and participated in the execution of some of the largest capital markets and M&A transactions in the region. Amr is a Fulbright Scholar and holds a B.A. from the American University in Cairo and an MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School.

​Splitting his time between Berlin, London and Cairo he remains an advisory director at Morgan Stanley and is also an Independent board member of Apex International Energy and a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.

Ana-Cristina is the owner of Corporate Transformation Advisors and Managing Partner of the Berlin Advisors Group. With her expertise as a top manager of international companies and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Charta der Vielfalt, she advises companies on strategies, risk management, restructuring, and stakeholder management. Her extensive experience as an advisor and member of the boardroom helps her to see and consult on the complexity of needed strategy and organizational changes in the fast-changing world. She is specialized in tailor-made solutions on the ESG agenda with transactions, compliance, and organizational changes in addition to rebuilding and modernizing the HR organization and agenda. Before working for BAG, Ana-Cristina was CHRO of Allianz, managing and restructuring partner of EY, and worked in banking, DZ Group and for industrial cooperations such as Preussag AG and ABB financial services as senior finance and risk manager. She is an investor in several startups, a member of various supervisory and sustainability advisory boards, and the author of the book “the hidden capital” which describes the measures and opportunities of transformational processes and management culture.

Ana-Cristina has a degree in business administration and studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Würzburg. She was awarded CHRO of the Year for the second time in 2021, is one of Germany’s top female managers awarded by BCG and Manager Magazine, and holds several awards for her innovative work in the people-orientated agenda and finance structure in the infrastructure field. She is the author of the book “das verborgene Kapital” in addition to several publications on company culture and Performing and Non-Performing Loan Transactions Across the World over the years. She lives with her husband and three children in Berlin, Hamburg, and Lisbon.

Since 2006, Andreas Beckmann has been an independent political analyst and consultant based in Berlin and Brussels. He works closely with BGA partners on numerous projects. His main areas of expertise include financial regulatory issues –particularly the manifold aspects of the Eurozone sovereign and bank debt crisis, defense and security issues on a domestic German and international level – including IT security, and the German residential real estate market.

Andreas has a combined 30 years of work experience. He served for two years as an officer cadet in the German Army, and worked more than 14 years in the academic field as research and teaching assistant in the area of applied political science. Moreover, Andreas has a record of active engagement in German party politics, including several years in party and (local level) public offices.

Andreas studied Political Science, Public/Administrative/EU/International Law, and English, at Kiel University (CAU) and Penn State University (where he also worked as grading assistant) before graduating with honors in Kiel. While continuing to work as a political scientist in Kiel, Andreas also served five months in the EU Commission, and worked in the State election campaign headquarters of a major German political party.

Andrew is a BGA Ass. Partner in New York and President of KARV Communications. Andrew has long-standing experience in crisis communications, public affairs and media skills. Prior to founding KARV Communications, Andrew held positions at Strategy XXI Partners and Kreab Gavin Anderson, including Managing Partner. From 1992-1997 he was a political appointee in the Clinton Administration, including Managing Director of the United States Information Agency’s New York Foreign Press Center. He also was Senior Advisor for Communications to the Director of U.S.I.A beginning in January 1993.

Andrew graduated from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. and studied at Syracuse University’s London Centre. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Crisis Communications at Fordham University Graduate School of Business. He has been a guest lecturer at seveal prestigious Universitities, including Columbia University and American University.

Anthony Monckton is an Ass. Partner at BGA and founder and CEO of VE Insight, a corporate investigations and geo-political risk advisory headquartered in Vienna.

Anthony has spent a lifetime managing risk. He began his career as an army officer and went on to become a diplomat, where he specialised in national security. Since leaving the public sector, Anthony has enjoyed a career as a risk and government affairs advisor.

Anthony has considerable expertise in geopolitics, counter-terrorism and the analysis of organised crime. He is skilled at managing complex cross-jurisdictional research and enjoys solving problems across borders where differing cultures, legal systems and business practices often converge to create conundrums. He has a particular passion for the Western Balkans.

Anthony is a an ADRg qualified civil and commercial mediator and has studied and has an interest in the ethical and legal issues surrounding the role of AI in business.

Arash Duero is a Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors, providing strategic counsel to a range of clients across multiple industries and functions. He was previously the Managing Director of Big Picture Strategy, a Dubai-based consultancy specialized in empowering trade collaborations between Eurasia and the Middle East.

Arash has served as a senior expert at Roland Berger, is a senior consultant at Berlin-based Clean Hydrogen Advisors (CH2A), is an advisor to the Global Gas Centre in Geneva, a member of the international advisory board of the Clean Energy Forum, and is a member of the German Economic Council. Moreover, he is Head of Strategic Programs at the European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at the Centre for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), University of Bonn.

Arash previously worked at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) – Institute for Energy, as a researcher at the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU) of the Free University in Berlin, as a research associate at the Berlin Centre for Caspian Region Studies, was part of the Resilien-tech Working Group of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (ACATECH) and was a Senior Fellow at the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at King’s College London. He has also served as an adviser and peer-reviewed various International Energy Agency (IEA) publications. As a researcher, he has published on a number of energy related topics in scholarly journals and other publications, including for Energy Policy, the Bosch Foundation and the German Foreign Office.

Arash studied economics at Georgia Southern University in Savannah, GA, USA and holds an advanced degree in Political Science with a focus on Macroeconomics and International Energy Policy from the Free University in Berlin, Germany. He is based in Dubai and, in addition to his native tongue of English, speaks German fluently.

Arndt joined BGA as a Senior Advisor in January 2023. He looks back at 36 years in diplomacy and government affairs. Until retirement (2022) he served as German Ambassador to Poland and previously to the Czech Republic. His professional experience centered around Eastern Europe (Moscow 1992-1994, 2002-2005), European integration (Director of European Affairs) and security politics. He was NATO´s first Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security (2016 – 2019), where he built up the new Intelligence Division, which was responsible for the provision of comprehensive situational awareness to the Alliance. Previously, Arndt also served as Vice President of the German Intelligence Service. He professional experience includes 4 years of speech writing (as Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer’s chief speech writer) and policy planning.

Arndt holds an M.A. degree in Biochemistry from Oxford University and a PhD from Munich University.

Joachim Bitterlich is a retired German Ambassador with extensive experience in European and international business affairs, diplomacy, and geopolitics. Over the course of his distinguished career, he held key positions in both government and the private sector.

He served as European, Diplomatic and Security Policy Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl during a crucial phase of European integration and German unification. Prior to that, he worked in the Private Office of Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and held diplomatic postings in Algiers and Brussels. He later represented Germany as Permanent Representative to NATO in Brussels and as Ambassador to Spain.

In 2003 he joined Veolia Environnement, appointed Executive Vice-President International Affairs and later in addition Chairman Germany. He served in boards in France and in other European countries in different areas, among them employers association, environment, energy, defense, transport and certification, with a particular focus on governmental, European and international affairs.

In addition to his advisory and consulting work, he serves on the boards of several European think tanks, academic institutions and initiatives, among them the Institut Jacques Delors, CEFA, the Schuman Foundation, the Bosporus Institute, EuroDefense or the Joint European Disruptive Initiative J.E.D.I. He is Professor (affiliate) at the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris ESCP teaching in Paris and Berlin.

Joachim Bitterlich regularly contributes to public discourse through media commentary and publications. His memoirs, Grenzgänger – German Interests and Responsibility in and for Europe, were published in April 2021. The French edition, Le Passeur, followed in Spring 2023.

He studied Law, Economics, and Politics at the University of Saarland and is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), Paris.

Caroline L. King, PhD  serves as a Senior Advisor to BGA, and is a public affairs and management executive with more than 30 years of international experience spanning the corporate, government, and non-profit sectors. Most recently, she served as Global Head of Business Development and Government Affairs at SAP SE  where she led multinational initiatives to in support of SAP business, coordinated SAP’s engagement at major international fora—including WEF, MSC, and UNGA—and represented the company on several advisory boards. Caroline started her career at SAP in executive communications for Hasso Plattner, initiating and running the first global Public Affairs and CSR programs at SAP.

As the founder of KingCommunicating, she has provided public affairs and PR consulting to the non-profit sector and orchestrated high-profile events, such as a film premiere attended by Germany’s Chancellor aD Merkel. During this time Caroline established and grew the German office of the World Childhood Foundation for Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Caroline holds a PhD in Government from Georgetown University and a Master of Arts in International Relations from McMaster University. She is active on several business advisory boards, currently serves as Chair of Development Policy for the German Industry Association, and has lectured on export promotion and the digital economy at the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

Dr. Chester Crocker is a BGA Advisor and served as the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. He is currently the James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

He was chairman and member of the board of the United States Institute for Peace between 1992 and 2011 in Washington, DC. He is also a founding member of the Global Leadership Foundation and a member of the World Bank’s Independent Advisory Board on governance and corruption.

He has a BA from the Ohio State University, an MA from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from its School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Christian Schmiderer has a long-standing experience in investment and corporate banking both in advising clients on corporate transactions and as a senior bank manager. Since his departure from banking Christian has been active in providing strategic and financing advice to startups in several Deep Tech sectors in the D-A-CH region. Christian currently also serves as Senior Advisor to Arthur D.Little supporting its franchise with technology-driven companies.

At HCOB Bank Christian was responsible for managing the ownership transfer to a group of private equity investors and for the transformation plan. He also served on the Credit and Steering Committes of the bank. Previously, Christian had a 21 year career in the J.P.Morgan Investmentbank (London and Frankfurt), with long-standing responsibility for the coverage of corporate  and investor clients and later family offices in the D-A-CH region. In this role at J.P.Morgan Christian had a focus on providing  corporate finance advice, but also worked closely with other product groups (ECM, DCM, Solutions) to help the bank’s clients to secure financing.

Mr.Schmiderer has a degree from the University of Commerce in Vienna as well as an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Cristina Hernández is Partner & Managing Director of BGA’s Partner Agency NITID and the head of the operations of the company in Spain. She was Vice President of ADECEC, the association that brings together the main communication consultancies in Spain, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Public Leadership Class at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas ICADE, where for several years she was a lecturer of the degree in Political Science and Administration.

She has extensive experience in the field of consultancy, having worked for companies such as Everis, KPMG, and Accenture. At Everis she was Public Sector Manager, responsible for the design and implementation of specific solutions in areas such as Strategy, Public Policy, and Regulatory Analysis.

Prior to that, she was Executive Director of The PASS Group, a company specializing in consulting for political and business leaders. She also worked as a Public Sector Consultant at KPMG and in Accenture’s Government Area.

Throughout her career, she has worked on developing projects on Strategy, Communication, and Institutional Relations for important public and private organisations, and has an extensive knowledge of Public Administration.

She holds a degree in Political Science from the Complutense University of Madrid, a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from ESIC, and she completed her education at the IESE Business School.

Rubén is Partner & Director of Public Affairs at NITID,where he leads a team of consultants who advise corporate and institutional clients on governmental relations and communications. NITID is Berlin Global Advisors Partner Agency in Madrid. 

Rubén joined NITID in 2012. Since then, he has worked with clients in highly regulated sectors, including both multinational companies and business associations, supporting them in their legislative challenges, such as the European Tobacco Products Directive, the Audiovisual Media Services Law, and the Lasalle Intellectual Property Law.

Between 2007 and 2012, he worked as deputy director of Communication for the regional Health Department of the Community of Madrid, where he was responsible for media relations and strategic advice on communication and institutional relations. During this period, he was part of the team in charge of designing and executing the communication strategy for the inauguration of 11 public hospitals in the Community of Madrid, and he specialised in crisis management.

Prior to that, he worked as an advisor in the Cabinet of the regional Minister for Employment and Women of the Community of Madrid, and also as a journalist for the newspaper La Razón (among other media), writing in the international section. He holds a degree in Journalism from the Antonio de Nebrija University, a degree in Hispanic Philology from the University of Oviedo, and was a student of the first promotion of MAS Consulting’s Postgraduate Course in Electoral Campaign Management in 2006. He holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Marketing Management from ESADE and in Digital Business (MIB) from the Instituto Superior para el Desarrollo de Internet. He completed his education with MAS Consulting and Comillas ICADE’s Postgraduate Degree in Public Affairs Management (PDAP).

Economist | Former Parliamentary State Secretary (Deputy Federal Minister) | Member of the German Bundestag (2017–2025)

Daniela Kluckert is an economist and former Parliamentary State Secretary (Deputy Federal Minister) to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport of Germany (2021–2024). She served as a Member of the German Bundestag from 2017 to 2025, with a strong focus on digital policy, transport, innovation, and future-oriented infrastructure. She held senior leadership roles within the Bundestag, including Deputy Chair of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure and Member of the Committee of Inquiry on Artificial Intelligence. Prior to her parliamentary career, she worked at the Ministry of Economics, Labour and Transportation of the Federal State of Saxony, where she, among other things, represented the Federal State of Saxony in the Upper House of the German Parliament (Bundesrat) and in the Bundestag. Daniela Kluckert is deeply embedded across Germany’s political landscape and is known for translating complex political, economic, and societal developments into sustainable strategies for companies, associations, and institutions.

Daniela Kluckert holds a Diploma in Economics (Dipl.-Volkswirtin) from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, is a co-author of “Aufstieg – 16 Proposals for Germany’s Future” (2020), and speaks German (native) and English (business fluent).

Ms. Denise Feldner is Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors. She has 25 years of experience in the legal, and innovation industry. She started her career in 1997 in Berlin law firms with focus on urban planning, infrastructure, energy, and sustainability. Denise moved to Heidelberg in 2008 to build up InnovationLab GmbH a cluster management platform for organic electronics with an initial budget of 100m€. She served as Chief of Staff to the President of Heidelberg University and in 2012 became Managing Director at German U15, the association of Germany’s 15 biggest elite research universities. In 2018, she founded Bridgehead Advisors, a consultancy for crisis and change management with focus on new technologies.

Since 2020, she has been working with tech investors and founders. Denise has published at DGAP, Alfred-Herrhausen Gesellschaft of Deutsche Bank, US Army War College Press, NATO COE DAT, Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, at DIE ZEIT, Tagesspiegel, FAZ and she is editor of a Springer handbook. She is member of Atlantik Brücke, young leader alumna of Wilton Park British German Forum and of the BDI.

Denise is admitted to the Berlin Bar, holds a Certificate in General Management, Malik Management, St. Gallen, a Master of Business Law for Tech Enterprises, a Diploma in Law. She studied at NKU Athens, ELTÈ Budapest, at Humboldt University and in Leuven, Belgium.

Dierk is a Senior Advisor at BGA following a 25 year career in asset management, banking and financial regulation. As senior analyst and director of research at Fidelity Investments for more than 13 years, Dierk led fixed income research for US and European financial sector and sovereign strategy.

Before Fidelity, he worked for Deutsche Bank in London and as Deputy Head of Credit Risk for the BIS in Basel, where he advised central banks and regulators on bank capital and risk management.

Dierk holds a PhD in public finance from the London School of Economics (LSE).

Dirk Brengelmann is a Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors and the Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the International Commission for Missing Persons ( ICMP) and Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategy and Integration Studies ( CASSIS) at the University of Bonn.

Before his retirement in 2021 he served as German Ambassador to the Netherlands and the International Courts in The Hague and as Ambassador to Brazil.

Before this he had a long diplomatic career in Defence and Security Policy, including as Assistant Secretary General  of NATO for Political  Affairs, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to NATO and Deputy Head of Cabinet of the NATO Secretary  General  and as Head of Department for Security and Defence in the  Federal Chancellery and the Foreign Office.

His diplomatic career also included postings in Washington ( Congressional affairs), London and Haiti and as Deputy European Correspondent of the Foreign Office.

Before becoming a diplomat Dirk Brengelmann worked as an Investment Banker for West LB, in Düsseldorf and in Tokyo.

He holds masters ( Diploma)  in Economics and in Business Administration from the University of Hamburg.

Dominik Hesse is a BGA Advisor and the founder and Managing Partner of Cannonball Capital. Having lived in London and New York for over 10 years, Dominik possesses more than 18 years of international management and investment experience. His most recent role was for a Family Investment company in Monaco, where he spent over 6 years as CFO and Head of Business Development. During his employment, Dominik contributed significantly to the quadrupling of the NAV and was instrumental in ensuring that the company deleveraged completely and was safeguarded before the financial crisis.

Dominik has worked exclusively for family companies and specialises in Value Investing with a focus on execution. He has been active in the fields of shipping, private equity and real estate.
Dominik holds MBA degrees from Columbia Business School (Beta Gamma Sigma) in New York, London Business School (Distinction) and a Master of Science from Cass Business School in London.

As alumnus of the World Young Leader Forum and two Europe-Asia Young Leader Forums Dominik has, in combination with his Alma Mater, an international and diverse network. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and the Institute of Logistics and Transport (both London) and has a completed apprenticeship as a Shipping Merchant.

Away from the business arena, he has been actively involved for several years with „Die Komplizen“, which offers a charitable mentoring service for high school students.

Dr. Donatus Kaufmann is Senior Partner at Berlin Global Advisors. He combines over 20 years of strong track record in global executive roles in the Technology, Industry, Pharma, Telecom and Trade Sector with close ties into industry, politics, ministries, regulators and industry associations in Germany and on EU level. From 2014-2019 he was Executive Board member of DAX-listed ThyssenKrupp AG – with responsibilities for Innovation, Digital Transformation, Technology, Sustainability, Legal, Compliance and the business regions North America and Western Europe. Furthermore he was Chairman of the BDI Committee on competition order and member of the Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that he held executive positions with global responsibilities in Metro AG, Boehringer Ingelheim Group and various Telecom companies. In addition to his role at BGA Donatus Kaufmann is founder & CEO of smart innovation ventures GmbH and an independent Strategic Executive Advisor.

Donatus Kaufmann studied law, business administration, political science and history at the universities of Göttingen, Bonn, Paris-Sorbonne, FernUniversität Hagen and INSEAD. He holds a PhD in International Law.

Dr. Clemens Gocke has gained a wide-ranging experience in senior corporate development, financial controlling, corporate finance and risk-management roles in Frankfurt and London.

Following corporate development and financial controlling positions at Hoechst AG and Veba AG, Clemens held various senior roles at Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, focusing on M&A, IPOs, restructuring, special situations and risk.

More recently, as a Senior Advisor for Fraser Finance, a London based investment banking boutique, he has advised a number of digital growth companies on growth financing schemes and M&A initiatives.

Furthermore, he has advised large cap financial institutions on governance, risk management and compliance issues.

Ever since obtaining his PhD in Operations Research, Clemens has maintained a strong personal interest in defence topics. He is involved in several Think Tank networks and is a member of Clausewitz-Gesellschaft e.V..

Clemens holds a PhD (Dr.rer.pol.) in Operations Research from Universität Köln. He was a scholar (and PhD-scholar) of Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes.

Dr. Frank Schauff is a BGA Partner based in Berlin. He brings in more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications and public affairs on the German, EU, and International level. Frank has worked in Germany’s and the EU’s top foreign policy environments including the leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in Berlin. In more than ten years as CEO of the Association of European Businesses (AEB), the main representative body of foreign investors, Frank has gathered extensive high-level Russia and Eurasia expertise. Currently, he serves on the Board of a Croatian start-up company and is a member of the advisory board of a German-Russian Executive Search Company, as well as of a Luxembourg-based investments fund.

Frank studied in Cologne and Volgograd (then USSR), before he earned a Master´s degree in Political Science at the London School of Economics. Further, he pursued his PhD from University of Cologne and holds a MBA from the Private University Göttingen. Frank has taught History and International Relations as visiting teacher/professor at universities in Berlin and Moscow and is co-founder and Board member of the Institute for Eastern European Studies at the University of Wismar.

Hanna is a geopolitical analyst specialising in European Union politics and the domestic political dynamics of France, Italy, and the German-speaking countries. She teaches European politics, International Relations, and negotiation techniques at leading universities, including Sciences Po Paris and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Her commentary and analysis – published under her current name and previously under her maiden name, Corsini – have appeared in major European outlets such as France Culture, Le Grand Continent, Radio RAI, and Le Point.

Hanna holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge (Darwin College) and an MA in International Economic Policy (cum laude) from Sciences Po Paris. She is Austro-Italian, currently living in Paris, and fluent in German, Italian, French, and English.

Dr. Joachim Freiherr von der Goltz has gained a wide-ranging experience in the financial industry over his 25-year tenure in senior positions at leading investment banks, focusing on different sectors including Energy, Technology and Financial Services. He combines this skill set with a strong personal interest in geo-strategic and defence topics, as well as legal judgement, given his training as a lawyer. He managed 250+ transactions in the Equity Capital Markets, M&A and other financing areas, including several landmark IPOs and Capital Raisings for leading German and international corporations as well as Private Equity clients. As such, he was instrumental in developing and marketing successful equity stories to a global and diverse investor universe.

After eight years in Deutsche Bank’s Investment Banking Division, including a 2-year posting to New York, Joachim joined J.P. Morgan in London in 2006 to run the Firm’s Equity Capital Markets franchise in the German speaking region. He continued his career in similar roles at UBS and Credit Suisse International, where he acted as Senior Managing Director and Head of Northern European Equity Capital Markets. Over the last 12 years, Joachim was a member and Co-Chair of the respective firms’ European Equity Commitment Committees.

Joachim is a Commander of the Reserve in the German defence forces, having spent a number of years in active service with the German Navy. He is a member of the Atlantik-Brücke e.V. and the Baden-Badener Unternehmer Gespräche e.V.. Given his interest in defence studies he is involved in cross-border Think Tank networks.

Joachim is a qualified lawyer and studied German and European law at the Universities of Heidelberg, Lausanne and Freiburg. He holds a PhD in Corporate Law. During his time at London based Investment banks he was registered with and certified by the British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Ralf Brauksiepe joined BGA as a Senior Advisor after a long career in sciences, politics, and in the housing industry. He worked as a research assistant and as an assistant lecturer at the Ruhr University of Bochum with a focus on international economics and development policy before he was elected as a Member of Parliament of the German Bundestag in Bonn and Berlin from 1998 until 2018. During his long parliamentary career, Ralf worked as a Member of the committees for European Affairs, Development Policy, Foreign Affairs, and for Labour and Social Affairs, where he also served as the spokesperson of his party group.

From 2009 until 2018, he also worked as a Parliamentary State Secretary, at first in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and later in the Ministry of Defence. After his terms as a Parliamentary State Secretary, he worked as the Federal Government Commissioner for Patients’ Affairs. Ralf then left Parliament and joined the board of the Vivawest in Gelsenkirchen, one of the biggest companies in the housing industry in Germany, where he served as the labour director for five years.

Ralf holds a Diploma and a Doctor’s Degree in Economic Sciences from the Ruhr University of Bochum.

Sven is a Partner at BGA, advising clients on geopolitical scenarios, strategy development, risk analysis and management as well as compliance. He joins from GeoEconomica, a research firm dedicated to geoeconomic trend analysis. Sven held several management positions at the World Economic Forum in Geneva; covering geopolitical affairs, global risks and the mining and metals industry; the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut, covering the evolution of the global sovereign wealth fund industry; and the Bertelsmann Group on Applied Policy Research in Munich, advancing second-track operations between Middle Eastern and European governments.

Sven holds a PhD in International Relations and a Diploma in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Konstanz as well as a Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering from the International Compliance Association. He also studied at the London School of Economics and holds an advanced degree from the Arabic Language Institute in Damascus.

Professor Eberhard Sandschneider is a Partner at BGA. From 2003 to 2016, he was the Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, one of the leading European think tanks. He has held a chair in Chinese politics and international relations at the Freie Universität Berlin since 1998. Between 1995 and 1998, he was professor of international relations at the Johannes-Gutenberg Universität in Mainz. An author of numerous books he is a much sought after speaker on global risks and frequently appears in the media.

Eberhard Sandschneider’s books include Globale Rivalen: Chinas unheimlicher Aufstieg und die Ohnmacht des Westens (Global Rivals: China’s Uncanny Rise and the Helplessness of the West, 2008) and Der erfolgreiche Abstieg Europas: Heute Macht abgeben um morgen zu gewinnen (Europe’s Successful Descent: Giving Away Power Today in Order to Win Tomorrow, 2011).

He earned a PhD in Law and Economics from TU Darmstadt, Germany. Francesco is fluent in Italian, English, German and French.

Frederico Martin Ventura Wollny serves as a Senior Advisor to BGA and is an expert for Brazilian matters and affairs. He holds longstanding experience, knowledge and operative action in business build-up and business development, public relations work and facilitation of dealings. As a German-Brazilian acting with stakeholders and powerful networks in both countries, Frederico Martin is able to provide privileged information, valuable analyses and relationships pertinent to the German-Brazilian bilateral affairs.

Frederico Martin has studied Philosophy, Visual Arts & Design and Marketing & Communication in Brazil, and Foreign Trade in Hamburg, Germany. Thanks to his international course of life and background, he is fluent in German, Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Friedbert has worked in top-positions in politics, academia and business for more than three decades. From 1981 to 1989, he was a close aide to the governing mayor of Berlin—later Federal President –  Richard von Weizsäcker as speechwriter, chief of staff and press secretary. He was elected to the German Bundestag in 1990 (CDU/CSU), where he served for sixteen years. In 2005/06 he was Deputy Minister of Defense (Parlamentarischer Staatssekretär). From 2006 to 2011, he served as a Member of the Berlin House of Representatives, three years as Chair of the CDU parliamentary group. He was his party’s lead candidate for the State of Lower Saxony in the federal elections of 2002 and 2005. An accomplished author, Friedbert has published several books on foreign and energy policy as well as hundreds of articles on these topics. From 2009 to 2021, Friedbert was Visiting Professor at King’s College London and Director of the European Centre for Climate, Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS). In 2009 he founded Pflüger International GmbH, a strategic consultancy and in 2023 the non-profit Think Tank Clean Energy Forum (CEF). Since 2014, he also serves as a (non-resident) senior fellow of the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, Washington D.C.

Friedbert studied Politics, Constitutional Law, and Economics at the University of Bonn, the University of Göttingen, and Harvard University (under the auspices of Prof. Samuel Huntington), earning his doctorate in 1982 with a dissertation on American foreign policy. Friedbert has been a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford in the fall of 1989.

Germán Luis Buceta serves as an Advisor to BGA. Since 2012, he has been an independent political analyst and advisor in media, based in Hamburg and Madrid.

He started his professional career 27 years ago at Axel Springer and has worked in international media, holding executive and board positions at companies like Publigroupe, Havas and Burda. He works closely with BGA partners on numerous projects. His main areas of expertise include policy matters in Spain as well as media advisory in the Adtech ecosystem.

He holds a degree in Law by the University of Madrid. A native Spanish speaker, he is fluent in German, English and French.

Gunnar is an Ass. Partner at BGA and focuses on bridging European and US businesses with emerging markets.

Gunnar was Managing Director and Co-Head of HSBC Global Banking, Coverage and Client Management for EMEA. He joined HSBC from Barclays Capital, preceded by Credit Suisse, where he was a Managing Director working with European and closely held US clients. Gunnar has advised on cross-border mandates in the Middle East, Africa, India, Europe and the US.

Gunnar began his career with The Boston Consulting Group in Munich. In 1984, he joined First Boston Corporation in New York. In 1995 he rejoined First Boston Corporation in London (Credit Suisse) from Dillon, Read & Co. in New York

Gunnar holds a M.Sc. from the Stockholm School of Economics and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Ioannis A. Kofinis is a BGA Ass. Partner and the founder and Managing Partner of Rollerdeck Associates. He has enjoyed an extensive career in public service. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) in 2009. Before that, he served as the Head of Cabinet of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004-2007) and was Special Advisor to the Hellenic Parliament from 2002 to 2004.

Ioannis has also established a strong presence in the think-tank community. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Hellenic Centre for European Studies (EKEM), the Greek Foreign Ministry’s institute responsible for drafting policy proposals related to European policy issues. Prior to this, he was a Research Fellow at the International Center for Black Sea Studies, focusing on energy security issues.

He holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service from the Edmund A. Walsh School, Georgetown University and received his Bachelors degree from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens.

James has 30 years of finance/capital markets experience, establishing and running investment banking, ECM and fund management platforms in both the US and Europe. James started his career in London and moved to New York in the early 1980s.

After Merrill Lynch and Swiss Bank, James moved to Deutsche Bank as Head of Equity North America, board member of Deutsche Bank Securities and DB Global Equity Management and CEO of DB’s NYSE listed Funds family/US based asset management business. In 1997 James moved to Paris as CEO of Hambrecht and Quist Euromarkets and then co-founded Augusta and Co – a London/Frankfurt based merchant bank specialising in structured finance.

James is an Ass. Partner at The Principal Alliance (TPA), an adjunct Professor at IE Business School in Madrid and President of Factum Foundation.

Dr. Jan Boehm is a BGA Senior Advisor and Global Head of Government & Public Affairs at N26, the Mobile Bank, one of Europe’s highest valued and best funded FinTechs. Previously, Jan worked at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs, in London and Frankfurt. He started his career in capital markets/investment banking and moved later into government affairs. Jan has more than 20 years of relevant experience in the areas of financial institutions, capital markets, regulation, communications, and digital banking.

Jan studied business administration at WHU Koblenz (Otto-Beisheim-Hochschule), at the Graduate School of Industrial Administration of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and at ICADE in Madrid, and received a doctorate degree from RWTH Aachen. He is a member of Atlantik-Brücke e.V., Global Bridges e.V., an alumnus of Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, and the Aspen Institute. He is board member of the Economic Council (Wirtschaftsrat der CDU e.V.)/Leipzig Section.

Jan-Christian is an Analyst at Berlin Global Advisors. Before joining BGA, he worked at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and at the EU representation of the German states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein in Brussels. He managed political campaigns in Berlin, served as project manager for the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, and gained research experience on EU foreign policy and European populism at Kiel University. His work has been published by IFAIR and Diplomatisches Magazin, and he is an active member of DGAP, Polis180, and Regional Director for EU & Europe at IFAIR.

Jan-Christian studied Political Science, Law, and European Cultural Studies at Kiel University. He is currently pursuing a Master of International Affairs at the Hertie School in Berlin, with a concentration in European Governance. He is fluent in German and English and has basic knowledge of Spanish and French.

Joachim Bitterlich is a BGA Advisor and was Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to NATO and Spain. Before holding these roles, he was the Foreign and Security Policy Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, working primarily on European Integration Policy.

Entering the Federal Foreign Service in 1976, he also held posts in Algeria and Brussels. From 1993 to 1998 he was Head of the Chancellery’s department for Foreign, Security, and Development Policy. More recently, he was Executive Vice President International Affairs of Veolia Environment in Paris, where he was responsible for the German market.

He studied Law, Economics and Politics at the University of Saarbrücken, and was research assistant at the same university. He was also student at the French National School of Administration (ENA) in Paris (1974-75).

Julian is a Junior Consultant at Berlin Global Advisors. Prior to joining BGA, he gained valuable experience working in the public sector, first at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and later in the office of a Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag, where he facilitated and shaped political processes in Berlin. Julian has several years of experience in interacting with relevant political stakeholders and has developed in-depth expertise in the areas of energy and industrial policy while working at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the grid company 50Hertz Transmission GmbH. He speaks German and English fluently and has a good command of Spanish and French. He also has several years of NGO experience and currently serves as the German Country Representative to the Young Leaders in Energy and Sustainability.

Julian holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Free University of Berlin, where he specialized in sustainable development and political consulting. During this time, he joined the International Energy Transitions Master’s program at Sciences Po Paris for one year. Along his Bachelor’s degree in Economic Policy, he focused on environmental economics and European integration.

Ambassador Chrobog is a BGA Partner and a former State Secretary at the German Foreign Office and was Germany’s Ambassador to the United States. As State Secretary of the German Foreign Service​, he was directly responsible for Asia, Africa, the Near and Middle East and Latin America and dealt with Foreign Trade and Economic matters comprising Export Control and Export Guarantees.

His experience spans countries such as Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Tunisia and the Gulf States, where he consulted with leading politicians for many years. After his diplomatic career, Ambassador Chrobog served as Chairman of the BMW Foundations Herbert Quandt from 2013 to 2015 and was a board member of MAN Ferro Stahl. ​

Klaus-Peter Schmidt-Deguelle is a BGA Senior Advisor based in Berlin. Klaus-Peter brings in more than 15 years of experience as an independent Media, Politics, and PR Consultant. Prior in his function as Policy Advisor to the Federal Minister of Finance, he covered all international conferences, including G7, G8, G20, IMF, and World Bank meetings. After he had begun his career as a tv-journalist, he then was State Secretary at the Hessian state government and government spokesman between 1994-1999.

Klaus-Peter studied in Cologne and Freiburg, before he earned his diploma at the University of Marburg in Political Science, history and economics.

Yaël is a Director at BGA specializing in government affairs and public diplomacy. Prior to joining BGA she was a Senior Account Executive at Edelman, a global communications firm working in the field of corporate reputation and public affairs. In her previous capacity at Joschka Fischer & Company she focused on sustainability. She is a co-founder of Polis180 e.V., a grass-roots think-tank on foreign and EU politics in Berlin. Yaël has further gained experience at the European External Action Service in Brussels, working for a NGO in Warsaw and the Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin.

Yaël completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in International Relations with European Study from the University of Exeter in the UK. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin specializing in democratic development and governance.

Hans-W. Wiermann retired as a Lieutenant General from the German Army in 2022. He has been a Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors since April 2025.

In March 2023, the Secretary General of NATO appointed Lieutenant General (ret) Hans-W. Wiermann as Head of the Critical Undersea Infrastructure Coordination Cell in NATO’s International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. A position he held until March 2024.

As an active General, he served as the Director General of the NATO International Military Staff. His staff worked at the interface between NATO’s Strategic Commanders and Chiefs of Defence, preparing and negotiating military advice for the North Atlantic Council.

He led the work on transformative work strands, including the military input to NATO’s new strategic concept, the recognition of space as an operational domain, the Alliance’s digital transformation, and NATO’s response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Before being elected by NATO’s Chiefs of Defence as the Director General of the International Military Staff, he served as Germany’s Military Representative on the Military Committees of NATO and the European Union.

Hans-W. Wiermann holds a master’s degree (Diploma) in Electrical Engineering from the Federal Armed Forces University in Hamburg. He graduated from the German Armed Forces General Staff Academy in Hamburg and attended the British Army Staff College in Camberley.

Prior to joining BGA, Lorin was an Advisor for several Members of the German Bundestag covering EU and Foreign Affairs as well as Human Rights. He also gained his first working experience within the Fuels and Energy Trade Association (en2x) in Berlin where he mostly dealt with the promotion of hydrogen and e-fuels. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the German Romanian Forum in Berlin and organises public events and conferences with the scope of strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries and keeping internal developments in Romania and the region on the agenda in Berlin. He acquired first practical skills through internships at the German Embassy in the Republic of Moldova, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, East and Southeast Europe in Bulgaria, the European Parliament as well as the German Bundestag.

Magnus Alexander Wied is an Associated Partner of BGA for Public Policy and Industry Relations based in Frankfurt, Germany. Mr. Wied brings 15 years of business development, strategic communications and corporate innovation experience in a variety of industries. In the beginning of his career, Mr. Wied applied his legal & psychology study at law firms and government institutions, before pivoting to take on more media & public relations roles. In 2011, he left the specialty chemicals maker Huntsman Corporation, where he led the Global Communications and Public Affairs department and focused on the digital and tech sectors. Mr. Wied leads his company Magnus Associates, where he was involved in the setup and marketing of next47, the independent investment arm of Siemens.

Mr. Wied is a registered lawyer in Germany and holds an LL.M from Stellenbosch University, in Stellenbosch, South Africa. In addition to his native German, he is fluent in English and can communicate in French and Italian.

Marek serves as an Ass. Partner to BGA and is the Founding Partner of CEC Government Relations and specializes in designing and implementing strategic communications and lobbying campaigns for major US, UK and European multinationals in Poland, and advising on their political strategy in the Central European region as a whole. Although his experience stretches across most industrial sectors, he has a special expertise in defense, aviation and energy, and currently advises Lockheed Martin, and a number of other Western defense companies, in Poland.

Marek was born in the UK in 1962, and studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1984. He obtained a Master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies in 1987 and continued his studies at Oxford, reading for a doctoral dissertation.

Martin Wiesmann is Managing Partner at Berlin Global Advisors. He has 30 years of experience in the financial industry, having managed more than 100 M&A, equity and debt financing transactions. After 12 years in Deutsche Banks’ Investment Banking Division, in 2007 he joined J.P. Morgan as a Managing Director of its German Banking business. Martin was appointed Senior Country Officer for J.P. Morgan in Germany in 2014 and Vice Chairman Investment Banking Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2016, serving predominantly industrial clients, financial institutions and public sector clients in Germany and the European Union.

In 2020, Martin joined the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin as Senior Associate Fellow with a particular emphasis on Geo-economics and the European Monetary Union. In 2021 he co-founded the liberal Think Tank Denkfabrik R21, assuming roles as Program Director and Chairman of the advisory board.

Martin is a member of the Supervisory Board of LEG Immobilien SE, Düsseldorf, and member of Atlantik-Brücke e.V. as well as the Baden-Badener Unternehmer Gespräche e.V.. Martin pursues his cultural interests as member of the Boards of Trustees of Literaturhaus Frankfurt, Städel Museum and Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, and the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung in Darmstadt.

Martin Wiesmann holds a Certificate of Political Studies, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris („Sciences Po“), a Master of Arts in Political Science, Contemporary History and Constitutional Law of Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, and a Master of Business Administration of Joseph Katz School of Business, University of Pittsburgh.

Matthias serves as Senior Advisor to Berlin Global Advisors specialized in Health Care. He has more than 30 years of experience of the Life Science Industry and worked the last 20 years in different management positions with Sanofi where he was responsible for the european oncology business and lastly served as a member of the management team as Vice President Health Policy. He is an expert of the german health care system and joinded most recently as Executive Partner the consultancy „Die Brückenköpfe”.

After finishing his commercial apprenticeship Matthias Suermondt  studied human medicine at the Freie Universität Berlin. He is a member of the board of trustees at the NGO „Gesundes Afrika“

Melissa is a Working Student at Berlin Global Advisors. She completed her Bachelor in Political Science at the Technical University of Munich, where she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree with a focus on Political Economy. Prior to joining BGA as a Working Student, Melissa already completed an internship at BGA in the field of Government Affairs and gained further professional experience working in Public Sector Consulting at KPMG, as well as in a management consultancy firm specialized in the Public Sector.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the Technical University of Munich and is pursuing a Master of Science in Politics & Technology at TUM with a focus on Political Economy. She is currently spending a semester abroad at Bocconi University in Milan. Melissa has language proficiencies in German, English, Turkish, French and Italian.

Michael is a BGA partner with longstanding experience in macroeconomic and economic policy issues, especially with regard to the European Monetary Union. He advises investors and companies on strategic decisions against the background of German and European economic and monetary policy. Before joining BGA, Michael was Director General Communications at the Deutsche Bundesbank from 2011 to 2022. He advised Bundesbank Presidents Jens Weidmann and Joachim Nagel on strategic and communications issues and served as their spokesperson. Key challenges were the euro area sovereign debt crisis, the decisions on Quantitative Easing, the pandemic crisis, the start of the Ukraine war and the return of inflation. Prior to his eleven years at the Central Bank, Michael was a senior editor at ARD German television covering German and European politics and financial markets in Frankfurt and Berlin. As the network’s markets expert and anchor-man, he was responsible for the coverage of the global financial crisis.

Michael Best holds a degree in economics from the Saarland University. During his studies, he was inspired by the policy-oriented approach to economics of Olaf Sievert, then chairman of the German Council of Economic Experts. Along with economics, Michael studied political science and philosophy.

Michael H. Gerdts is an Advisor with BGA and previously served as the German Ambassador to Italy (2004 – 2007 and 2010 – 2012), to Poland (2007 – 2010), and to Kenya (1995 – 1999). He was the Private Secretary and Deputy Head of the Minister’s Office of then Foreign Ministers Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Klaus Kinkel from 1988 – 1992 and worked as the Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry from 1992 – 1995.

During his diplomatic career Michael Gerdts held positions at the U.N. Missions in Geneva and New York, and served as Deputy Head of the Department for Global Issues, the United Nations, Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid and as the Head of Department for Communication, Public Relations and Media of the German Foreign Office in Berlin.

Michael H. Gerdts studied Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne and at Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Norbert Baas serves as an Advisor to BGA. Until 2012, he was German Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, ASEAN, and East Timor. Prior to this, Norbert served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and Special Envoy for Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus at the German Foreign Office. In this capacity, he was Coordinator for the Group of Friends of the UN-SG for Georgia/Abkhazia.

Before, he served as Ambassador at Large for security issues. From 1995 to 1998, he was Ambassador in Georgia and Head of Division East-Central Europe; in a former position, he served as Private Secretary to State Ministers Möllemann and Schaefer at the Foreign Office. At an earlier stage, he worked in Moscow, Baghdad, and the German OECD Mission in Paris.

Norbert Baas studied economics at the TU Berlin and at the Johns Hopkins University in Bologna and received a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence.

Dr. Oliver Gnad is a BGA Senior Advisor and the co-founder and managing director of the „Bureau für Zeitgeschehen” (Bureau of Current Affairs), a Berlin-based think-and-do-tank specialized in strategic foresight and scenario planning.

He is a Senior Visiting Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and a Certified Senior Instructor of Globalytica Ltd, a Washington-based thought leader in building analytical cultures. He has also been an adjunct faculty member at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin since 2015, and a lecturer at the Chair of International Politics at the University of Regensburg since 2019. From 2008 to 2016, he was Director of GIZ AgenZ, an in-house consultancy of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). From 2003 to 2007, he was Director of International Programmes at the Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius ZEIT Foundation in Hamburg. Before joining the ZEIT Foundation, Oliver Gnad was a research assistant at the Chair of Contemporary History at the Goethe University Frankfurt and at the Chair of Political Science at the Ruhr University Bochum.

He holds a doctorate in contemporary history from the Goethe University in Frankfurt.

Parag Khanna serves as an Senior Advisor to BGA. He is a leading global strategist, world traveler, and best-selling author. Parag is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He is also the Managing Partner of Hybrid Reality, a boutique geostrategic advisory firm, and Co-Founder & CEO of Factotum, a leading content branding agency.

Parag’s latest book is Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017). He is author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). In 2008, Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.”

He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has traveled to more than 100 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

Peter-Alberto Behrens serves as an Senior Advisor to BGA and is a public affairs expert with a regional focus on Latin America. He was part of the German leadership team of one of the world’s leading PR agencies where he set up a dedicated practice specializing in advising emerging markets governments and companies in their market positioning in Germany. Prior to this, Peter Alberto headed the Latin American-wide regional program of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and was resident representative in Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. He began his career heading public affairs operations for the German parliament and the European Commission.

Peter-Alberto holds an M.A. in political sciences, history and Spanish studies from the Universities of Bonn and Mainz. He is an author of numerous articles and contributions in German and Spanish speaking media alike, dealing with politics, communication and the German-Latin American relationships.

Peter joined BGA as Senior Advisor in November 2023. He looks back at a multilateral and diplomatic career of 38 years, first in the United Nations and for the most part in Germany’s Foreign Service. Until his retirement he served as German Ambassador to Indonesia and to ASEAN. Previously, his career had a focus on European Affairs, with postings as Germany’s government spokesman in the Permanent Representation in Brussels, as Task Force manager for Germany’s 2007 EU presidency and as Director for EU Affairs. From 2014 to 2017, at the height of the sovereign debt crisis, he served as Germany’s Ambassador to Greece. In 2017, he was appointed Inspector-General of the German Foreign Office, a role in which he evaluated and advised German missions abroad, i.a. in Ukraine, South Africa, Argentina, Brasil and Brussels.

Peter holds a PhD in Political Science from Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg. Prior to his diplomatic career he taught as Assistant Professor at his home university.

Quirin is Consultant in Berlin. He previously served as a transport policy advisor in the German Bundestag under Parliamentary State Secretary Oliver Luksic, where he worked extensively on aviation, logistics, road transport policy, and alternative fuels — including leading the regulatory approval process for HVO 100, a landmark milestone in Germany’s sustainable fuels agenda. Before his parliamentary work, Quirin completed an IT-Administration apprenticeship at BMW in Munich, giving him a strong foundation at the intersection of technology and the automotive industry. He has further broadened his profile through a traineeship in the UK automotive supplier industry, adding hands-on international business experience to his policy expertise.

Quirin holds a Master of Science in Business Consulting & Digital Management from the University of Applied Sciences FOM Berlin. He completed his Bachelor of Science with focuses on Automotive & Mobility Management at the University of Applied Sciences Fresenius in Munich. He is currently pursuing an MBA at Whitecliffe University.

Prof. Dr. Rainer Lindner is an Advisor with BGA. Rainer is the CEO of the Heine + Beisswenger Group, a German Steel trade and processing company based in Fellbach. Before that he served as President and CEO Central & Eastern Europe / Middle East & Africa subregion of the Schaeffler Group. From 2008 until 2016 he was Managing Director and CEO of the Committee of Eastern European Economic Relations (Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft) and Head of Department at the Federation of German Industries (BDI). In eight successful years Rainer has developed an extraordinary network in politics and business in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He co-founded the International Conference “East Forum Berlin” and the Working Group “Eurasian Connectivity along the New Silk Road” together with the German Foreign Service and organized “Schaeffler Round Tables on Global Risks” at the Munich Security Conference in 2017 and 2019 (in cooperation with Atlantikbrücke).

Rainer holds an M.A. (1993) and PhD (1997) from Tübingen and Havard University which he completed with a book on Nation Building in Eastern Europe. After intensive studies in Ukraine and Russia Rainer received his habilitation (2005) with a book on Economic History in Eastern Europe at Konstanz University. Up to present Rainer is teaching history at the University of Konstanz. He has written and edited several books and numerous articles and interviews about Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Silk Road or Africa. Prof. Lindner also holds honorary positions as curator of the German-Russian Forum, as chairman of the German-Ukrainian Forum and Founder and Chairman of the “Minsk Forum”. In addition to various honors, he was awarded the Order of the State Banner of the Republic of Montenegro in 2013, the Order of a Honorary Ambassador of Ukraine in 2014 and a Honorary Charter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

Ralf Welt is a Managing Partner at BGA and the Founder of BGA’s government affairs partner firm Dicomm Advisors, a political consultancy. Ralf looks back at more than 25 years of experience in advising listed companies as well as political institutions, government bodies and a number of ministers on European, federal and state level. Before creating his own firm, he was Director of External Relations and member of the management committee of the Procter & Gamble Group in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Ralf has extensive expertise in public diplomacy, corporate lobbying, and crisis communication. He worked as a political advisor in the German Chancellery and Bundestag from 1987 to 1989, and served as personal aide to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Otto Count Lambsdorff during the German reunification. He also served as Chairman of the Government Relations Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V. (Amcham) for nearly 10 years.

Ralf Welt holds a Masters degree in Political Science, Constitutional and International Law and Economic and Social History from the Universities Mainz and Bonn and is a member of the German Association of Political Consultants (de’ge’pol), the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the Society of Friends of DIW Berlin, one of the leading economic research institutes in Germany.

Rhian relocated to Berlin and joined BGA in September 2023.  She had spent a decade travelling around the world with the German Foreign Office, with postings in Lithuania, Bolivia, Guatemala and Australia.

Prior to that, Rhian worked for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for over 15 years.  In London, she worked as the Head of Corporate Affairs and Chief of Staff to the Director General before moving to Washington DC to open the CBI’s first international office.  She spent a decade in DC, establishing a network of contacts, offices and policy positions to support CBI members worldwide, including in India, China and Europe.  She was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her work by Queen Elizabeth II.

Rhian has volunteered with political campaigns in both the UK and the US and has worked with organisations promoting women’s rights and political participation throughout her life.

Rhian holds an honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Christ Church, Oxford.  She speaks English, French and Spanish; her German is coming along nicely.

Sir Richard Barrons is a BGA Advisor and served as Commander Joint Forces Command, one of the six ‘Chiefs of Staff” leading the UK Armed Forces until April 2016. He was responsible for 23,000 people worldwide and a budget of £4.3Bn, delivering intelligence, Special
Forces, operational command and control, information systems and communications, logistics, medical support, and advanced education and training across the Armed Forces.

​His military career includes leadership from Captain to General on military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan – often as part of US-led coalitions.

Richard is an Advisor to BGA and the founder and Chief Executive of Burton Rands Associates. After more than a decade of supporting government-sponsored political and security sector initiatives in Africa he has evolved the business to its current specialization in Africa-focused political risk consulting, strategy development and advice for governments, companies, individuals and investors.

Richard is a strategic and policy development adviser with extensive experience throughout Africa. He provides analysis on politics, security and economics in sub-Saharan Africa to regional and international public and private sector actors. As an experienced mediator, Richard also advises on the development of political and security strategies to resolve disputes and facilitate political and economic processes. Richard continues to assist investors in Africa in the development of commercial strategies in high-risk environments.

A former managing director for a leading risk management consultancy and a regular military officer with elite forces, Richard has held multiple senior leadership and management appointments over a 30-year career. He is currently an adviser to a UK government department on African strategy development.

Robert has over 25 years of experience in the global financial sector. Robert was the CIO & Co-founder of Petrarca Capital, a global financial sector equity long / short hedge fund. Previously he was a partner at Paulson & Co. where he was the Head of the Global Banks team and worked for more than 20 years at leading international investment banks.

Prior to Paulson, he covered US Mortgage & Specialty Finance as a widely-respected sell-side equity research analyst at Banc of America Securities. He was the first sell-side analyst to downgrade companies to sell ratings on the basis of an impending mortgage credit crisis.

Previous to that, Robert was Head of Financial Strategy at Capital One, leading the team charged with ascertaining acquisition opportunities to aid the firm’s transformation to diversified consumer bank. He covered U.S. mid-cap banks at Lehman Brothers where he had also been the Head of Latin American Equity Research.

Prior to Lehman Brothers, Robert headed the Latin American Financial Institutions Equity Research Group at Bear Stearns as well as at Santander Securities. Before his time on the sell side, Robert worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia involved with the bank acquisitions in Latin America.

Robert holds an MBA from I.E.S.E. in Spain and a HBA from the Western University in Canada.

Rubén is Partner & Director of Public Affairs at NITID, where he leads a team of consultants who advise corporate and institutional clients on governmental relations and communications. NITID is BGA’s partner agency in Madrid. 

Rubén joined NITID in 2012. Since then, he has worked with clients in highly regulated sectors, including both multinational companies and business associations, supporting them in their legislative challenges, such as the European Tobacco Products Directive, the Audiovisual Media Services Law, and the Lasalle Intellectual Property Law.

Between 2007 and 2012, he worked as deputy director of Communication for the regional Health Department of the Community of Madrid, where he was responsible for media relations and strategic advice on communication and institutional relations. During this period, he was part of the team in charge of designing and executing the communication strategy for the inauguration of 11 public hospitals in the Community of Madrid, and he specialised in crisis management.

Prior to that, he worked as an advisor in the Cabinet of the regional Minister for Employment and Women of the Community of Madrid, and also as a journalist for the newspaper La Razón (among other media), writing in the international section. He holds a degree in Journalism from the Antonio de Nebrija University, a degree in Hispanic Philology from the University of Oviedo, and was a student of the first promotion of MAS Consulting’s Postgraduate Course in Electoral Campaign Management in 2006. He holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Marketing Management from ESADE and in Digital Business (MIB) from the Instituto Superior para el Desarrollo de Internet. He completed his education with MAS Consulting and Comillas ICADE’s Postgraduate Degree in Public Affairs Management (PDAP).

Rüdiger von Fritsch is a BGA Partner with 35 years of experience in diplomacy and government affairs. He served as Germany’s Ambassador to Russia for five years, retiring from Moscow in 2019. Prior to that he was Germany’s Ambassador to Poland for four years and Director General of the department for Economic Affairs in the Federal Foreign Office, being responsible for Foreign Trade, Export promotion & Control, Energy, Climate, Research & Technology. In that capacity he also served as Germany’s deputy G 8-Sherpa. During his career, he was a vice-president of the Federal Intelligence Agency (BND), Head of Policy Planning for the Federal President and Advisor on European Affairs in Germany’s representation to the EU (German Antici). In October 2020, von Fritsch published his new book ‘Russia´s Path’ with many reflections on his time as Germany´s Ambassador to Russia and on President Putin´s power plays.

Dr. Rudolf Georg Adam serves as an Advisor to BGA. He joined the Foreign Service in 1976. After working as a Second Secretary in Singapore and First Secretary in Beijing, he became a speechwriter for the Federal President Dr. Richard von Weizsäcker in Bonn, political counselor at the German Embassy in Moscow and then worked in the Planning Staff of the Federal Foreign Office in Bonn.

In 1995 he became Director for Global Disarmament and Arms Control at the Federal Foreign Office and in 1998 European Correspondent (Common Security and Foreign Policy of the EU). In 2001 he became Vice-President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). From 2004 to 2008 he was President of the Federal Academy for Security Policy. In 2008 he became Deputy Head of Mission in Moscow, and from 2011 he held the same position in London. He retired in 2014 after a year as Chargé d’Affaires at the German Embassy in London. He is currently an external lecturer at the Universität der Bundeswehr, Munich, and President of the CSASC. He has written two books on Brexit and contributes to Cicero, Süddeutsche and the FAZ.

He holds a BA, MA and D.Phil. in Modern History from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Rudolf W. Strohmeier is a BGA Senior Adviser, based in Bruxelles and Luxembourg. Rudolf – being a registered lawyer – is working as Of Councel for CBH Law Firm in Bruxelles/Cologne as well as consultant, specialized in EU affairs. He is a former Director General of the European Commission which he joined in 1985. During this time he served inter alia in the Private Offices of several Commissioners, including President Prodi, always with a focus on industrial and innovations issues. He started his professional career 1980 in the Bavarian Representation to the Federal Government in Bonn.

Rudolf studied law and economics in Würzburg and Bonn and holds a bachelor degree in economics and a PhD in law.

Sibylle Pflüger has worked in German politics and the energy sector for over two decades. While serving as a policy advisor and chief of staff in the German Bundestag, she managed the 2002 federal election campaign for the CDU’s lead candidate in Lower Saxony. For the past 18 years, her professional focus has been on the energy industry. From 2005 to 2011 she worked for one of the leading German energy companies, EnBW, where she specialized in executive-level events, corporate responsibility, sustainability, and strategic positioning. From 2011 to 2017, she headed the Berlin office of Central Europe Energy Partners (CEEP). Sibylle is managing Partner of Pflüger International and in 2023 co-founded the non-profit Think Tank Clean Energy Forum (CEF).

After studying Law in Dresden and Hannover, Sibylle obtained a Master’s degree in Communication and Advertising (BA) in Magdeburg.

Thomas Pütter is a BGA Advisor and serves as the Chairman & Chief Executive to the Ancora Finance Group, a financial advisory and management consulting firm. Between 1998 and 2010 he was Chairman/CEO of Allianz Capital Partners Group and Managing Director of Allianz Alternative Assets Holding GmbH and was co-responsible for Allianz Group’s alternative asset investment programme. Prior to joining Allianz, Thomas’ career spanned commercial and investment banking, including CFO at a privately owned financial services group and working in the investment banking and principal investment areas at Goldman Sachs.

Thomas is a member of the Commission on Growth and Innovation of the German CDU’s Economic Council and is a member of the Advisory Board of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. He is an active investor in the small to mid-cap space and holds a number of board and advisory positions.

Thomas has an M.A. (Oxon) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the Queen’s College, Oxford.

Werner Gatzer is a Senior Advisor at Berlin Global Advisors and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Deutsche Bahn AG, a position he has held since September 2022. With over three decades of experience in the German public financial administration, he has served in several high-level positions, including State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Finance from 2005 to 2017, and again from 2018 until the end of 2023, where he played a central role in shaping Germany’s fiscal policies and overseeing its public finances.

Werner’s extensive career in public service began in 1990 at the Ministry of Finance. In 2005, he was appointed Managing Director of the German Finance Agency (Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Finanzagentur GmbH). Prior to that, he served as Head of the Management Staff from 2002 to 2005 and Deputy Head of the Budget Department between 2000 and 2002.

In early 2018, Werner briefly transitioned to the private sector as Chairman of the Executive Board of DB Station & Service AG, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, before returning to the role of State Secretary. Earlier in his career, he also worked in regional financial administrations.

Werner Gatzer holds a degree in law from the University of Cologne, followed by a legal traineeship (Referendariat) between 1984 and 1987. His academic and professional background, combined with his decades of experience, position him as a leading expert in public finance and governance in Germany.