The 2014 German Speaking Chapter took place from 19-21 September in the beautiful city of Hamburg. Some 75 delegates attended the event at the Scandic Hamburg Emporio Hotel, a very modern venue located in the heart of the city.
The conference started on Friday evening with a welcome dinner and cocktails at the hotel restaurant during which Dr Karsten Bornholdt welcomed all the delegates on behalf of the host firm, Nörenberg • Schröder Rechtsanwälte Wirtschaftsprüfer Steuerberater Partnerschaft. After dinner, all the guests had an enjoyable time at the hotel bar.
Saturday morning featured the main conference programme with several presentations delivered by the keynote speakers. The day kicked off with all the delegates and speakers being welcomed by GGI’s Global CEO Mr. Michael Reiss von Filski and by Dr. Karsten Bornholdt, who announced the programme for the day. He proceeded to introduce the first speaker, Dr Christian Friege, who was most recently CEO of LichtBlick AG and currently works as an independent management consultant. He started his career in 1995 at Bertelsmann AG as Executive Assistant to the President and CEO in Guetersloh. Subsequently, he worked in marketing and business development at Doubleday Direct/Bookspan in New York before being appointed Chief Executive of the British Bertelsmann subsidiary Book Club Associates in 2000. In 2005, Dr Friege became a member of the Executive Board at debitel AG (telecommunication), where he was responsible for all customer-focused processes as Chief Customer Officer. Dr Friege studied business at Mannheim University and obtained a doctorate from the Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt. He has published numerous papers on customer management (most recently ’Kundenmanagement und Nachhaltigkeit’ in Marketing Review St. Gallen and in cooperation with academics from Europe and the US ’The Impact of New Media on Customer Relationships’ in the Journal of Service Research), also on direct sales and energy, where he is co-editor of a new book covering marketing strategies for renewable energies, which will be published by Springer in 2015. His contribution during the German Speaking Chapter in Hamburg addressed the topic of how the social media has changed the current marketing perspective, their influence, how they help to reach more customers and the benefits or disadvantages that can be derived from them. The presentation drew the conclusion that through social media, modern marketing exploits mostly gained from having customers market the brands directly.
The second speaker of the day was Oliver Biernat from Benefitax GmbH Steuerberatungsgesellschaft Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, who discussed the stumbling blocks in tax registration of companies owned by foreign investors. Mr. Biernat used his experience to clarify the procedures related to this kind of operation, the additional requirements, the consequences for investors and the position of the tax authorities, also stimulating an interactive discussion with the audience.
Following Oliver Biernat’s presentation, Dr Hariolf Wenzler (CEO of Bucerius Law School) took the floor and fronted a discussion on the market for lawyer and consulting services in times of disruption, explaining the issues related to the current status quo within the sector and possible solutions that firms could adopt in consideration of several examples from both Europe and North America. The offer coming from the law and consulting sector is undergoing a process which should see an increasing degree of sophistication emerge, which must be properly addressed, as must the threat of alternative providers, which should be taken into account in order to ensure success. From 1988 to 1993, Dr Wenzler studied economics and political science at the University of Hohenheim and the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg. Thereafter, Dr Wenzler completed a postgraduate internship at Roland Berger and Partner GmbH in Munich in the field of business management and business organisation. He then took up employment until his graduation as a research assistant and PhD student at the Department of Finance and Monetary Economics, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg. In 1994 he undertook a research post at the EU Commission in Brussels, where he worked in the General XX, financial control. In 1996 Dr. Wenzler gained his PhD with his dissertation, ‘Institutional economics and government audit – an analysis on the example of the European Union’. From then on, Dr Wenzler worked for the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, initially as a consultant, later being appointed Head of the Service, until 2004. From 1997 onward, Dr Wenzler was also a lecturer in accounting and accounting policy for a postgraduate course in business law at the University of Hamburg (until 2000) and a lecturer in European economic policy and political theory (in German and English) at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg (until 2002). In March 2004, Dr Wenzler was appointed Managing Director of Hamburg Marketing GmbH, where he worked until his move to the management of the Bucerius Law School.
The final speakers of the morning session were Mr Gert Schemmann and Mr Torsten Kühl from Schomerus Tax Consult GmbH. Their presentation addressed the topic of customs law, relating interesting stories and examples from their experience with the port of Hamburg.
After a lunch break at the hotel restaurant, Dr Manfred Schekulin from Prodinger & Partner St. Johann Steuerberatung GmbH & Co KG presented the next GGI German Speaking Chapter, which will take place in Salzburg (Austria) from 1820 September 2015, announcing the event’s preliminary programme and activities.
Following Dr Schekulin’s presentation, Mr Michael Reiss von Filski introduced this year’s upcoming Italian Business Summit, which will take place in Vatican City, Rome (Italy) from 14- 16 November 2014. The first Italian Business Summit took place in September 2013 in Rome with some 70 attendees.
The last contribution of the day was delivered by the event Host, Dr Karsten Bornholdt who talked about the lawyer as an organ of justice, focusing on specific features of the role, such as independence. Afterwards, all delegates were invited for a coffee break hosted by Nörenberg • Schröder in their office located right next to the hotel on the 18th floor of a very modern building. The venue provided a spectacular view of the city. After this relaxing break, delegates could enjoy a pleasant hour-long walk through the city led by local guides.
The conference came to an end on a high note with a dinner at the well-known Übersee-Club, a beautiful venue in the centre of Hamburg. The Übersee-Club was founded with the purpose of acting as a coalition of business and science for the successful unified policy of economic action for the reconstruction of the international economy. Another constitutional objective is the development of Hamburg’s traditional links to the markets of the world. All the delegates and accompanying persons enjoyed this elegant venue as the conference came to a successful end.
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