Speakers

Hans-Dieter Heumann, Minister and Political Department Head, German Embassy Washington

Hans-Dieter Heumann is Minister and Head of the Political Department at the German Embassy in Washington, DC. His posts included Director of NATO Policy Planning at the German Defence Ministry, Director of Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs at the Foreign Office and other posts in Moscow, Bonn, Washington, New York and at the United Nations. Dr. Heumann received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Bonn and studied Political Science and Music at the universities of Bonn, Berlin and Cologne.

Karl Kaiser, Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University

Karl Kaiser is Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School and the Ralph I. Straus Fellow, in a joint appointment with the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He was educated at the Universities of Cologne, Grenoble and Oxford and taught at the Universities of Bonn, Johns Hopkins (Bologna), Saarbruecken, Cologne, the Hebrew University, and the Departments of Government and Social Studies of Harvard.

He was a Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Bonn/Berlin and an advisor to Chancellors Brandt and Schmidt. He serves on the Board of Foreign Policy, Internationale Politik, the Asian-Pacific Review, the Advisory Board of the American-Jewish Committee, Berlin, and the Board of the Federal Academy of Security Policy, Berlin.

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Ambassador John C. Kornblum, Chairman of Lazard & Co, Germany; Former US Ambassador to Germany

Ambassador Kornblum is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied German and Political Science. He joined the US Foreign Service in 1964. Ambassador Kornblum was appointed Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs in June 1994 and served in this capacity until his nomination to be Assistant Secretary in February of 1996. During his service in the European Bureau Ambassador Kornblum was one of the architects of the Dayton Peace Agreement and played a central role in conceiving the Administration's strategy for a new security structure in Europe. Between 1997 and 2001, Ambassador Kornblum served as U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. For his service, Ambassador Kornblum received the Department of State's Secretary Award in 1996 and the Commander's Cross of the German Federal Republic.

Since the end of his service as US Ambassador to Germany, he has acted as Chairman of Lazard & Co. Germany and serves on the supervisory board of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG and Bayer AG.

Charles S. Maier, Professor of History, Harvard University

Charles S. Maier is the Leverett Saltonstall Professor of History at Harvad University. He served as Director of the Center for European Studies, and as Chair of the Harvard Undergraduate Social Studies Program. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991, and awarded the Commander's Cross of the German Federal Republic (Grosse Bundesverdienstkreuz) in 1999 and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Professor Maier studied in Harvard and Oxford and has taught at the University of Bielefeld, Duke University and Harvard University. Maier is currently working on a world history of the twentieth century, the rise and decline of territoriality and on the history of the modern state (with William Kirby and Sugata Bose), his latest book Among Empires was published in 2006.

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Annette Heuser, Executive Director, Bertelsmann Foundation

Omid Nouripour, Member of the German Federal Parliament (Green Party)

Omid Nouripour was born in Teheran, Iran in 1975. In 1988, he immigrated to Germany. In 2002, Mr Nouripour became a German citizen and was elected to the German Federal Parliament in 2006 as the first Member of Parliament of Iranian descent, taking the vacated seat of former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

In the German Federal Parliament, Mr Nouripour is a member of the Committee on European Affairs, and a deputy member of the Budgetary Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Mr Nouripour has written widely on migration and is the speaker of the Green Party for migratory affairs and refugees.

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Irene Dische, American Author ("The Empress of Weehawken"), Berlin / New York

Irene Dische was born in 1952 in New York to a family of Viennese Jews. Following two years in Africa, Mrs. Dische studied anthropology, German history and literature at Harvard University. She moved to Berlin, Germany in 1980 and her first collection of short stories was published in 1989. Her first book Pious Secrets (1991) was translated into fifteen languages. Her novel The Empress of Weehawken (in German: "Grossmama packt aus") tells the story of Mrs. Dische's fictionalized grandmother in a funny and thought-provoking exploration of immigration, honor and identity. It was a major success in Germany and was published in English in 2007 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), winning critical acclaim amongst others from the Boston Globe. Irene Dische's work has appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, and her books, published in twenty-two countries, have included international bestsellers.

Jonathan Laurence, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boston College

Jonathan Laurence is an assistant professor of Political Science at Boston College, where he teaches courses on European politics and state-religion relations in modern Europe. He is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution (Washington, DC).

Laurence received a Ph.D.(2006) and M.A.(2003) from Harvard University's department of government, a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Cornell University (1998), and a Certificat d'Etudes Politiques from Sciences Po - Paris (1997). His research interests include comparative European politics, Islam in Europe, anti-Semitism, post-war Jewish communities, and the politics of immigrant integration in Europe. Laurence is currently at work on a book about religious accommodation and political integration in modern Europe. His first book, Integrating Islam (co-authored with Justin Vaisse), was published by Brookings Press (2006) and in French translation by Odile Jacob (2007).

Gayle Tufts, American Comedian living in Berlin, Germany

Gayle Tufts is an entertainer—a writer, singer and consummate performer whose career has spanned two continents, at least two languages and several artistic genres.

Gayle Tufts was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1960. After studying acting, voice and dance at NYU's Experimental Theater Wing, she lived and worked in New York City for 13 years, working with a wide variety of internationally acclaimed artists such as choreographer Yoshiko Chuma, directors Anne Bogart and David Gordon, playwrights Nicky Silver and Ain Gordon and composer Phillip Glass.

Tufts visited Germany for the very first time in 1984, on tour with Yoshiko Chuma and The School Of Hard Knocks. In 1990, Tufts relocated to Berlin to work with the Tanzfabrik dance company where she where she performed and taught for five years. She also toured as a back-up singer for punk poet Max Goldt and Foyer des Arts. Over the last 15 years Tufts has established herself in Germany as a renowned singer, songwriter, columnist and stand-up comedian. She has written and produced her own sold-out shows as well as appearing on nationwide television and radio programs. She has broken through the language barrier by presenting her work in "Dinglish" a comical mix of German and English.

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Almut Wieland-Karimi, Executive Director, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Almut Wieland-Karimi joined the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) Washington in 2006 as the Representative to the U.S. and Canada. Between 2002 and 2005, she served as Director of the FES in Kabul, Afghanistan. Prior to that, she served in Berlin and Bonn as a Desk Officer in the FES Middle East department and the Asia department following one year as a project assistant in the FES Office in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Focusing on the political role of religious leaders in the Afghanistan conflict she received her Ph.D. from the Humboldt University Berlin in 1997. From 1995 to 1996 she worked as a research associate at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin. She studied Middle Eastern and Oriental Studies in Bonn and Cairo and graduated from the University of Bonn in 1992 after writing her thesis on popular Islam and religious movements in Egypt.

Ambassador John C. Kornblum, Chairman of Lazard & Co, Germany; Former US Ambassador to Germany

Ambassador Kornblum is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied German and Political Science. He joined the US Foreign Service in 1964. Ambassador Kornblum was appointed Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs in June 1994 and served in this capacity until his nomination to be Assistant Secretary in February of 1996. During his service in the European Bureau Ambassador Kornblum was one of the architects of the Dayton Peace Agreement and played a central role in conceiving the Administration's strategy for a new security structure in Europe. Between 1997 and 2001, Ambassador Kornblum served as U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. For his service, Ambassador Kornblum received the Department of State's Secretary Award in 1996 and the Commander's Cross of the German Federal Republic.

Since the end of his service as US Ambassador to Germany, he has acted as Chairman of Lazard & Co. Germany and serves on the supervisory board of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG and Bayer AG.

Ulf Markus Schneider, President and CEO, Fresenius SE

Ulf M. ("Mark") Schneider, 42, is the President and CEO of Fresenius SE. He joined Fresenius in November 2001 and served as Chief Financial Officer of Fresenius Medical Care before assuming his current position in May, 2003. Previously, he was Group Finance Director for Gehe UK plc., a pharmaceutical wholesale and retail distributor, in Coventry, England. Mark Schneider holds a Lic. oec. degree in Finance and Accounting, a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of St. Gallen and an MBA from Harvard University. Born and raised in Germany, he became an American citizen in 2003.

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Jan-Patrick Schmitz, CEO Montblanc North America, LLC

Jan-Patrick Schmitz, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Montblanc North America since 2003.

Mr. Schmitz joined Montblanc in 1994. He was appointed a Director of the International Executive Committee in 2002. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Montblanc Japan, where he led the Montblanc subsidiary to six impressive years of growth. Mr. Schmitz holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Southern Illinois University and is a Member of Beta Gamma Sigma. His Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) is from the International Business School in Lippstadt, Germany. He serves on the Board of Directors of "Jewelers for Children" as well as other non-profit organizations. He resides in New Jersey with his wife Nathalie and their three children.

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Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President, and CEO, AGCO Corporation

Martin Richenhagen was selected by the Board of Directors in March 2004 as President and Chief Executive Officer of AGCO Corporation. He was appointed to Chairman of the Board on August 15, 2006, and continues serves on the Executive Committee and the Succession Planning Committee.

In the course of two decades, Mr. Richenhagen's career has covered a wide array of executive positions and managing directorships with responsibility for sales, marketing, human resources management, acquisitions, joint ventures, logistics, materials purchase, inventory management and competitor intelligence at a variety of American, German and Swiss companies such as Forbo International SA, CLAAS KgaA mbH, Schindler Holding GmbH and Phelps Dodge.

Mr Richenhagen is a graduate of the University of Bonn, Germany.

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Arthur A. Daemmrich, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Arthur Daemmrich is an assistant professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit and a member of the interdisciplinary HBS Healthcare Initiative. His work examines the regulation of science-based industries, with a particular emphasis on comparative risk analysis and the interplay of changing scientific knowledge with business practices in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors.

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