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Ronald Bachmann is Head of the Competence Division ‘Labour Markets, Education, Population’ at RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and adjunct professor of labour market economics at the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. His research focuses on the effects of technological and ecological change on the labour market, the shortage of skilled workers and the evaluation of labour market measures and institutions.
Katharina Beck has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2021. She is deputy chair of the Finance Committee and spokesperson for financial policy for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the 20th parliamentary term. Katharina Beck previously worked as a business consultant for sustainability, founder and financial economist.
Julia Bläsius has been head of the Political Consulting Department at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung since 2021. Previously, she managed the FES offices in the South Caucasus, the FES regional project Belarus & Eastern Partnership and a GIZ regional fund in the Eastern Partnership countries. Her focus is on democracy development and social justice, especially in ex-Soviet countries. She studied political economy at the London School of Economics and language, economic and cultural area studies at the University of Passau.
Sebastian Dullien is Academic Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) at the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Düsseldorf and Professor of International Economics at HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences, Berlin.
Yasmin Fahimi is Chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation and Chairwoman of the Hans Böcker Foundation. Previously, she was General Secretary of the SPD, Permanent State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and a member of the German Bundestag.
Dina Frommert is a social scientist and has headed the Research and Development Department of the German Pension Insurance Association since 2023. Her work focuses on empirical social research and includes methodological issues as well as changes in employment histories and the coordination of the various pension systems.
Carmen Giovanazzi is a political economist and wrote her doctoral thesis on the German corporate model at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Previously she was a research assistant on financial policy at the German parliament, ran the office of an MP and was senior advisor on inequality at Forum New Economy. Her research interests include corporate governance, macroeconomics, comparative political economy and economic policy.
Robert Grundke is a Senior Economist at the Economics Department of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is currently heading the Country Desk for Germany and Latvia. Previously, he has worked on the Country Desks for Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Tunisia, India and Indonesia. Before joining the Economic Department, he worked in the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Directorate of the OECD investigating how globalisation and digitalisation affect the demand for different types of skills. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Munich (LMU) and a Diploma in Sociology, Economics and History of Technology from the Technical University (TU) of Dresden. His empirical research has focused on international trade, development economics, skills and labour markets.
Peter Haan is Professor of Empirical Economic Research at the Free University of Berlin and Head of the Government Department at DIW Berlin. In his research, he evaluates the effects of demographic change and social policy reforms - particularly pension reforms - and quantifies labour market effects and distributional impacts. He has also been a Member of the Social advisory council (Sozialbeirat) for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs as well as the Spokesperson of the DFG Research Unit Labor Scarcity and Skill Mismatch since 2024.
Susan Javad has been a Desk Officer for Labour, Qualification and Co-Determination in the Political Consulting Department at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung since 2022. Previously, she worked here on topics including migration/integration and gender/family policy and before that at UNESCO Paris on the topic of gender equality. She studied Arabic Studies with a focus on economic and social geography in Heidelberg, Aix-en-Provence and Leipzig as well as Development Studies at SOAS in London.
Katja Kipping is Managing Director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband and Head of Department for Social and European Policy. She was a member of the German Bundestag between 2005-2022 and chairwoman of the Left Party (together with Bernd Riexinger) between 2012 and 2021.
Anna Kolesnichenko is an Economic Policy Analyst at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS). She covers a wide spectrum of topics, with a focus on European fiscal and monetary policies and, more recently, industrial policy. She is also coordinating or contributing to multidisciplinary projects at the intersection of economy, democracy and international relations, such as the “Economic Democracy” project.
She started her career as an economist at the CASE think tank in Ukraine. Later she had short-term engagements in several international organizations and think tanks. From 2009 to 2020, Anna Kolesnichenko worked in different roles in the area of strategic analysis at UniCredit bank in Vienna.
Stefan Körzell started his professional career with an apprenticeship as a machinist at Rotenburger Metallwerke (RMW) in Rotenburg/Fulda. In 2002, Stefan Körzell was elected DGB Regional Chair for the Hesse region and Chair of the DGB District Hesse-Thuringia. He’s been a member of the Executive Committee since 2014, having been reappointed by the delegates at the 21st Ordinary Federal Congress in 2018.
Tom Krebs is Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Mannheim and a member of the Minimum Wage Commission. His research focuses on the impact of economic crises and transformation processes on growth, inequality and quality of life. After studying physics in Hamburg, he earned his doctorate in economics at Columbia University. Krebs served in an advisory capacity at the Federal Ministry of Finance from 2019 to 2020 and also advised the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Dr Jörg Kukies took office as Federal Minister of Finance on 7 November 2024. He previously worked in the Federal Chancellery as State Secretary between 2021 and 2024. He was also Co-Chairman of Goldman Sachs AG between 2014 and 2018 and managed the Frankfurt branch of Goldman Sachs International.
Enrico Letta was Italy’s Prime Minister from 2013 to 2014 and led the Italian Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023. His political career began in 1998 after working in academia. He served as Minister of European Affairs in 1998, Minister of Industry from 1999 to 2001, and was a Member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. In 2014, he became dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po Paris.
Currently, he is President of the Institut Jacques Delors and a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. In September 2023, he was commissioned by the European institutions to prepare a High-Level Report on the future of the Single Market.
Martyna Linartas is a political scientist who teaches at Freie Universität Berlin and the Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung in Koblenz. She is a postdoctoral researcher studying the (re)production of wealth in Germany, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. In 2022, she co-founded the knowledge platform ungleichheit.info, which she has led ever since. Her book, "Unearned Inequality: How to Break Free from the Heirs’ Society," will be published by Rowohlt on April 15, 2025.
Eliza Lis is Adviser in Prices and Costs in the Directorate General Economics at the European Central Bank. Before joining the ECB, she worked as an Economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. She holds a PhD in Economics from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Koblenz) and a Diploma in Economics from the University of Maastricht. Her research focuses on macroeconomic drivers of price and wage inflation, as well as the impact of climate change on inflation.
Kathrin Michel (SPD) has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2021, representing the constituencies of Bautzen I and Görlitz. Originally from Lusatia, she worked for many years at BASF Schwarzheide and was actively involved in the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IGBCE), first as a trustee and later as a member of the personnel committee. Since 2021 she has been chairwoman of the SPD district of Bautzen and co-chairwoman of the SPD in Saxony. In the Bundestag, her work has focused mainly on budgetary and social issues.
Carl Mühlbach is the founder and chairman of the non-profit association FiscalFuture, which campaigns in the interest of young people by demanding sustainable fiscal policy. Previously, he studied economics in Heidelberg and Cambridge and worked at the Federal Ministry of Finance. He was named one of the top 40 under 40 by Capital magazine in 2023.
Katja Müller is a top-level executive. She is a driving force for transformation and sustainability in the energy sector. As an experienced change manager, she is accustomed to developing and implementing commercially successful structures, always with a focus on people. In addition to her strong strategic focus, she also has a strong operational background. Having held a variety of roles and responsibilities both nationally and internationally, she is at home in many disciplines, particularly in the areas of HR, organisation and processes. She is passionate about diversity, tolerance and open-mindedness, both within organisations and in interpersonal relationships.
Markus Müller holds a degree in political science (Universities of Marburg, Prague and Hamburg) and has been Head of the Department for Basic Aspects Related to Securing the Supply of Labour and Skills Development at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs since 2016. Prior to this, he was a research assistant to a member of the German Bundestag from 2004 to 2008 and worked as a consultant in various units of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from 2008 to 2016.
Marie-Christine Ostermann has been President of the Association DIE FAMILIENUNTERNEHMER since April 2023. She is the managing partner of the wholesale company Rullko Großeinkauf GmbH & Co. KG in Hamm, where she has been managing the fourth generation of the family business since 2006. She has been and still is a member of the supervisory board of various companies, including the optical chain Fielmann AG. She also founded the non-profit initiative Startup Teens, which teaches young people to think and act entrepreneurially. From 2009 to 2012, Marie-Christine Ostermann was National Chairwoman of DIE JUNGEN UNTERNEHMER.
Maike Rademaker is a moderator and freelance journalist and writes for Die Zeit, among others. She was previously an editor at the Financial Times Germany for twelve years. From 2014 to 2018, she was also Head of Public Relations at the German Trade Union Confederation.
Maria João Rodrigues is the President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and former Portuguese minister of Prime Minister Antonio Guterres. Maria João Rodrigues is a European politician with a long track in all European institutions: EU Presidencies, Council, European Council, European Commission and, more recently, European Parliament. She played a relevant role is several big European initiatives: the EU growth and jobs strategy, the Lisbon Treaty, the Eurozone reform, the European Social Pillar, the interface with EU external strategic partners and the Roadmap for EU’s future. Recently, she was Vice-President of S&D Group in the European Parliament. As an academic, she is full professor and was the Chair of the European Commission Board for socio-economic research. She is also a member of the Club of Rome.
Michael Schrodi has been a member of the German Bundestag since September 2017 and is the SPD parliamentary group’s financial policy spokesperson and a member of the Finance Committee. His main areas of focus include socially just and ecological finance and tax policy, as well as modern industrial policy.
Dr Helene Schuberth, Chief Economist, Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB), Vienna.
Martin Schulz has been Chairman of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. since 14 December 2020 and is a former MP . He has served as SPD Federal Chair, the party’s chancellor candidate and a long-serving member of the European Parliament, which he presided over for two terms from 2012 to 2017. Martin Schulz holds the Charlemagne Prize for his significant contributions to strengthening both the EU Parliament and democratic legitimacy in the Union.
Philippa Sigl-Glöckner is the founder and director of Dezernat Zukunft. She primarily deals with fiscal and monetary policy issues. Previously, Philippa worked at the Federal Ministry of Finance, among others. Philippa holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University and an MSc in Computer Science from Imperial College, London.
Philipp Stachelsky is the editor of Makronom, which he founded in 2015. He previously worked as a freelancer for various daily newspapers and magazines and completed a traineeship at Springer Wissenschaftsverlag.
Achim Truger is Professor of Socioeconomics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, member of the German Council of Economic Experts, and Senior Research Fellow at the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK) within the Hans-Böckler-Foundation, Düsseldorf.
Jens Tönnesmann has worked as an editor in the business section of the weekly newspaper “Die ZEIT” since 2015 and has been editor-in-chief for its magazine “ZEIT für Unternehmer” there since 2019. He is also co-host of the ZEIT and ZEIT Online economics podcast “Is this a bubble?”, which deals with current developments in the business world and economic issues.
Before Jens Tönnesmann joined ZEIT, he worked as a freelance journalist – for example for “WirtschaftsWoche” and the business magazine “brand eins”. In addition, from 2010 to 2015, he chaired the editorial teaching office and the digitisation projects of the Cologne School of Journalism for Politics and Business. The 43-year-old studied economics and politics in Cologne and Vancouver.
Dr Tanja Utescher-Dabitz is Head of Department for Business Administration, Taxes and Digitalisation at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW). After completing her studies and doctorate at the Free University of Berlin, the business graduate and tax consultant worked for several years in consulting at Ernst & Young. At BDEW, she is responsible for business management issues and the digital transformation of the energy and water sector, among other things, and regularly publishes studies on topics such as artificial intelligence and new business models. Most recently, she led the ‘Capital for the energy transition’ project and published the concept paper ‘The EWF option’ on financing the energy transition together with VKU and Deloitte.
Jens van ’t Klooster is Assistant Professor of Political Economy at the University of Amsterdam. His research focuses on the governance of financial markets, with a specific focus on how climate change and new economic challenges are reshaping the role of central bankers and banking supervisors. He has put forward policy proposals for greening central bank credit operations (“green TLTROs”), a more prominent role for so-called secondary mandates to support broader economic policies of the government, and new ways of governing inflation. He has most recently published ‘Rethinking Currency Internationalisation: Offshore Money Creation and the EU’s Monetary Governance’ (2025 OBFA-TRANSFORM Working Paper; with Steffen Murau). Further information
Manuel von Mettenheim serves as a policy analyst within the Directorate-General for Energy at the European Commission. He is part of the Chief Economist Modelling Team, where he focuses on conducting short-term market analyses and developing long-term projections for the EU energy system. Prior to his time at the European Commission, Manuel worked as a consultant specializing in energy economic issues, with a regional emphasis on Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.
Frank Werneke is Chairman of the United Services Union (ver.di) and was confirmed in office in 2023. His trade union involvement began in the 1980s in IG Druck und Papier. He later took on leading roles in IG Medien and has been a member of the ver.di Federal Executive Board since 2001, including 17 years as Deputy Chairman. He focuses on financial and organisational issues as well as collective bargaining. Werneke is a member of the SPD.
Dr Monika Wünnemann has headed the Tax and Financial Policy Department of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) since 2018.
She is a board member of the Institute ‘Finance and Taxation’ (Ifst) and has been Secretary General of the ‘German Association for International Tax Law’ (IFA) since 2023. In addition to many years of experience as a lecturer, she is the author of numerous specialist publications.
