The corona crisis has called many things into question that we used to see as natural. With it, a completely new stage of development has begun, which we call the “Fragile Society”. We see it as our task to research and deduce the laws of this new stage of development, what development trends are associated with it and how they can be anticipated.
Our research work has direct practical relevance both in terms of methods and exploitation. In a way that has not been customary until now, we combine many years of national and international experience in the financial and business world with entrepreneurship and scientific methods. This is what the team of our two directors stands for.
We want to rethink the relationship between opportunity and risk. Crises will continue to occur in the future. Practice and research should provide impulses as to which opportunities arise from our actions and which crises we have to expect.
What good is the most interesting research if nobody understands and takes up the results. The books we have written so far, clearly show our abilities. The same applies to the large number of lectures we have given as keynote speakers, in training sessions and consulting for companies, administration, politics and individuals. Some of our books are bestsellers.
We investigate future developments in companies and industries and develop scenarios for practical application. Particular attention is paid to the consequences of the current crisis, ways to overcome it and the resulting opportunities.
We do not gloss over anything but we also do not dramatise unnecessarily. Especially in times of crisis, we provide scientifically proven basic information on the respective topic together with realistic scenarios of future developments, in which we emphasise the opportunities of the future!
We offer seminars and individual (process) consulting for direct exchange. The basis for both offers is our practical experience in the world of business and finance as well as the results from the futurology field.
Sharing knowledge is an important concern for us. For this purpose, we write specialised books and publish a newsletter on a regular basis. Furthermore, we offer opportunities for communication within our community.
Volker Heun was a bank manager in leading positions for many years and worked for Deutsche Bank AG in Germany and the USA, among others. As an entrepreneur he founded several companies, including CRYCO AG, which he still heads today.
As a proven financial and economic expert, he has gained experience in Germany, the USA and China and has published this experiences in several books and as a columnist and so-called opinion leader in numerous articles for the renowned MANAGER MAGAZINE.
He was also a lecturer at the ISM (International School of Management) in Frankfurt/Main.
Until 1991 he was a research assistant at the University of Halle. There he received his doctorate and habilitation in the field of general technology. He then worked as managing partner in the private isw Institute until 2018, where he led numerous studies and innovative implementation projects with hundreds of companies. At the same time, he taught adult education and professional development at the University of Chemnitz, where he underwent a re-habilitation and became an honorary professor for adult education. He has written well over 100 studies and articles as well as 5 monographs on topics such as adult learning, the working and living world of the future and generational transition. He is also a keynote speaker and executive trainer.
Karlheinz Brandenburg is known for his significant contribution to the invention, standardisation and marketing of the mp3 audio coding standard. Born in Erlangen, he studied and obtained his doctorate at the Department of Technical Electronics at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. He was head of department for audio and multimedia technologies at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits before moving to Ilmenau in 2000. There he built up the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technologies and researched and taught as a professor for electronic media technology at the TU Ilmenau. Since reaching retirement age, he has continued to be active in research and teaching at TU Ilmenau as a senior professor. His new main task, however, is to set up his own company, Brandenburg Labs GmbH, which deals with the audio technologies of the future.
Prof. Dr. paed.-habil. Dr.-Ing. Roland Schöne studied at the College of Civil Engineering and the University of Leipzig and has worked as an engineer and adult educator since 1970. At the University of Leipzig, he taught as a university lecturer in the field of higher education pedagogy, directed further education in higher education for teachers at Leipzig universities and the Centre for Theory and Methodology of Programming of Teaching and Learning Processes with international and national project partners. From 1993, he accepted the appointment to the first Saxon chair of adult education and continuing education at the TU Chemnitz. In addition to his teaching activities in adult education, he conducted interdisciplinary research in the fields of SME networks, youth development, production schools, creativity development, senior education and others in EU, federal and state projects at the Faculty of Humanities with up to 29 externally funded staff. At the same time, he founded the Senior Citizens’ College at the TU Chemnitz in 1993, which he still runs today with around 1000 participants per semester. At the same time, he developed innovative interdisciplinary continuing education programmes for business as director of the Institut für Bildung, Kultur und Organisationsentwicklung e.V. (Institute for Education, Culture and Organisational Development) and worked as a trainer for managers. His international activities with partners on 5 continents as well as his lecturing and publishing activities deserve special mention. At the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, he established the graduate college for international doctoral students after his retirement in 2006. In 2020, his work in the field of education was honoured with an entry in the Golden Book of the City of Chemnitz.
Sirkka Freigang holds a doctorate in educational science. Her focus is on the transdisciplinary topic of “Smart Learning Environments”, which is located at the interface between computer science, educational science and architecture. She has been exploring and designing innovative learning and working environments for over 20 years. Her goal is to transform traditional teaching and learning settings into learning experiences at the workplace. In order to turn frontal knowledge transfer into a learning experience, she designs learning journeys and uses modern technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things) and AR (Augmented Reality) through to 3D holograms and VR (Virtual Reality). As Head of Smart Learning & New Work Experience at Bosch.IO, she accompanies clients in the co-creation of innovative New Work concepts.
As the editor of a weblog, she shares her experiences about the Internet of Things and networked knowledge worlds: https://sirkkafreigang.com/
Since 02/2020 Head of Department at BWI GmbH, Bonn
– Management of a department for the coordination and acceleration of internal corporate development
– Operationalisation of the corporate strategy and further development of the business process model
10/2017 – 01/2020 Strategy expert at BWI GmbH, Bonn
– Conception of the corporate strategy and its implementation as well as communication towards executives and employees- consulting of the shareholder regarding the further development of his owner strategy
12/2013 – 12/2016 Consultant in the organisational unit Strategy/ Committees of Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt, Magdeburg
– Coordination and implementation of the strategic project “Scientific support of the state”.
– Consultation of and request from the responsible legal supervisory authority
03/2012 – 12/2013 Consultant with CPC Unternehmensmanagement AG, Frankfurt am Main
– Support in the conception/implementation of change management training
– Project management support (PMO) in the automotive sector
10/2011 – 02/2012 Stagiaire at the “Bureau of European Policy Advisors” (BEPA) of the European Commission, Brussels
– Analysis and preparation of policy papers and policy notes on “Economic Governance” of the EU
Silke Waterstraat is a lecturer in financial management at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. She holds a degree in Psychology (ABO), Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA) and a PhD in Business Administration (Accounting, Controlling). After many years in specialist and management roles in the finance and chemical industries, she is particularly concerned with practice-oriented issues in the areas of banking and corporate treasury, controlling and governance, and sustainability. She has been a member of various supervisory bodies since 2018.
Mr. Harald Patt is Managing Director at Fosun Group with a focus on wealth management and fintech. His responsibilities include scouting, investment and post-investment support. He is also CEO of the Fosun European Innovation Hub. This hub gives innovative technologies access to the Chinese market and Fosun’s ecosystem.
Previously, he was employed at Fintech Group AG and was in charge of Fintech Group Bank’s white-label banking, among other things, as a general representative. In 2007, he founded CeFDex Wertpapierhandelsbank AG and Panthera Capital AG, which he also headed as CEO until 2015. Due to his many years of work at Deutsche Börse AG/Eurex Group, he also has a deep understanding of regulated markets and exchange trading systems.
Eduard Prince of Anhalt is a historian, journalist and book author. After spending several years in Spain, he went to the USA and worked in public relations and advertising. He then returned to Germany and worked for Deutsche Bank and the trading house Klöckner & Co.
Eduard Prince of Anhalt is head of the Askanians, a 1000-year-old dynasty. His family lines reach, among others, to the English royal house and to Catherine the Great. He became known as a social journalist and columnist for numerous German magazines. He also presented television programmes for various broadcasters, reporting on the European high nobility in more than 70 features. Due to his diverse activities and contacts, Eduard Prince of Anhalt is excellently networked in business, politics and society.
Dr. Günther Würtele studied and obtained his doctorate at the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Mannheim. He began his career in 1983 at Arthur Andersen. There he was assistant, project manager, authorised signatory and finally managing director and partner. Since 1994 he has been a partner and managing partner of the WP Human Capital Group.
As Managing Director, his focus is on filling C-level positions. He also specialises in filling top management positions in companies undergoing restructuring or transactions.