Since 2001, Andreas Back has been heading the quality and environmental management divi-sion of the Bornheim/Landau-based home-improvement chain Hornbach Baumarkt Plc. Since joining the company in 1995, Mr. Back has held positions in various areas, including in Operations and Logistics.

Since 2011, Mr. Back has been engaged as an honorary representative of the pan-German retail sector on the board of the National Register for Waste Electric Equipment (Stiftung ear). Since 2008, he has also been active as honorary spokesman for the working group Environment & CSR of the trade association DIY, Building and Garden (BHB). Between 2005 and 2009 Mr. Back was a management board member of the Economic Chamber of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Working Group Germany.

Volker Adams has been working at the German Travel Association (DRV) for four years. As the Head of Politics/Foreign Tourism, he is responsible for representing the interests of the travel industry vis-à-vis the German Bundestag and the European institutions as well as the industries-relevant stakeholders in third countries. Previously, Mr. Adams worked as a parlia-mentary group consultant in the German Bundestag for several years. He studied sociology in Bielefeld and optained an MBA in Public Affairs & Leadership in Berlin. 

Since January 2019, Orlando Baquero has been Managing Director of the Lateinamerika Verein e.V. (Business Association for Latin America / LAV). LAV is the cross-industry corporate network and information platform for the German economy with interests in Latin America. LAV supports companies across industries in establishing and expanding their business activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, LAV promotes economic, political and social relations between Germany and the countries of the region.

After completing his studies at the University of Hamburg, his professional career as a business graduate took him to various companies in the food and pharmaceutical industry as well as agricultural product trade in several Latin American countries and Germany.

Ulf Bohlmann, who graduated in business administration, is the owner and managing director of the family-owned company H. Julius Bohlmann e.K which represents foreign Germany-based firms in the natural primary products sector. 

Dr. Brügger has been managing director of the Fruit Trade Association since 1997. Holding a doctorate in agricultural economy, he worked as a scientific assistant for various members of German parliament for six years.
As an expert in wholesale and foreign trade in the agricultural sector, he is a member of different committees advising the federal government or the EU Commission. At the invitation of states, he also provides his expertise on trade missions abroad.
Dr. Brügger is a board member of the European umbrella organisation Freshfel Europe and head of the Food Safety and Sustainability committee. As lecturer in the Freshness Seminar of the DFHV, he also teaches on all subjects related to Europe and foreign trade.

Udo Bürk, an export merchant with a master’s degree in management from the Solvay Business School (Brussels), has been involved in different functions as a consultant for the production, export and import of bio-foods from South America, Africa, Asia as well as in intra-European trade since 1995, among others for the leading European importer Biotropic from Duisburg.
Prior to this position, he worked in the international construction steelwork product trade. Mr. Bürk supports exporters and importers in the fields of business development, project management, quality assurance, mediation in trade, personnel and administrative conflicts as well as the design and implementation of PPPs (Private Public Partnerships) in the agricultural sector in developing countries. He has also been trained and accredited as a business mediator in Brussels and specialises in solving intercultural/international conflicts. 

Since 1980 Stefan W. Dircks has been active in international trade with now 22 years as CEO of Terramar GmbH in Hamburg. Terrarmar GmbH exports machines, vehicles and spare parts especially to the Middle East and to Southeast Asia.

Lutz Düshop, a certified lawyer since 1989, is a member of the management board of the Association of Wholesale, Import and Export Trade Hamburg (WGA), where he heads several foreign trade-oriented, German, and European industry associations which are under the WGA roof. 

Mr. Düshop is also managing director of the Drug and Chemicals Association (VDC), which counts among its members numerous import companies as well as processing enterprises of vegetable raw materials and essential oils that supply important manufacturing industries in the foods/dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics sectors. His main responsibilities include expert support and business consulting for member companies as well as representation of the sector’s interests in administrations, ministries, and EU committees. Previously, Mr. Düshop was active as a short-term expert in various third countries where he familiarised local companies with the EU legal and quality market access requirements. 

Dr. Torben Erbrath has been Managing Director of the Chocolate, Chocolate Products and Cocoa Division of the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) since 2009 and is also responsible for the areas of sustainability and raw materials. He represents the interests of the German chocolate industry in various organisations, including the board of the association Forum Nachhaltiger Kakao e.V. He received his doctorate in law for his research in the field of environmental management, the European EMAS regulation and the ISO 140001 standard.

Antonin Finkelnburg ist seit Oktober 2021 Hauptgeschäftsführer des Bundesverband Großhandel, Außenhandel und Dienstleistungen (BGA). Zuvor war er seit 2010 beim Arbeitgeberverband Gesamtmetall tätig. Dort leitete er zunächst die Abteilung für Grundsatzfragen und wurde 2013 Leiter für Politik und Kampagnen. Zudem war Finkelnburg in der Partei- und Verbandsarbeit, wie auch der Privatwirtschaft tätig. Sein Studium in Geschichte/Nordamerikastudien an der Freien Universität Berlin schloss er - nach einer dreijährigen Unterbrechung in den USA, bei der er einen Master of Arts (History) an der New York University absolvierte – 1999 mit Magister Artium ab.

Susanne Friedrich has been Head of the Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE) since July 2024. She has been working in various projects of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for 15 years, most recently as Head of the Global Project Quality Infrastructure, and previously as Head of the Alliance for Integrity.

Susanne Friedrich began her professional career at the Chilean export promotion agency ProChile. She later worked as a consultant for public-private partnerships in development cooperation.

Jeanette Gonnermann took over the Waren-Verein’s managing director position in September 2021, having worked at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce the previous nine years. She is a fully qualified lawyer and has several years of experience as managing director. As a proven trade expert, she also has an international background. Gonnermann’s network spans the worlds of business, politics and administration.

The Waren-Verein der Hamburger Börse e.V. represents the interests of importers of dried fruit, spices, nuts, canned fruit, vegetables and fish, frozen fruit, vegetable and fish products as well as organic products as a federal association of wholesale and foreign trade. The association currently has 133 member companies.

Bassant Helmi, CEO Global Project Partners and Secretary General of the Women in Business Network (WiB), is an expert with 30 years of professional experience in the development, management and implementation of business and development projects in the MENA region, Africa and Germany.

She started her career in Egypt in 1994 as head of the economic department of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Egypt). In 2001, she founded the non-profit organisation Global Project Partners e.V. and has headed it ever since.

In 2003, she initiated the cooperation between the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs and the women's business associations in the MENA region. This collaboration led to the founding of the Women in Business Network in 2016, which represents more than 4,000 female entrepreneurs across the EMEA region.

Kirsten Hungermann is Head of the Development Cooperation & Public Procurement Department at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI).

Since 2012, attorney Christoph Kannengiesser has been managing director of the German-African business association. For the last two decades, he has held high-responsibility positions in business associations and foundations, such as the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHT, Head of the President's Office) and the Confederation of German Employers‘ Associations (BDA, Director of the Labour Market Department), as Vice-General Secretary of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation (KAS) as well as Managing Director of the Markenverband. Mr. Kannengießer has also filled voluntary positions on the board of trustees of the Foundation for UN-Refugee Relief, the steering committee of the Society for Supranational Cooperation and boards of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation.

Andrea Kirchhoff has been Managing Director of the Association of the German Flower Wholesale and Import Trade (BGI e.V.) since 2024. Previously, she was Managing Director of BGI Service UG, where she was responsible for event and trade fair organisation and was in close contact with producer organisations in many flower and plant-producing countries. 

BGI e.V. represents around 100 small and medium-sized members who generate around 80% of wholesale sales of flowers and plants in Germany. The association represents the political interests of wholesalers, exporters and importers of flowers and plants and acts as a network for its members. In close cooperation with other associations within and outside the green sector, the BGI sees itself as a plat-form and foundation for the sustainable and future-proof development of its members.

Olivier Kölsch read International Economics at the Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen. Since 2008 he has been working as an expert for the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE) in Berlin where he is responsible for the foreign trade, markets, trade fairs and, since 2017, for the topics raw materials and supply chain management.

In this function, Mr. Kölsch is in regular contact with various federal ministries and foreign embassies. In addition, he is an advocate for the German nutrition industry vis-a-vis the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), to which he also provides consulting services on German export promotion activities. At the BVE, Olivier Kölsch is also responsible for the food-away-from-home market, the second most important distribution channel for the food industry; the topic of food waste in the communal catering field; sustainable raw material supply for the nutrition sector and the content-related organization of food industry events and trade fair participations in Germany and abroad.

Sven Liebert has been Secretary General of the Federal Association of the German Tourism Industry (BTW) since December 2022. As the umbrella organisation of the German tourism industry, the BTW represents the entire tourism value chain - from transport providers, hotels and restaurants to tour operators and travel agencies. Sven Liebert was previously Head of Public Policy Germany at the METRO AG Group Representative Office in Berlin until the end of November 2022 and was responsible for the digitalisation of the public sector at the management consultancy PwC. He studied business administration, economics and political science in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance and in the USA.

Wolf Maser has been managing director of the medium-sized company Gebr. Maser GmbH in its third generation since 1975. A company whose task it has been for over 80 years to provide its customers with the best possible support in questions concerning trade and services (and thus also in export and import). 

In addition, Wolf Maser also represents economic interests in various honorary positions. He is, for example, Vice President of the Bavarian Wholesale * Foreign Trade * Services Association and there he also chairs the Foreign Trade Committee, which deals with the many and varied issues of export and import. 

Since August 2023, Dr. Stefan Meyer has been the Managing Director of the Federal Association of the German Fish Industry and Wholesale of Fish (BVFi) in Hamburg. In his previous professional career, he worked as a scientist and speaker in various roles in the field of fisheries and aquaculture. He has relevant experience in leadership roles, both in association management and administrative work.

The Federal Association of the German Fish Industry and Wholesale of Fish (BVFi) is the advocacy group for member companies based in the Federal Republic of Germany in the areas of fish processing, fish import, and fish wholesale. It represents 126 member companies (as of 01/01/23). BVFi was founded on 16th September 1903 in Hamburg-Altona and has been supporting its members in legislative matters, providing interpretation guidance, and serving as a contact point for the press, ministries, and authorities.

Murat Özdemir is responsible for customs and foreign trade at the Foreign Trade Association of German Retailers (AVE), which represents the foreign trade interests of German retailers.

After studying business economics, Mr. Özdemir initially worked in the food industry in various positions in Germany and abroad. After working in the German chamber organization, he finally joined AVE in 2019.

Since 2008 Mr. Körting Pacheco imports high-quality timber products from sustainable sources, mainly from Latin America and Southeast Asia. Since 2010 the native Colombian is Co-founder and managing partner of the company Biomaderas GmbH, which imports timber products from the tropical region in a responsible and sustainable way. Furthermore, he was working as a consultant for Procolombia and for several wood processing companies in Latin America and is a member of the tropical timber Committee of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Germany.

Nils Olaf Petersen studied wood management at the universities of Hamburg and Stellenbosch, South Africa. As a qualified timber expert, he has been working for the German Wood Trading Association since 2013; within this organization he was initially employed for the accredited monitoring of GD Holz Service GmbH for a year. GD Holz Service supports the German wood industry regarding compliance with due diligence requirements and the European Timber Regulation.
In 2014 Petersen moved to GD Holz e.V. and is now the Head of Department for the Foreign Trade division.

Holger Preibisch studied law with a focus on environmental law and European law in Constance and Freiburg. Following the 2. Staatsexamen (2nd German State Exam, a degree level) in Saarbrücken, he graduated with a Master of Laws in England.

As a lawyer, Preibisch has been secretary general of the Hamburg-based German Coffee Association since 2006. Prior to this position, he was head of the Research Promotion and Third-Party Funds Service at the Freie Universität Berlin as well as chief office manager for a member of German parliament in Berlin. Mr. Priebisch is also a member of the board of the European Coffee Federation (ECF) and is active as a delegate in the International Coffee Organization (ICO), a global intergovernmental institution. 

Marcus Schwenke has headed the trade policy department of the German Wholesale and Foreign Trade Association (BGA) in Berlin since 2011. He also represents the BGA in the Sub-Saharan Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI), the Latin America Initiative of German Business (LAI) and the Transatlantic Business Initiative of German Business (TBI).

As early as January 2012, Mr. Schwenke was also appointed Managing Director of the Grosshandelsverband Foodservice e.V. and to this day represents the interests of the wholesale companies, which predominantly supply gastronomy, hotel and catering companies and thus make a significant contribution to ensuring diversity in Germany's hospitality industry. 

Before joining the BGA, Mr. Schwenke worked in Brussels as Legal Counsel for the General Electric (GE) group and as a Labour Market Policy and Education Officer for Business-Europe, the European Confederation of Industry and Employers. 

He has also worked as a policy analyst for the independent think tank Centrum für Europäische Politik (CEP), analysing EU policy plans and writing numerous studies on them. 

Marcus Schwenke studied law at the University of Freiburg and completed his legal traineeship at the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart with the second state examination. During this time, he worked for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment in Brussels.

Since 1982, Brazilian-born Peter Tuchel has been a managing partner for the company Tuchel & Sons which has been in family hands for four generations.

Prior to this role, Tuchel, a graduate merchant with extensive internship experience in the banking sector and the apiary industry (among others), was responsible for various areas of operation in the sale and export of honey, mainly in the South American region with a focus on Mexico and Argentina.

Mr. Tuchel is also actively engaged in diverse national and international bodies; among others, he is a member of the board of the German Honey Association, a member of the executive committee of the Hamburg Waren-Verein, a member of the DIN-Standard Committee Honey Examination as well as a member of the EU Advisory Group on Organic Farming.

Since June 2019, Melanie Vogelbach has been Head of International Economic Policy and Foreign Trade Law at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK). As the umbrella organisation of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHKs) and on their behalf, the DIHK represents the interests of German trade and industry vis-à-vis decision-makers in federal politics and European institutions.

After completing her degree in International Relations at New York University, Ms Vogelbach worked for the Federal Foreign Office, among others. She has been working for the DIHK since 2014 - most recently as the Federal Managing Director of "Wirtschaftsjunioren Deutschland".

Rodger Wegner has been a member of the management of the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Groß- und Außenhandel Hamburg (WGA e.V.) since 1994 and is responsible there, among other things, for the management of the Verein Hamburger Exporteure e.V. and the Verein der am Rohkakaohandel beteiligten Firmen e.V.. In the context of foreign trade and trade fair promotion, Dr Wegner has worked in particular on various PPP projects as an expert. Another area of focus is the social dimension of international trade.

Since 2005 Gebhard Weiss has been Managing Director of sequa, a globally active non-profit development organisation which supports the development of the private sector and its bodies as well as the qualification of specialists and executive staff. 

Prior to sequa, Mr. Weiss, who holds an engineer's degree, had various top management positions in international sales (consulting, infrastructure, services) and mergers & acquisition (in telecommunications companies, among others).