8:30am     Registration & Breakfast

 

9:00am   Welcome and Introduction

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• Caroll H. Neubauer, Chairman of the German American Chambers of Commerce of the U.S. (GACCs)

• Andreas Schmitz, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Düsseldorf

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9:10am   Keynote

• Dr. Herbert Jakoby, Head of the Foreign Trade Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, SME and Handcraft of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia 

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9:20am   Opening Panel: Transatlantic Relations 4.0

Moderator: ​Andreas Kluth, Editor in Chief, Handelsblatt Global

• Thomas Geisel, Mayor of Düsseldorf

• Michael R. Keller​, Consul General, US-Consulate General Düsseldorf

• Dr. Walter Maisel, President & CEO, KOSTAL North America, Inc., Chairman of the Board of Directors of GACC Midwest and Chairman & President of GACC Midwest’s Michigan Chapter

• Dr. Lutz Raettig, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Morgan Stanley Bank AG

• Frank Sportolari, President UPS Germany; Vice President, American Chamber of Commerce in Germany e.V.

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10:50am   Coffee Break

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11:15pm  Future Report: ECONOMY 4.0​

• Dr. Vera Demary, Head of the Research Unit Structural Change and Competition, Cologne Institute for Economic Research

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11:30am  Future Report: ENERGY

• Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer, Executive Chair World Energy Ressources, World Energy Council

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11:45am  Panel: ENERGY

Moderator: ​ Dr. Jan Fritz Rettberg, Head of Innovation Management, ie³ Institut für Energiesysteme, Energieeffizienz und Energiewirtschaft, Technische Universität Dortmund

• Jekaterina Grigorjeva, Senior Manager, Energy and Climate Policy, Federation of German Industries

• Dr. Stefan Hardt, Managing Director, MeteoViva GmbH

• Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Schiffer, Executive Chair World Energy Ressources, World Energy Council

• Robert Werner, Managing Director, Heindl Energy GmbH

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13:00pm   Lunch Break and Networking

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2:00pm  MARKET ENTRY WORKSHOPS (75 min) - Part 1

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Sales Strategies USA

​Moderator: Mark Tomkins, GACC Midwest

• Rainer Aits, Managing Director, P3 group

• Dr. Friedrich-Hans Grandin, CEO, HUESKER Synthetic GmbH

• Christoph Petri, Regional Manager, Weishaupt America Inc. 

• Werner Streich, Sales Manager | Business Development, SCHAEFFLER Engineering GmbH

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Legal Framework & Risks

​Moderator: Susanne Gellert, GACC New York

• Bernd Groß, CEO, Cumulocity GmbH

• Dr. Stefan Hardt, Managing Director, MeteoViva GmbH

• Dr. Matthias Rauhut, Managing Director, DREWSEN SPEZIALPAPIERE GmbH & Co. KG

• Dr. Michael Tal, Managing Director, BusyLamp GmbH

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Startups 4.0 - The old guy & the new guys

​Moderator: Rene van den Hoevel, GACC West

• Konrad Augustin, Investment Director & Head of E.ON SCI US, E.ON Innovation / Strategic Co-Investments

• Amadeo Gaigl, CEO & Co-Founder, Bohème Digital GmbH

• Dr. Christian Heinrich, CFO & Founder, scoutbee GmbH

• Maximilian P. Wagner, CEO, SMS digital GmbH

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3:15pm   Coffee Break

 

3:45pm  MARKET ENTRY WORKSHOPS (75 min) - Part 2

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Sales Strategies USA

​Moderator: Mark Tomkins, GACC Midwest

• Rainer Aits, Managing Director, P3 group

• Dr. Friedrich-Hans Grandin, CEO, HUESKER Synthetic GmbH

• Christoph Petri, Regional Manager, Weishaupt America Inc. 

• Werner Streich, Sales Manager | Business Development, SCHAEFFLER Engineering GmbH

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Legal Framework & Risks

​Moderator: Susanne Gellert, GACC New York

• Bernd Groß, CEO, Cumulocity GmbH

• Dr. Stefan Hardt, Managing Director, MeteoViva GmbH

• Dr. Matthias Rauhut, Managing Director, DREWSEN SPEZIALPAPIERE GmbH & Co. KG

• Dr. Michael Tal, Managing Director, BusyLamp GmbH

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Vocational Education and Training

​Moderator: Stefanie Jehlitschka, GACC South

• Freya Lemcke, Vice President, RGIT

• Sebastian Patta, Geschäftsführer Personal und Organisation, SITECH Sitztechnik GmbH

• Peter Riehle, President & CEO, Wittenstein North America

• Andy Stecher, President/CEO, Plasmatreat North America

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5:00pm   Networking Reception

 

6:30pm    End of Event

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The conference will be held in German!