Speakers

Peter Berz currently works as Head of Unit in the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission in Brussels responsible for trade relations with the Far East. Until August 2012, he worked as Deputy Head of Unit in the Directorate General for Trade responsible for trade relations with South and South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. From 2002 to 2007, Peter Berz acted as Deputy Head of the Trade Section of the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington, DC. Prior, Peter Berz served from 2000 to 2002 at the Directorate General for External Relations of the European Commission covering the relations with the U.S. and Canada. From 1993 to 2000, he worked in the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission in the areas of intellectual property rights and trade in textiles. Peter Berz obtained his law degree from Munich University. He published articles on the European Community’s textile policy and the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.

Günter Butschek was appointed Airbus Chief Operating Officer on 1st of June 2012. He also became Chairman of the Board of Management of Airbus in Germany (Airbus Operations GmbH). He graduated in economics at the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University. Mr. Butschek began his professional career in 1984 at Mercedes-Benz AG in Stuttgart, Germany. After several positions in logistics, human resources and procurement in the Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars division, Mr. Butschek became a member of the management board of DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA) in 2000. In 2002, Günter Butschek moved to the Netherlands as President and CEO of Netherlands Car B.V. From 2005 to 2011 he was President and CEO of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd, in China. Leading the joint venture, he set the footprint for sustainable profitable growth. In his role today, he holds the overall responsibility for Airbus Operations, Engineering, Procurement and Supply Chain Management, Quality and Information Technology.

Dr. Rainer Feurer was born in Tailfingen/Germany in 1966. After his studies in Business Administration and International Management in London and Monterey (MBA) he received his Ph.D. in Strategy Formulation and Implementation at Cranfield University, UK, in 1994.

Before joining BMW in 1998, he gained experiences as a consultant. At BMW Group, the manager has filled various positions in strategic planning departments and took the position as Vice President Strategic Planning in 2005.

From 2007 to 2013 Dr. Feurer was responsible for the Global BMW Group Corporate Strategy as Senior Vice President and as such deeply involved in the strategic set-up of the BMW Group in China.

Today, besides his position as Senior Vice President Sales Strategy and Steering, Dr. Feurer is also member of the Supervisory Board of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., the BMW Joint Venture in China.

Born in July, 1963, Mr. Song Hailiang is a professor-level senior engineer with a PhD. He enjoys government subsidy and received honors including "Most Popular Entrepreneurs in 2008", "Top 10 Modern-management Entrepreneurs in Engineering Survey and Design”, etc.

Upon graduation in 1987 from Wuhan University, he served successively as engineer, Director, Dean, Chairman and General Manager of the Water Transport Planning and Design Institute of CCCC.

In August 2012, he was appointed Assistant to President of CCCC, Chairman & Party Secretary of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. He became VP of CCCC in January, 2014 and was appointed Chairman & President and Party Secretary of ZPMC in March, 2014. He also holds other positions like Vice Chairman of Water Transportation and Construction Industry Association, President of the Council of Water Transport Engineering, and Independent Director of Rizhao Port and Ningbo Port.

Capt. Wei Jiafu received his Master’s degree from Dalian Maritime University and a Doctoral degree in Marine Architectural Design from Tianjin University. He had been Managing Director of the Sino-Tanzania Joint Shipping Co., President of COSCO Holdings (Singapore) Pte Ltd., Managing Director of Tianjin Ocean Shipping Co., and Managing Director of COSCO Bulk Carrier Co., Ltd. He was appointed President and CEO of COSCO Group in November of 1998. Capt. Wei was elected into the 16th and 17th CPC Central Committee for Discipline Inspection in 2002 and 2007. In Nov. 2007, Capt. Wei was elected the first Chairman of China Association of Trade in Services (CATIS). Other titles of Capt. Wei include: Member of Advisory Board of Bo’ao Forum for Asia, Advisor of Panama Canal Authority, Chairman of China Shipowners’ Mutual Assurance Association, Council member of The Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and Advisor of Harvard Business School.

Born in February 1959, Xu Lejiang is an alternate member of 17th, 18th CPC Central Committee and a professor-level senior engineer. He is Chairman of Baosteel Group Corporation, Chairman of China Iron & Steel Association and Vice Chairman of Chinese Society for Metals.

He joined Baosteel in 1982, and successively worked as Deputy Plant Director, Plant Director, and Assistant to President. From 1994 to 2006, he was VP and later President of Baosteel Group. He was appointed Chairman in January 2007.

During his tenure, Baosteel Group has vigorously promoted the modern enterprise system; gradually improved its decision-making process, risk control and internal control mechanisms; progressively completed an internal financial control system; remarkably improved its overall competitiveness in its core steel business and relevant diversified businesses by mergers and consolidations.

Dr. He Linbo is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Investment Department of China Investment Corporation (CIC), which is responsible for CIC's overseas private equity fund and direct investment in non-commodity sectors, real estate and credit opportunity. Previously, Dr. He has headed CIC's Fixed Income & Absolute Return Investment Department, Public Market Investment Department, and Asset Allocation and Strategic Research Department. Prior to joining CIC, Dr. He worked at a number of financial institutions in Germany including Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank, Talanx Investment, etc. During that time he held senior management positions, such as Head of Jumbo-Pfandbriefe Trading, Head of Fixed Income Fund Management and Member of Investment Committee. Dr. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Peking University, Master of Managerial Engineering from Tsinghua University, both in China, and Dr. rer. pol. (in Finance) from University of Cologne, Germany.

Fritz Horst Melsheimer was born in 1950. He has more than 30 years of experience working in the insurance sector. After his studies at the universities of Bochum, Würzburg and Hamburg he joined the Albingia Versicherung AG in 1978 and became member of the board in 1991. In 1993 Mr Melsheimer joined the Hamburg-Mannheimer Versicherungs-AG as board member. In addition, he became board member of ERGO Versicherungsgruppe AG. Mr Melsheimer was Chairman of the board of management of HanseMerkur Versicherungsgruppe until 2014. Currently, Mr Melsheimer is chairman of the supervisory board of HanseMerkur Insurance Group.

Furthermore he is President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, joint founder of Gesundheitsmetropole Hamburg e.V. (Health Metropolis Hamburg), Member of the advisory board of Deutsche Bundesbank – Hamburg headquarters, Member of the economic advisory council of HSH Nordbank AG and Vice-President of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

Appointed in October 2013 as the head of Fast Growth Markets Organization, Neumann is leading the orchestration of investments and cross-organization strategy to grow SAP’s business in fast growing regions such as China, the Middle East and Russia. Part of SAP’s Senior Executive Team, Neumann is also continuing to lead the Global SAP Labs Network. Neumann has been with SAP for 18 years.

At present, he serves as a spokesperson of the Asia Pacific Committee of German Business (APA), a board member of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) and a member of the Indo-German advisory council of the Prime Minister of India and the German Chancellor. Furthermore he co-authored several books and articles on innovation and business practice in emerging markets.

Neumann holds a Diploma of the University of Applied Science in Ludwigshafen and an MBA degree from INSEAD, Fontainbleau and Singapore.

Astrid Oldekop is a German business journalist with over 30 years of experience in Chinese affairs. She founded MediaPoint Düsseldorf | Beijing in 2011. She has worked for, amongst others, the financial daily Handelsblatt (as an editor between 1999 and 2010), the weekly business magazine Wirtschaftswoche and the Berliner Morgenpost. 1995 she was awarded a grant under the International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) in China and became the first foreign journalist on the editorial staff of China Daily.

As an events’ facilitator, Astrid Oldekop has frequently attended, hosted or chaired international congresses and discussion podiums in German, Chinese, English and French. As a consultant and trainer, she perfects Chinese and European managers’ skills, enabling them to face the challenges awaiting them in Europe and China.

Astrid Oldekop studied at Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany, and at People’s University in Beijing, China. She holds a Master’s degree in Romance studies and German language and literature studies.

Jin Canrong is a professor and Associate Dean with the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China. He was also a visiting professor at the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, in 2003 and 2007, and the “Weilun” Chair Professor at Tsinghua University in 2006.

His education background includes a BA from Shanghai Fudan University in political science, a MA from the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), and a PhD from the School of International Studies at Peking University. Before joining Renmin University, he worked for the Institute of American Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) from 1987 to 2002. His studies focus on American politics, American foreign policy, Sino-US relations and China’s foreign policy and his main publications include over 100 academic papers, over 600 articles for mass media, 7 books and 5 translated books.

Stefan Sack was born in Hamburg on 9 March 1968. After five years at the European School in Brussels he obtained his Abitur in Hamburg where he later studied Physics at the Hamburg University and at DESY/Max-Planck-Society. In 1998 he obtained his PhD from Hamburg University.

From 1999 to 2004 he worked for McKinsey&Co at the company’s Hamburg office. In 2005 he relocated to China for a German electronics manufacturer overseeing two plants in Shenzhen and one in Beijing. In 2008 Stefan Sack moved to Shanghai where he first worked for VOITH Industrial Services as Managing Director and since 2011 in the automotive industry for COMAU, a subsidiary of the Italian FIAT Group, where he serves as the CEO for China and South East Asia.

Since 2009 Stefan Sack has held different positions in the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. Since 2013 he is their national Vice President and Chairman for the Shanghai Chapter.

Jens-Peter Saul was born 1 July 1966 in Rheinhausen, Germany. He spent most of his childhood, youth and military service (Wehrdienst) in Hamburg.

After graduating in 1995 with a degree in energy and process technology engineering at the University of Hannover, Mr. Saul began his career at Siemens Power Generation in Offenbach. In 2002, he was appointed Director of Sales, New Plants and Services, Middle East.

In October 2005, he transferred to the UK to become Managing Director, Siemens Power Generation. In 2008, he was appointed Managing Director, Siemens Energy Sector UK and North West Europe. He became President and CEO of Siemens Global Wind Power Business Unit in 2010.

Jens-Peter Saul joined Rambøll Group as President and Group CEO in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2012. He is active as Chairman of the Danish-German Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Confederation of Danish Industry's Committee on Business Policy as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of Danske Commodities, a leading energy trading company with a strong presence in the German renewables market.

Martin Schulz after high school did an apprenticeship as a bookseller. In 1982 he opened his own bookstore in Würselen, which he successfully ran for 12 years. Joining the Social Democratic Party of Germany at the age of 19, he at the age of 31 was elected as the youngest mayor of North Rhine-Westphalia, a post he held for 11 years.

Since 1994, Martin Schulz is a Member of the European Parliament and led the SPD MEPs from 2000, subsequently elected Vice-Chair of the Socialist MEPs. In 2004 he was elected group leader of the Socialist Group and from 2009- 2012 Chairman of the S&D Group, second largest group in the European Parliament. Martin Schulz was elected President of the European Parliament 2012 and the first President reelected 2014. He serves as Member to the SPD Bureau and Federal Executive (since 1999) and is the SPD Representative for EU Relations (since 2009).

Dr. Margot Schüller is Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and Deputy Director of the GIGA, Institute of Asian Studies. She is a regular lecturer on Chinese and East Asian economics at universities in Germany and abroad and frequently consults governmental and private institutions. Her current research focuses on China’s economic development, especially the transition of the banking sector, China’s economic relations with neighbouring countries in Asia, China’s innovation system, and the globalization of Chinese companies.

Marc Szepan is Co-Director of the Economy and Business Research Area of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), Berlin, Germany. Concurrent to his position at MERICS, Marc Szepan is a doctoral candidate at Saïd Business School and a member of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Previously, Szepan served as Senior Vice President, Airline Operations Solutions, at Lufthansa Systems AG, the IT services business segment of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. He led the global multi-business unit aviation services business with a team based in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and the United States. His professional experience also includes leading positions at Lufthansa Technik AG and assignments in the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, including General Manager of a Chinese-German joint venture. In 2012, Szepan was named one of Aviation Week & Space Technology’s “40 Under Forty: Rising Stars of Aerospace and Aviation”.

Szepan was educated in the United States. He earned a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.A. in Regional Studies – East Asia from Harvard University. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business where he completed the Global Executive MBA program.

Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Thies, born in 1951, studied Power Engineering at RWTH Aachen, followed by his doctorate at Institut für Allgemeine Elektrotechnik und Hochspannungstechnik. In 1999 Dr. Thies started as Deputy Managing Director of the DKE (German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies of DIN and VDE), followed with the nomination as Chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2007. Since October 2008 Dr. Bernhard Thies holds lectures at the RWTH Aachen “Protective Measures and Equipment in Power Supply Systems and Electrical Installations” (Master Studies Electrical Power Engineering.) In his capacity as Secretary of the German National Committee of IEC and CENELEC Dr. Thies also represents German interests in various Management Committees. In March 2014 he was elected as Chairman for the External Relations Committee of CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. In Januar 2015 Dr. Thies will start his duties as the incoming CENELEC President; his CENELEC presidency will last from 2016 until 2018.

Mr. YI Xiaozhun has been a Deputy Director-General at the World Trade Organization since October 2013. He oversees the Market Access, Intellectual Property, Economic Research and Statistics, and Trade in Services Divisions.

He has a vast amount of work experience in world trade and economics, both as a senior government official and as the Ambassador of China to the WTO. He represented China as a key negotiator during the entire process of China's WTO accession.

Prior to his tenure as the Chinese WTO Ambassador, Mr. Yi was the Chinese Assistant Minister and, subsequently, Vice Minister of Commerce in charge of multilateral and regional trade negotiation and cooperation. He played a leading role in negotiating numerous Chinese Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). He also worked as a diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in the USA for more than four years from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Mr. Yi obtained a master's degree in Economics from the Nankai University of China in 1999.

Mei Yan joined Brunswick after a distinguished career with international media companies. As Senior Partner, she oversees Brunswick’s China business. Yan joined Brunswick from Viacom, where she was Managing Director of MTV Networks Greater China and Chief Representative of Viacom Asia. Previously, Yan held senior positions at Turner International Asia Pacific and News Corp.

Yan advises major global corporations on public affairs, government engagement, M&A, corporate reputation, as well as issues management. She provides counsel to senior management of both foreign companies in China and leaders of Chinese companies going global.

Yan worked as a journalist for ITN and CNN for more than a decade, winning three Emmy Awards. She is a Vice-Chair of the board of The Golden Bridges Foundation and a member of the 2005 Committee, the China Women’s Club and the Western Returned Scholars Association. Yan holds two master’s degrees from Columbia University, New York.

Sun Yi, born in Shanghai, learned German at an elite boarding school in Shanghai. After her first degree in German literature she obtained a master’s degree in Economics and Business Studies (Diplom-Kauffrau) in Germany. In 2006, Sun Yi joined EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and in 2011 she became the first Chinese native speaker to work as a partner in a Big Four audit firm in Germany and the youngest partner at EY. Alongside her role as partner in Transaction Advisory Services, Sun also leads EY’s China Business Services in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. She has more than 10 years of experience in cross-border business with China and, with her team, has acted as an advisor to most landmark transactions by Chinese investors in Europe during the last six years.

Mr. Li Yunpeng is appointed as a Director of Board and the President of COSCO Group in July 2013. Before, he was an engineer on COSCO's vessels and served in COSCO Tianjin in several senior management positions in the Human Resources Department, Administration Department and Party Secretary Office.

After he joined COSCO Group, Mr. Li has taken various posts including Deputy General Manager of Executive Division, Deputy Secretary of Party Disciplinary Inspection Office, General Manager of Supervisory Division, Director of Organization Division, General Manager of Human Resources Division, Assistant to President, Party Committee Member, Director of Party Disciplinary Inspection Office and Executive Vice President of COSCO Group. With over 30 years' expertise in shipping industry, Mr. Li has rich experiences in corporate management, internal control and human resources development.

Mr. Li Yunpeng received his master's degree in ship and naval architectural design from Tianjin University.