Board of Trustees

Born in Solingen in 1959, Bodo Uebber studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe. He has been an independent management consultant since 2020. From 2003 to 2019, he was a member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. He also served on the Investment Advisory Board at Germany’s Stifterverband association. From 2009 to 2012, he was chairman of the Board of Directors of EADS, now Airbus SE. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA since 2011. In addition, he is a shareholder of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. In 2019, he was appointed to a five-year term on the Supervisory Board of Adidas AG. He also chairs the Supervisory Board of the investment bank Evercore in Germany.

Bodo Uebber has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2021, and has served as its chairman since January 1, 2025.

^{© private}

Andreas Pinkwart has been professor of Innovation and Technology Management in the Faculty of Business and Economics at Technische Universität Dresden since March 1, 2023.

After studying Economics and Business Administration at the University of Münster and the University of Bonn, he held a number of positions including research assistant at the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung in Bonn, receiving his doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1991. He was subsequently appointed professor at the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration NRW in Düsseldorf in 1994, and at the University of Siegen in 1997. In 2003, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Siegen recognized his research activities as being equivalent to a postdoctoral thesis.

In 2011, Pinkwart became a senior research fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC. In the same year, he began serving as rector of the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management while also becoming a professor of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at the same institution. He held both positions until the end of 2017. On January 1, 2023 he was appointed professor of Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at the University of Siegen.

Pinkwart has served as Minister of Science (2005–2010), Minister of Innovation (2005–2010 and 2017–2022), Minister of Economics, Digital Affairs and Energy (2017–2022) and Deputy Minister President (2005–2010) of the State of North Rhine–Westphalia.

In addition, he has been a member of the Bundestag (2002–2005), the Bundesrat (2005–2010 and 2017–2022) and the North Rhine–Westphalian state parliament (2010 and 2022). He was also state chairman (2002–2010) and deputy national chairman of the Free Democratic Party (2003–2011). He has many years of experience serving in academic institutions such as the German Rectors' Conference and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Andreas Pinkwart has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2023, and has served as its vice-chairman since January 1, 2025.

Following the death of her husband, Reinhard Mohn, philanthropist Liz Mohn represents the fifth generation of the Bertelsmann/Mohn founding family. Until June 2021, she was a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board, where she was responsible for initiatives on modern leadership and corporate social responsibility, strengthening social cohesion and values, and promoting culture and music education. As a bridge-builder across languages and borders, she has used a variety of events to establish networks in different countries and cultures. Today, she is the Bertelsmann Stiftung's worldwide representative and an honorary member of its Board of Trustees.

As founder and chairwoman of the Liz Mohn Foundation, she is committed to the global transfer of knowledge. In a variety of networks, projects and events such as the International Bertelsmann Forum, the Trilogue Salzburg, the Forum Bellevue on the Future of Democracy and the German-Spanish Forum, the Liz Mohn Foundation is active in the areas of international relations, leadership and economy, culture and music, and young people. 

Liz Mohn is the head of the NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition, which she initiated. With the Liz Mohn Foundation, the founder is strengthening her commitment to culture and wants to highlight the importance of culture and music for both individuals and society as a whole. 

As president of the German Stroke Foundation, which she established, she promotes education, research, prevention and the development of a national and international network.

Moreover, she is president of the Board of Trustees of the Spain-based Fundación Bertelsmann and president of the Board of Directors of the Bertelsmann Foundation North America.

She is a member of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, and is a shareholder of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH.

^{© B. Braun SE}

Anna Maria Braun is CEO of the B. Braun Group, one of the world's leading medical technology companies. She started her career at B. Braun in Asia. As President Asia Pacific, she was responsible for the company's business in the entire region. She was appointed to the B. Braun Management Board in 2016 and CEO in April 2019.

Anna Maria Braun is a lawyer. After graduating from the United World College Of The Atlantic (UWC) in Llantwit Major, UK, and studying languages at the Language and Culture University in Beijing, China, she studied law at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany, and the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, USA. She then worked as a lawyer at a major law firm in Düsseldorf.

Anna Maria Braun has been appointed to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees, effective September 1, 2024.

^{© TUM/Lara Freiburger}

Alena Buyx is Professor of Ethics in Medicine and Health Technologies and Director of the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine at the Technical University of Munich. Professor Buyx holds a doctorate in medicine and degrees in philosophy and sociology.

Her research covers the entire field of biomedical and public health ethics and issues of solidarity and justice. In addition to her research and teaching, Professor Buyx is involved in the political and legal aspects of biomedical ethics and is a member of several high-level national and international ethics committees dealing with the topic and its political implementation.

She was appointed to the German Ethics Council in 2016 and was its chairwoman from 2020 to 2024. Since April 2024, she has been a member of the German Federal Government's Expert Council on Health and Resilience.

Prof. Dr. med. Alena Buyx has been appointed to the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees, effective September 1, 2024.

^{© private}

Saori Dubourg has been CEO of Greiner AG in Austria since March 1, 2024. Previously, she worked for BASF for many years, where from 2017 she was responsible as a member of the Board of Executive Directors for several operating divisions such as Agricultural Solutions, Construction Chemicals, Health & Nutrition, Care Chemicals, Biotech Research and Petrochemicals, as well as for the Europe region and the start-up Trinamix.

Her professional career took her to Singapore from 2001 to 2004 and, as president of the Asia Pacific region, to Hong Kong from 2009 to 2013. She has also worked in the US and Japan.

In addition to her operational duties, Dubourg was a member of the European Commission’s High Level Industrial Group and contributed with other experts to a vision paper on Europe 2030. She has been a member of the German government’s Council for Sustainable Development since 2020.

Together with partners, she founded the Value Balancing Alliance in 2018. The aim of the alliance is to demonstrate the overall contribution made by companies not only in terms of profits, but also in terms of their monetized impacts on society and the environment. Operating under the auspices of the OECD, the alliance was commissioned by the European Commission in 2020 to develop generally accepted accounting principles (E-GAAP) as part of the Green Deal.

In July 2021, Dubourg was appointed to the Steering Committee of the G7 Impact Taskforce, which, among other activities, makes policy proposals for implementing framework conditions that promote standardized impact investing.

Saori Dubourg has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2023.

^{© Marine Séhan}

Arancha González Laya is the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and the first woman to lead the world's third-largest school for Politics and International Studies.

Prior to joining PSIA, Ms González Laya served as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (2020-2021). She previously was Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (2013-2020). Between 2005 and 2013 she served as Chief of Staff to the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. Before that she held senior positions at the European Commission in the areas of international trade and development. Ms González Laya started her career as lawyer in the private sector.

A Spanish national, Ms González Laya holds a degree in law from the University of Navarra and a Master in European Law from the University Carlos III of Madrid.

Arancha González Laya has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2023.

Ralph Heck is a Belgian manager, entrepreneur, Supervisory Board member and former Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung (2020-2024).

Born in Eupen in Belgium in 1956, Dr. Ralph Heck studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, where he subsequently completed his doctorate in economics. In 1982, he embarked on a career spanning close to 34 years with the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he rose from Summer Associate to Partner and Senior Director. His responsibilities covered both strategy and organizational development as well as marketing and operations. During his time with McKinsey & Company, he took on multiple internal leadership roles, which included building new practices and serving on management committees. From that time, Heck's experience covers a number of business sectors, having been active in the automotive, commerce, media, telecom and energy industries, as well as working with NGOs.

He manages his own corporate portfolio and is the founder of various initiatives, including the Business Leadership Forum Kitzbühel, which unites leading personalities to engage with important societal themes.

Heck has served as a member of various supervisory boards. He is currently Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Formel D Group, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Klöckner & Co SE and an Advisory Board Member of the Würth Group.

Before Heck became the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in 2020, he served as a member of its Board of Trustees over a period of eight years since 2012. On January 1, 2025, he joined the Board of Trustees of the Bertelsmann Stiftung again.

Born in Stuttgart in 1965, Christoph Mohn studied business administration at the University of Münster. From 1992 to 1994, he worked at the Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) in New York and Hong Kong. From 1994 to 1996 he worked for the consulting group McKinsey & Company in its Electronics and Telecommunications division. In 1996, he joined the Bertelsmann subsidiary Telemedia as vice-president of Business Development. From 1997 to 2009, he served as CEO of Lycos Europe, which was formed from a joint venture with US-based Lycos Inc.

He is chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and of Bertelsmann Management SE. He is family spokesman and chairman of the Steering Committee of Bertelsmann Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. In addition, he is chairman of the Reinhard Mohn Stiftung and managing director of Christoph Mohn Internet Holding GmbH.

Christoph Mohn has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2009.

^{© Martin Lengemann}

Matthias Schulz studied concert piano and economics. After working at Konzerthaus Dortmund, he became project manager for the Mozart 22 opera project at the Salzburg Festival in 2004. After completion of the project, he served as the Salzburg Festival's concert and media officer from 2005 to 2009, during which time he was responsible for concerts and for the initiation and strategic planning of media productions. In the following years, as head of concert planning at the Salzburg Festival, he was involved in the development of program content in addition to his concert-related activities.    

In 2012, he became commercial manager and artistic director of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation. In terms of artistic activities, he was responsible for concerts as well as for the foundation's two other core areas of academic affairs and museums.

In June 2015, he became designated artistic director of Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden. In September 2017, he was appointed co-director and he has served as artistic director of Staatsoper Unter den Linden since April 2018. In summer of 2025, he will become the new artistic director of the Zurich Opera House.

Matthias Schulz was and is a board member of various festivals and a member of the jury at international competitions.

Matthias Schulz has been a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees since 2023.