Volker Wissing – Reflections

An insight view, by Jochen Werne

The Wirtschaftstag 2024, held on June 11 and 12 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Berlin, brought together high-profile speakers from business and politics. Germany stands at a crossroads, and now more than ever, bold market-economy ideas are needed for a strong Germany and Europe. The Social Market Economy is a centennial idea, inviting all who cherish freedom, believe in the creativity and inventiveness of citizens, respect property, and strive for performance and equal opportunity with social balance. However, the 75-year history of the Social Market Economy is also a constant battle to defend, maintain, and shape the economic order.

In this context, strong signals of shared responsibility from both business and politics are crucial to keeping the economy on track. These impulses have been set at the Wirtschaftstag 2024.

Key Highlights and The Role of Experian at Wirtschaftstag 2024

At Experian DACH, we were delighted to participate in this important event. As a subject matter expert in data and data insights, Experian played a significant role in the panel discussion on “Digitalization and AI – Transformation Opportunities for Business and Politics”. This participation underscores our commitment to leveraging data analytics to drive digital transformation, benefiting both businesses and society.

The esteemed panel participants were: Dr. Volker Wissing (Minister for Digital & Transport – MdB), Jochen Werne (CEO Experian DACH), Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus (Minister for Digital & Innovation, State Hesse – MdL), Petra Justenhoven (Speaker of the Board, PWC Germany) Marcel de Groot (CEO Vodafone Germany), Dr. Wolfgang Dierker (Managing Director Microsoft Germany), Hui Zhang (Managing Director NIO Europe), Carola Wahl (CEO DACH Nexi Group)

“We’re thrilled to make a joint contribution to the digital transformation journey and thereby strengthen Germany as a business location. We sincerely thank the Economic Council for this great opportunity!”
Jochen Werne, CEO Experian DACH

Perspectives and Gratitudes

A heartfelt gratitude has to go to to the organizers at the Wirtschaftsrat, especially Astrid Hamker and Wolfgang Steiger, for their dedication and leadership. Their efforts were instrumental in making Wirtschaftstag 2024 a resounding success and bringing together distinguished speakers as Friedrich Merz, MdB, Robert Habeck, MdB, Christian Lindner, MdB, Boris Pistorius, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, MdB, Dr. Volker Wissing, MdB, Dr. Marco Buschmann, MdB, Omid Nouripour, MdB, Dr. Carsten Linnemann, MdB, Alexander Dobrindt, MdB, Christian Sewing, René Obermann, Dr. Jens Weidmann

The international perspective was enriched by contributions from: Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Montenegro, Prof. Dr. Martin Kocher, Federal Minister for Labour and Economy of Austria, Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania

Personal Reflections

As I reflect on the Wirtschaftstag 2024, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude and optimism. This year’s event, coming shortly after the European elections, carried a special significance. It served as a powerful signal of unity and forward-thinking, bringing together leaders from across the business and political spectrum to focus on the critical tasks ahead for a strong Germany and Europe.

A Platform for Meaningful Dialogue

The Wirtschaftstag 2024 was not just another event; it was the one of the largest Business and Politics gatherings in Germany. It provided an unparalleled platform for high-profile thought leaders and decision-makers to discuss and develop actionable recommendations for the future. The timing added an extra layer of importance, highlighting the need for bold market-economic ideas to secure the economic strength of Germany and the European continent.

The two days at the #Wirtschaftstag 2024 in Berlin have been a tremendous success, also for Experian. Engaging with high-profile participants from leading organizations and decision-makers from Germany’s business and political sectors has been truly inspiring.

Looking Forward

2024 marks several significant milestones: 75 years of the Grundgesetz and the Social Market Economy, over 30 years of the European Single Market, and the dawn of a new legislative period for the EU Parliament and Commission. These next few years will be crucial for the future competitiveness and viability of Europe.

I’m sure we all look forward to continuing this important dialogue and working together towards a prosperous future for Europe and beyond.

It was a great pleasure to meet again personally and be connected virtually with friends like Dr. Andreas Heindl and Dr. Johannes Winter who, like many others inside and outside this Digital Summit, dedicate their passion to the digitisation of Germany day after day. Their passion is the engine for Germany’s competitiveness and prosperity. Exchanges like today between Germany’s leading experts in the field of digitalisation and the German government are crucial for the country’s future innovation.

This was underlined today by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the ministers Robert Habeck, Volker Wissing, Nancy Faeser and Bettina Stark-Watzinger. A special motivation was given by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Japan’s Digital Minister Tarō Konō.

Congratulations to the organization committee and thank you for the kind invitation. Details can be found HERE

Digital Summit 2022

Germany’s digitisation continues to remain one of the main topics of the German government. The aim is to accelerate and promote digitisation processes and to exploit their potential to develop prosperity, freedom, social participation, and sustainability.

In this context, the Digital Summit remains the central platform for shaping the digital transformation with all parties involved. It focuses on the key fields of action within the digital transformation across ten topic-based platforms. The platforms and their focus groups are made up of representatives from business, academia and society who, between summit meetings, work together to develop projects, events and initiatives designed to drive digitisation in business and society forward. The Summit will serve to present the results of the work that has been done in the past, to highlight new trends and discuss digital challenges and policy approaches.

This year’s Digital Summit of the Federal Government will be held on 8 and 9 December 2022. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action will jointly coordinate the summit’s preparation in the future. In the new legislature, new formats, concrete results and international impulses are to make it the driving force and showcase for digitisation in Germany and beyond.