Markus Pertl

Markus has bought out Stern Stewart & Co. from the founders in 2003 and established the firm in its current form. He is acting managing partner.

Markus is chairman of Stern Stewart Industries and controlling shareholder of Siteco, an industrial company with 160 years of history.

With a desire to connect leaders in business, politics and technology and to inspire controversial ideas, Markus has founded the Stern Stewart Institute.

To create impact beyond the business world, he spearheaded the Institute’s entrepreneurial and educational initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa for more than twenty years, most recently our own university BIT - The Burkina Institute of Technology.

Markus has served 14 years as trustee and independent director of a large family-owned business in the offshore installation business. Markus is a member of the executive advisory board of WORLD.MINDS

Gerhard Nenning

Gerhard Nenning has co-founded The Stern Stewart Institute.

As Executive Director, he shapes the Institute’s yearly agenda of dialogue with leaders in business, politics, and science. He is also the publisher and chief editor of the periodical, the Institute’s biannual magazine.

In Burkina Faso, Gerhard is fostering entrepreneurship by initiating the Institute‘s craftmanship program – a modular vocational training for young Burkinabe. The students are trained in theory sessions as well as on site, acquiring all skills to work as electricians.

Susanne Pertl

Susanne Pertl is executive director of the Stern Stewart Institute and the founder of Lycée Schorge in Koudougou as well as the founder and president of the Burkina Institute of Technology.

Her vision is to provide state-of-the-art education for the most committed and enthusiastic young women and men of Burkina Faso. She aims to build future generations of young leaders and professionals in Burkina Faso. More entrepreneurs lead to more opportunity, more economic growth, and more prosperity for everyone.

Susanne Klatten

Susanne Klatten is an entrepreneur and member of the supervisory boards of ALTANA AG and BMW AG. With her investment company SKion, she strengthens European companies as drivers of innovation. In 2016, Susanne launched the SKala initiative, which supports around 100 non-profit organisations nationwide, that demonstrably achieve a great social impact. Susanne is founder of the UnternehmerTUM, with more than 50 high-growth technology start-ups each year the leading center for innovation and business creation in Europe. Susanne’s Foundation Nantesbuch Kunst & Natur brings people together through art and raises awareness for soil protection and biodiversity.

Benedikt Franke

Benedikt Franke is Chief Operating Officer of the Munich Security Conference and also Managing Director of the Munich Security Conference Foundation. Through the MSC, Benedikt brings together international leaders, heads of state, and ministers as well as leading representatives from business, media, research and civil society. The MSC provides a platform for diplomatic initiatives and approaches to address the world's most pressing security threats.

Prior, he worked as a Special Assistant to former United Nations Secretary General and Nobel Laureate Kofi Annan.

He is a non-executive board member of the Stern Stewart Institute, bringing not only his own insights but political thought leadership to the annual summit.

John Defterios

John Defterios is a non-executive board member of The Stern Stewart Institute. His savvy moderation of the annual summit has ensured a truly open dialogue between business, politics, and science for over ten years.

Recently retired as CNN Business' Emerging Markets Editor and Anchor, John is veteran, award winning journalist and economic analyst with more than 35 years of experience at CNN, Reuters and PBS Television in the United States. He was a World Economic Forum media leader from 1995-2021, a member of the Global Agenda Council on the Arab World and is a WEF Energy Fellow.

Rolf Dobelli

Rolf Dobelli is a novelist, nonfiction writer, and entrepreneur. With his keen eye for human psychology, decision-making, and the mechanisms of success, Dobelli offers a fresh perspective to illuminate the complexities of the modern world. He is the founder of the WORLD.MINDS community, an exclusive invitation-only community of the world’s most famous thinkers, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs.