CfET’s 2nd Annual Conference: Powering European Competitiveness
On 6 March 2025, the Centre for European Transformation (CfET) at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management hosted its 2nd Annual Conference, bringing together senior leaders from finance, industry, and policy under the theme "Powering European Competitiveness: Innovation, Finance, and Strategic Resilience".
Innovation and finance under pressure
The conference addressed how Europe can strengthen innovation, finance, and resilience against a backdrop of high energy costs, digitalisation pressure, and competition for critical raw materials. Prof. Dr. Nils Stieglitz (President & CEO, Frankfurt School) and Prof. Dr. Alexander Lorz (Finance Minister, Hesse) opened the conference, followed by a keynote from Oliver Behrens (Chairman, DWS).
Two panels, one debate
The programme featured two panel discussions:
- Shaping the Future: Strategic Imperatives for European Transformation and Competitiveness — with an impulse from Dr. Ingrid Hengster (CEO Germany, Barclays), joined by Nicola Beer (Vice President, European Investment Bank) and Prof. Achim Wambach (President, ZEW).
- Financing Transformation in a Geopolitically Uncertain World — opened with a video message from Maria Luís Albuquerque (EU Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union), with speakers Hauke Burkhardt (Head Trade Finance & Lending DACH, Deutsche Bank), Prof. Dr. Sascha Steffen (Centre Director, CfET), and Vincenzo Vedda (Global Chief Investment Officer, DWS).
Between the panels, Dr. Tamaz Georgadze (CEO & Co-Founder, Raisin) and Dr. Eckart Windhagen (Board Advisor and former McKinsey Senior Partner) held a CEO talk, and the day closed with a keynote delivered remotely by Prof. Ilya A. Strebulaev (Stanford University).
A debate that will shape next year's agenda
The conference reaffirmed the urgency of strengthening Europe's innovation and financing capacity amid mounting geopolitical and economic pressures, setting the stage for CfET's continued work on European transformation and resilience.
With thanks to our outstanding speakers, our conference moderator Carolin Roth, our main sponsor DWS, and our media partner Börsen-Zeitung, for their contribution to the discussion.