16:45–17:00
Impulse

Born in Saarbrücken on 9 October 1979, married, two children

1986 - 1990
Erich Kästner Elementary School in Holz, Saarland

1990 - 2000
Franco-German High School (Gymnasium) in Saarbrücken; Dual school-leaving certificate (Abitur and Baccalauréat)

2000 - 2001
Civilian service at the Heusweiler welfare station, Saarland

2001 - 2006
Master’s Degree at the Grande Ecole Sciences Po (IEP), Paris, with a focus on European Studies and Economics; one study year at King’s College London (European Law)

since 2000
Member of the Free Democratic Party (FDP)

since 2004
Member of the Heusweiler Town Council

since 2011
Chairman of the Saar FDP

2009 - 2013 and since October 2017
Member of the German Bundestag

since December 2021
Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport

since January 2022
Federal Government Coordinator for Freight Transport and Logistics

Thematic focus: planning process acceleration, logistics, federal trunk roads, road transport, cycling, pedestrians, aviation, waterways

16:45–17:00
Impulse

Since 27 January 2022
Commissioner of BMWK for the Digital Economy and Start-ups

As of 5 January 2022
Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy

Since 2017
Member of the German Bundestag

2013 -2017
Head of Office for the Minister and policy officer for fundamental policy issues in science policy at the Ministry for Science, Stuttgart

2008 – 2013
Academic working for various women’s networks and mentoring programmes, and at the Centre for Democracy at Zurich University

2008
Part of the constituency staff at the office of Theresia Bauer, Member of the State Parliament

2003
Member of ALLIANCE 90/THE GREENS

2002 - 2008
Student of political sciences, economics and mathematics (Heidelberg)

2008 - 2013
Doctoral thesis on ‘The limits of direct democracy’ at Bern University and the University of California

17:00–17:40
Discussion

Yannick Assouad, a graduate engineer from INSA Lyon and holder of a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago), has made aerospace her career. She worked at Thomson-CSF, SECAN (Honeywell Aerospace), and Zodiac, where she managed various branches and initiated major innovations and acquisitions. In 2016, she became CEO of Latécoère, and in 2020, Executive Vice President of Thales. She has been honored with several distinctions, including the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite. Since 2023, she is President of the CORAC Steering Committee. She is also a board member of Vinci, Mécachrome and the ENAC.

17:00–17:40
Discussion

Markus Fischer is DLR's Divisional Board Member for Aeronautics. He studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig, graduating as a chartered engineer in 1990.

From 1991 to 1996, he worked as a researcher at the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in Göttingen. In 1994, he received his doctorate in fluid mechanics from the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University of Hanover.

In 1996, he moved to industry. At the companies STN Atlas Elektronik, Rheinmetall Defence and Airbus, Fischer has been involved in many civil and military aircraft developments over the past decades, holding responsible positions in research, development and engineering. In 2017, he returned to DLR as Director of the Aeronautics Programme.
Since 2021, he has held the position of Divisional Board Member Aeronautics.

17:00–17:40
Discussion

Ms. Jane Hupe is the Deputy Director responsible for the Environment programme at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), serves as the Secretary of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP). Ms. Hupe has a vital role in providing leadership for ICAO’s efforts to define and promote policies and Standards for sustainable aviation, managing a portfolio that includes aircraft noise, local air quality, global climate, clean energy and sustainable aviation fuels, adaptation, circular economy and Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the global market-based measure for international aviation. She currently leads the Organization’s efforts on green innovation for mitigation and adaptation.  Under her leadership, ICAO adopted the ICAO long-term aspirational goal of NET-ZERO aviation CO₂ emissions by 2050 and is developing the implementation framework for its achievement, together with capacity building and assistance framework.

17:00–17:40
Discussion

Klaus Richter serves as CEO of the Diehl Group since 2021. Prior to that he held positions at Airbus (2007-2019, EVP Procurement Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Chief Procurement Officer Airbus Group) and BMW (2003-2007, VP Purchasing Strategy, Director of Purchasing Production Materials), as well as McKinsey (1993-2003). He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from TU of Munich (1991) and spent 2 years at the University of Berkeley, California, with a Humboldt scholarship. He is married with 2 children.

17:00–17:40
Discussion

Felipe Rodríguez is the Deputy Managing Director of The International Council on Clean Transportation Europe. His work focuses on reducing the climate and air quality impacts of transport through improvements in conventional and zero emission technologies. Prior to joining ICCT, Felipe worked in the automotive industry and in academia investigating the formation of pollutants in combustion processes. Felipe’s has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.