Thank you — this was

WBD 2026

Generation Europe — Unite to Compete

One day in Cologne, spent on the questions that decide Europe's next decade. A look back at the 26th World Business Dialogue — and what comes next.

See the impressions What's next →

0 Participants

0 Speakers on stage

0 Partners

0 Conference formats

The year between

The Dialogue doesn't
stop in June

Workshops, evenings and openings with our partners throughout the year — open to students, no conference ticket needed.

4 upcoming

Next up Workshop · not a lecture

Tue 10 Nov 26

Provokante Hypothesen.
Eure Lösungen.

Digitalisierung in der Finanzdienstleistungsbranche – wie gehen wir mit aktuellen Herausforderungen um?

17:00 – ca. 19:30 Büro crossconsulting, Agrippinawerft 22, 50678 Köln

Date TBA

Workshop

Deloitte Workshop

Details to be announced

Date TBA

Get-together

Semester Opening with LAP Coffee

Start of term, Cologne

2027 Spring

The main stage

27th World Business Dialogue

Cologne · save the season

What we talked about

Five debates that ran
through the day

See the full programme

01 Defence & Strategy

02 Industry & Competitiveness

03 Narrative & Democracy

04 European Unity

05 Innovation & Start-Ups

Defence & Strategy

How Europe organises its own security — spending, capability and the industrial base behind it. Discussed on stage with voices from politics, defence tech and research.

On stage

26 June 2026 · Cologne

Impressions
from the day

Scroll → Revisit WBD 2025 →

Revisit WBD 2025 →

The programme · 26 June 2026

Five formats. One day.

Stage Program

Keynotes, panel discussions and live interviews with Europe's leading voices.

Company Speed Datings

Fast-paced 1:1 sessions connecting students directly with company representatives.

Dialogue Sessions

Small-group conversations between students and senior company executives.

Career Fair

Open-format meetings with recruiting teams from Europe's leading organisations.

Afterparty / Dinner

The conversation continued in a relaxed evening setting with speakers and guests.

Hendrik Wüst Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia

Honorary Patron "

The World Business Dialogue addresses the great questions about the future of Europe in a period of profound change. That is our shared responsibility — as Germans and as Europeans.

Hendrik Wüst Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia

The speakers · WBD 2026

Voices that shaped
the Dialogue

Prof. Dr. Jens Südekum

Economist & Advisor to the Federal Minister of Finance

Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Grube

Former CEO Deutsche Bahn Group & Multi-Chairman

Sabine Verheyen

First Vice-President of the European Parliament

Prof. Dr. Hermann Simon

Founder & Honourary Chairman, Simon-Kucher & Partners

Julius van de Laar

Political Strategist & Campaign Consultant

Lorenz Seeger

Managing Director, diesdas.digital

Dr. Werner Hoyer

Form. President, European Investment Bank

Damian Boeselager

Member of the European Parliament & Founder, VOLT Europa

Sven Weizenegger

Head of the Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr

Matthias Lehna

Vice President at Quantum Systems

Claudius Laskawy

Vice President at DTCP Liberty

Ulrike Sapiro

Managing Director, Jacques Delors Friends of Europe Foundation

Dirk Olufs

Chief Information Officer of DHL Express

Katharina Utermöhl

Head of Thematic & Policy Research, Allianz Research

Cihan Sügür

Associated Partner (Public & Defense) at MHP

Made possible by

Our partners

Become a partner →

Academic Partner of the WBD

Adenauer School of Government

A new, non-partisan institution at the University of Cologne, dedicated to becoming a leading center for multidisciplinary, evidence-based governance research and education.

Visit website →

Corporate & Advisory Partners

2026

That's a wrap · WBD 2026

Thank you for
the Dialogue

26 June 2026 · Cologne, Germany · Generation Europe

See what's next Revisit WBD 2025

The 27th World Business Dialogue returns to Cologne in spring 2027.

You want to do more than just attend?

Join the team
behind the WBD

WBD is entirely student-run. Every speaker invited, every session shaped, every moment crafted by a team of committed students just like you. Applications to join our team are open.

Apply now

The WBD 2026 Team

Generation Europe — Unite to Compete

World Business Dialogue · Cologne · 2026

WBD 2026