Clairfield Germany hosted a follow-on CEO-level client event in its “Unternehmergespräche” (Discussions with Business Leaders) series, bringing together captains of industry, entrepreneurs, and investors for high-profile presentations and lively off-the-record discussions on a range of topics of interest to business leaders. The event on January 25^th was co-hosted by  international legal advisors CMS and business performance consultants Kloepfel, and was held in Stuttgart at the emblematic Alte Kanzlei on the beautiful Schloss square. Clairfield has offices in Germany in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

Building on the success of the first event in the series, which took place in Frankfurt last June, Alexander Klemm, vice chairman of Clairfield International, together with Clairfield partners Albert Schander, Jack Helm, and Dirk Freiland, welcomed over 40 guests. Jörn Werner, CEO of A.T.U. Autoteile-Unger, gave a talk entitled “Digital Transformation in the German Mittelstand”. A.T.U. Autoteile-Unger is the leading German provider of aftermarket automotive services, which was recently acquired by French family-owned Mobivia, making it the biggest group in this space in Europe. Mr. Werner provided valuable insights on changing markets in a digital age by sharing his firsthand experience of the transformation of ATU and also Conrad Electronic, where he was previously CEO,  from a classic catalogue and retail player to a multichannel retailer. The talk was of special interest to the executives of the Stuttgart automotive sector in the audience.

“There is a real need in the business community for a forum to discuss high-level concerns on the very nature of industry,” says Alexander Klemm. “The increasingly rapid pace of changes in technology is a large concern for our clients. It was extremely useful to discuss the experience of a seasoned expert who has successfully guided two companies through the digitalization process.”