ZEW Sponsors’ Association Expands Its Reach: Confirmation of Extended Board and Dr. Ralph Rheinboldt as Chairman

At its general assembly, the ZEW – Sponsors’ Association for Science and Practice elected Dr. Ralph Rheinboldt, board member at Fuchs Petrolub SE, as its chair. In addition, the extended board, including four newly appointed members, was confirmed.

Dr. Rheinboldt took over as chairman from Dr. Georg Müller, CEO of MVV Energie AG, on 1 February 2022. Dr. Müller retired from his position at the ZEW Sponsors’ Association after five successful years. During the general assembly at ZEW, the board thanked him for his great commitment at the helm of the association. The president of ZEW Mannheim, Professor Achim Wambach, emphasised: “Dr. Müller has raised the work of the association to a new level through his strong dedication and initiatives. On behalf of the entire ZEW, I would like to thank him warmly for the excellent cooperation.”

At the first face-to-face meeting after a two and a half year break due the COVID-19 pandemic, the members also confirmed the treasurer of the association Claudia Diem (BW Bank) and the deputy chairman Luka Mucic (SAP SE) in their offices, as well as the board members Manfred Bauer (MLP SE) and Dr. Ralf Krieger (Freudenberg SE). In addition, the Sponsors’ Association is expanding its reach by extending its board with four new members. Karin Dohm (Hornbach Baumarkt AG), Saori Dubourg (BASF SE), Alexander Moser (Roche Diabetes Care GmbH) and Markus Ochsner (ABB AG) were elected to the committee for the first time. ZEW Managing Director Thomas Kohl explained: “With the new board members, the Sponsors’ Association continues to expand its regional outreach and diversity. ZEW is looking forward to the cooperation in the years to come.”

Following the general assembly, Claudia Diem presented the 2020/21 Awards of the Sponsors’ Association in a festive ceremony. The prize for the best scientific performance at ZEW went to Dr. Guido Neidhöfer (ZEW Research Department “Labour Markets and Social Insurance”) and his co-author Giacomo Corneo. Their study “Income redistribution and self-selection of immigrants” provides insights into how the income redistribution systems of the destination country, e.g. through taxes or social security contributions, affect the migration patterns of skilled workers. “KitaMatch” was awarded the prize for the best economic policy advising project at ZEW. The project team, consisting of Professor Thilo Klein, Tobias Riehm and Gian Caspari, PhD from the ZEW Research Department “Market Design”, supported by Sven Giegerich, Professor Nicolas Fugger and Professor Vitali Gretschko, developed an open source software to optimise the allocation of nursery school places in Germany in a way that better meets the needs of parents.

The ZEW Sponsors’ Association was founded in 1993 by companies and individuals committed to its cause. Today, approximately 140 members support ZEW both financially and otherwise, for example by initiating and continually supporting practice-oriented research projects and events, and endowing prizes for outstanding scientific research conducted at ZEW. Members of the Sponsors’ Association benefit from direct access to ZEW’s latest findings, regular talks by renowned speakers and a fruitful exchange with ZEW researchers.