BASF creates chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of their customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. The portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions.

Further information is available at www.basf.com

Deutsche Börse Group is one of the largest exchange organisations worldwide. It organises markets characterised by integrity, transparency and safety for investors who invest capital and for companies that raise capital – markets on which professional traders buy and sell equities, derivatives and other financial instruments according to clear rules and under strict supervision. Deutsche Börse Group, with its services and systems, ensures the functioning of these markets and a level playing field for all participants – worldwide.

Further information is available at www.deutsche-boerse.com

The Günter Thiele Foundation for Communication & Management is a founding partner of the Center for Research in Financial Communication.

The foundation is organized within the Association for German Science Foundation (Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft) and is subject to legal supervision by the state of Sachsen. 

The Günter Thiele Foundation for Communication & Management aims to promote science and research and support young researchers and teaching in the fields of communication management, public relations and strategic communication. In particular, it seeks to continue and expand the work already performed at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies of the University of Leipzig. 

Further information is available at guenter-thiele-stiftung.de

Prof. Dr. Alexander V. Laskin is a Professor of Strategic Communication at Quinnipiac University (USA) and a consultant for corporations, non-profits, and governments. Before earning his Ph.D., he worked in international investor relations. His research focuses on corporate communication practices such as investor and shareholder relations as well as measurement and evaluation of communication effectiveness.  

Further information is available at alexanderlaskin.com.

Prof. Dr. Peter Leibfried is KPMG Professor and Director of the Institute for Controlling, Accounting and Auditing at the University of St. Gallen (ACA-HSG). Among other things, he is the academic leader of the largest master program of HSG (MaccFin), and serves as Dean of the School of Management. Outside the university, he is President of the expert commission Swiss GAAP FER, a member of the Supervision Comiccion for Occupational Pensios and active in further advisory boards. Prior joining the University of St. Gallen, Peter Leibfried hold various roles in practice. His research focuses on auditing & accounting as well as international accounting.  

Further information is available at unisg.ch.

Prof. Dr. Katja Langenbucher is a Professor for Private Law, Corporate and Financial Law in Goethe-University's House of Finance, furthermore she is an affiliated professor at Sciences Po, Paris. She studied law and philosophy at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Harvard Law School and Cambridge University. Her research focuses on corporate and capital markets law and includes selected topics of European Legal Theory.

Further information is available at langenbucher.hof.uni-frankfurt.de

Prof. Dr. Dirk Schiereck ist seit 2008 Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Unternehmensfinanzierung an der TU Darmstadt. Bevor er zur TU Darmstadt kam, war er zwei Jahre am Institute for Mergers & Acquisitions der Universität Witten/Herdecke und sechs Jahre an der European Business School tätig. Er promovierte und habilitierte am Lehrstuhl für ABWL der Universität Mannheim. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte liegen in den Bereichen Unternehmensfinanzierung, Performancemessung und Investor Relations. 

Weitere Informationen unter tu-darmstadt.de.

Prof. Dr. Henning Zülch leitet seit 2006 den Lehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsprüfung, Controlling und Rechnungswesen an der HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. Sein Studium der Wirtschaftswissenschaft absolvierte er an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster. Danach arbeitete er bei der Ernst & Young Deutsche Allgemeine Treuhand AG als Prüfungsassistent und später als Teamleiter im Bereich Assurance & Advisory Business Services. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Konsolidierung, Performance Reporting, Standard Setting & Enforcement sowie Accounting in Unternehmen.

Weitere Informationen unter hhl.de.

DIRK – Deutscher Investor Relations Verband (German Investor Relations Association) is the largest specialized association for connecting companies and the capital market in Europe. As an independent expert, DIRK aims to improve the dialogue between issuers, investors and relevant intermediaries and set professional quality standards. The goal of the association is professional support for its members, the promotion of the IR profession as well as extensive trainings and further education possibilities in close cooperation with science and research. 

Further information is available at dirk.org. 

DVFA – Deutsche Vereinigung für Finanzanalyse und Asset Management (German Association for Financial Analysis and Asset Management) is a professional association with nearly 1,400 investment professionals. The aim of the association is to take decisive steps in setting the course within the financial community. Furthermore, the DVFA professional regulation sets a self-imposed framework concerning the standards of professional practice. In various industry-specific events, relevant issues are discussed and decision-making is initiated.  

Further information is available at dvfa.de.

Since 1953, Deutsche Aktieninstitut (DAI) represents the interests of publicly traded companies, banks, stock exchanges and investors representing 80 percent of the market capitalization of stock corporations in Germany. It aims to promote equities as investments and financing instruments in Germany and strives to support the development of capital markets and their parameters. The raising of capital via primary markets, the trading of securities as well as the rights and obligations of shareholders, management and supervisory boards are among their core issues addressed. DAI provides the secretariat of the Regierungskommission Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex. 

Further information is available at dai.de.

The Center for Corporate Reporting (CCR) is an independent center of excellence for corporate reporting and a central point of contact for all key players in the corporate reporting community. CCR focuses not only on reporting in the strictest sense; it examines external and internal reporting and its interaction with topics such as strategy, leadership, reputation, risk and corporate management. CCR’s activities include the annual Symposium, topic-specific events, the trade publication «The Reporting Times» and networking of diverse players within the reporting community.  

Further information is available at corporate-reporting.com.

The IR Club is the combination of Investor Relations and Social Media: an online community of IR specialists and one of the largest IR associations in Europe. IR Club aims to promote networking, communication, discussion and knowledge transfer among IR experts. In addition, the use of social media is supported by the platform. 

Further information is available at irclub.de.