Biography: Jürgen R. THUMANN

Jürgen R. Thumann is President of BUSINESSEUROPE. With 41 member organizations from 35 European countries BUSINESSEUROPE represents the interests of more than 20 million European companies towards Euorpean and international instituions. Since 2008 he is also Co-Chair of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), the official dialogue between American and European business leaders and the U.S. and EU government.

Thumann is a born entrepreneur. At the age of 19, he took over the management of the family business. Later he founded Heitkamp & Thumann Group which today comprises 21 companies with a total of about 2000 employees. The company is world market leader for the supply of metal and plastic components for specialized markets within the pharmaceutical, automotive and consumer battery industry. In 1998 he resigned from an active managing role and became Chairman of the Advisory Board.