Leading Companies Select the “CEO of the Future”

The "best of the best" were honored end of February at the young manager competition "CEO of the Future" in Kitzbühel, Austria. Jury member Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer AG, presented the certificates to the first-place finishers. A total of 24 participants had qualified for the final round of the business simulation game.

Bayer Supports International Advancement of Up-and-Coming Managers
“We support talented young people who display leadership qualities and aim to prove that they have the potential for higher management challenges,” said Wenning, explaining Bayer’s involvement in this competition for up-and-coming managers. Other competition sponsors included Allianz, Credit-Suisse, McKinsey, SAP, Siemens and Vodafone.
The candidates – young managers and students between the ages of 22 and 32 – had emerged victorious in an Internet-based business simulation game lasting several months and involving 5,000 participants in several regional competitions. In Kitzbühel, Austria,  they presented their solutions and strategies for the business cases, which had been supplied to the competition’s organizers by the supporting companies. The young managers were asked to solve various strategic tasks such as: “ Present your strategy for the research and development of a new pain-reliever based on the contents of a genetically modified fruit.” And: “How should a European insurance company be organized in Korea?” Or: “How does one structure an innovation project in the high-tech industry?”

The participants stood to gain money, contacts and experience. 28-year-old Verena Delius, an independent entrepreneur from Munich, Germany, and 31-year-old Clemens Fischer, a Harvard graduate and business development manager from Murnau, Germany, finished tied for first place and received a career budget of EUR 15,000 each. They presented the most conclusive strategies and gave the most convincing answers. Wenning congratulated the winners and invited Delius to take part in a coaching program at Bayer. Finishing third was Steffen Lanzinner (26) from Freising, Germany, who received EUR 5,000 for training and management workshops of his choice.

In addition to analytical skills and specialist expertise, the jury also evaluated the so-called “soft skills” of the participants. “Team spirit, dedication and enthusiasm play an important role in one’s career,” explained Wenning. “Talented young managers have to be communicative, but they must also be able to listen and hold back in discussions.”

Wenning stressed that the new generation of young managers is flexible and open to change, and has a very clear image of its desires and expectations early on. The Bayer CEO said that frequent company and job changes are a normal part of their professional development.

The members of the jury included Wenning, SAP Chairman Henning Kagermann, Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, Credit Suisse (Deutschland) AG Supervisory Board Chairman Michael M. Rüdiger, Vodafone Deutschland Chairman Friedrich Joussen and Frank Mattern, head of McKinsey’s German operations. The “CEO of the Future” competition was held for the first time in 2000 and was taking place for the fourth time overall. The previous winner, Michael Krause, has been Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Mail Order segment at KarstadtQuelle AG since December 2005.