The American Midmarket Meets the German Mittelstand

March 19, 2012 - PRLog -- An intimate gathering of fifteen CEOs of German Mittelstand companies and fifteen CEOs of American midsize companies will take place in Charleston, SC on April 27 and 28, 2012.  The Mittelstand companies are all in the automotive sector and are coming to share their experiences with and learn from successful automotive companies in the US Midmarket.  

The gathering is designed to foster a frank and open exchange of ideas. The event is limited to Midmarket CEOs. There will be NO salespeople, consultants or advisors at this event, and no reporters or recording equipment in the room.

Several Mittelstand experts, who are also operational executives, have agreed to share their insights on some of the foremost strengths of the Mittelstand, such as:

  •   maintaining engineering excellence
  •   practicing continuous innovation
  •   defining the market to identify niches
  •   penetrating foreign markets
  •   generational strategic planning
  •   vocational training
  •   fostering employee loyalty
  •   growth financing strategies

These speakers include:
  •   Hans-Joerg Zobel, Former President of Festo USA, CEO of JPM Associates, Advisor to the President of the United States on Manufacturing and Skill Improvement  
  •   Henning v. Gersdorff , Director & Head of German Desk, Commerzbank AG NYC
  •   Clemens Schmitz-Justen, Former President, BMW Manufacturing USA, Strategic Management Consultant, CSJ Schmitz-Justen & Co.
  •   Felix von Nathusius, President/CEO, IFA ROTORION – North America LLC

Attendees will also be treated to video interviews of some of the top Mittelstand experts, including Dr. Hermann Simon, author of Hidden Champions and the foremost authority on the German Mittelstand, Dr. Patrick Adenauer, the head of the German Family Business Institute, and Ulrich Blum, the head of the Halle institute of Economics and the IFM (Institute for Mittelstand Research) in Bonn.

The conference will end with a two hour interactive session to foster dialog among the participants and speakers on topics of interest, followed by a dinner on Saturday night to enable additional informal networking.

Midmarket CEOs interested in attending should send an email to Ram V. Iyer, Founder and President of The Midmarket Institute (ceoconference@midmarket.org). More information is available at www.midmarket.org/ceoconference.

About The Midmarket Institute
The Midmarket Institute is the first organization and portal devoted exclusively to providing practical information and fostering a strong community for the midmarket. The objective of the Institute is to foster greater understanding, collaboration and commerce among and between midmarket companies and those that support them. Through its online presence at www.midmarket.org, in-person events, publishing, sponsored research and advocacy, the Institute is committed to helping midmarket companies succeed.

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About The Midmarket Institute
The Midmarket Institute is the first organization and portal devoted exclusively to providing practical information and fostering a strong community for the midmarket, which includes 375,000 companies between $5 million and $1 billion in annual revenue and between 100 to 10,000 employees. The objective of the Institute is to foster greater understanding, collaboration and commerce among and between midmarket companies and those that support them. Through its online presence at www.midmarket.org, in-person events, publishing, sponsored research and advocacy, the Institute is committed to helping midmarket companies succeed.