Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, Finance Bodies

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees decides on all fundamental questions that are part of the remit of the EVZ Foundation.
It determines the focuses of the Foundation’s funding and activities, and establishes guidelines for the use of the resources. The Board of Trustees is international, and its current 25 members are delegated for four-year terms, for example, by the German Bundestag and Bundesrat, German economic players, and the states and organizations involved in the international negotiations that led to EVZ’s establishment. The Board of Directors is responsible for current business activities of the EVZ Foundation and implements the resolutions of the Board of Trustees.

CV Annette Schavan

CV Werner Gatzer

Organization	Member of the Board of Trustees	Deputy
Chair	Annette Schavan, Bundesministerin a.D.	Werner Gatzer
Foundation initiative	Dr. Jörg Freiherr Frank von Fürstenwerth	Dr. Dirk Förterer
Foundation initiative	Christoph Kübel	Dr. Helen Müller
Foundation initiative	Thomas Wessel	Andreas Klugescheid
Foundation initiative	Prof. Dr. Susanne Sophia Spiliotis
Bundestag (CDU/CSU)	MdB Michael Breilmann	MdB Stephan Mayer
Bundestag (SPD)	MdB Dietmar Nietan	MdB Marianne Schieder
Bundestag (BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN)	MdB Ulle Schauws	MdB Marlene Schönberger
Bundestag (FDP)	MdB Renata Alt	Ulla Ihnen
Bundesrat	StS Karin Müller	StS Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert
Bundesrat	StS Thorsten Bischoff	StS Jutta Bieringer
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)	MDgin Petra von Wick	MR Dr. Sven Asmussen
Federal Foreign Office	Ralf Beste	Ambassador Christian Heldt
Jewish Claims Conference	Greg Schneider	Rüdiger Mahlo
Sinti and Roma *	Nordmunds Rudevics	Tobias Neuburger
Israel	Arie Zuckerman	Dr. LL.M. Avraham Weber
USA	Ellen J. Germain	Marina Ritsema
Poland	PhD Jerzy Kranz	Jakub Deka
Russian Federation**
Ukraine	Dr. Anton Drobovych	Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev
Belarus**
Czech Republic	Botschafter Dr. Jiři Šitler	Dr. Tomáš Jelínek
Plaintiff's Attorney USA	Monica Dugot	Christiane Reeh
UNHCR		Dr. Roland Bank
International Organization for Migration	Jean-Philippe Chauzy	Sarah Tietze
Bundesverband für NS-Verfolgte (Federal Association of NS Persecutees)	Volker Kirchesch

The EVZ’s founding history challenges us to raise awareness of the responsibility we have where reservations lead to denial, marginalization, and violence. It challenges us to work for a new phase of remembrance culture: First, it should do justice to the victims of the Shoah – we want to be there for them, take care of them, and keep their memory alive. Second, we want to enhance the impact of historical education and help a young generation assume an active role in shaping remembrance culture themselves.

Annette Schavan

Chairperson of the Board of Trustees

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for current business activities of the EVZ Foundation and implements the resolutions of the Board of Trustees. Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andrea Despot is responsible for designing the Foundation’s strategy, developing the organization, and ensuring its resources are used for the designated economic purpose. The Board of Directors represents the Foundation in and out of court and was appointed on March 4, 2020, at an extraordinary meeting of the international Board of Trustees. The Director took office in June 2020.

The international Board of Trustees of the Foundation EVZ elected historian and science manager Jakob Meyer as a member of the Board at its meeting on May 16, 2022. He took office on July 1, 2022.

CV Dr. Andrea Despot

CV Jakob Meyer

Portaitfoto von Dr. Andrea Despot — Foto von Dr. Andrea Despot.

© Amélie Losier/Raum 11

Portrait-Foto von Jakob Meyer. — Foto von Jakob Meyer.

© Amélie Losier/Raum 11

Foto von Dr. Andrea Despot und Jakob Meyer — Dr. Andrea Despot and Jakob Meyer

© Raum 11/Amélie Losier

Financial committees

The EVZ Foundation has two financial committees: The asset advisory committee generally meets once a year and provides the Board of Directors of the Foundation with advice regarding strategic matters and topics. Operational decisions relating to the management of the EVZ Foundation’s assets are made by the investment commission. The Directors bear full responsibility for the decisions made by the body.

Asset Management Advisory Committee

The asset advisory committee generally meets once a year and provides the Board of Directors of the Foundation with advice regarding strategic matters and topics. Operational decisions relating to the management of the EVZ Foundation’s assets are taken by the investment commission. The Directors bear full responsibility for the decisions.

The current members of the committee are:

Jörg Eickhoff, Head of Department for Investment Strategy Implementation/AI, Federal and State Government Employees Retirement Fund (VBL)
Harald Epple, Chief Financial Officer, Gothaer Finanzholding AG
Dieter Lehmann, member of the management board and head of asset management at the Volkswagen Foundation
Wiebke Merbeth, Head of Public Affairs & Sustainability, BayernInvest Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH
Rupert Schaefer, Chief Executive Director Strategy, Policy and Control, Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin
Martin Wieland, Permanent Deputy of Head of Directorate General Markets, Bundesbank

Investment Commission

The Investment Commission is responsible for tactical investment decisions.

Members, Investment Commission:

Dr. Andrea Despot, Chair of the Board of Directors, EVZ Foundation
Jakob Meyer, Director, EVZ Foundation,
Dieter Lehmann, co-managing Director and Head of the Assets Department, Volkswagen Stiftung

Information about investment strategies as well as facts and figures under Finances and Transparency.