Together with EXPONENTIAL Europe/ Messe Düsseldorf we cordially invite you and your colleagues to our event:

UK-GER Bilateral Symposium
“Defence meets Wirtschaft”

Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2026
Time: 10:00 – 22:00 h CET
Location: EXPONENTIAL Europe, Messe Düsseldorf

This exclusive event will bring together leading figures from government, business and technology to discuss defence, innovation and economic resilience, complemented by high-level keynotes, engaging panels and valuable networking opportunities.

Program

10:30 h: Doors open and access Registration

11:00 – 11:50 h: Welcome

– Mr Wolfram Diener, CEO Düsseldorf Trade Fair (5 Min)

– Mr Andreas Glunz, Vice President BCCG & KMPG (5 Min)

– Ministers and Ambassadors:

– Mr Hendrik Wüst, Minister President North Rhine-Westphalia (15 Min)

– HE Andrew Mitchell CMG, British Ambassador to Germany (15 Min)

– Mr Nathanael Liminski, Minister for EUR, International Relations & Media (15 Min)

– Ms Emily Wigham, XPONENTIAL Europe Moderator & Introduction (5 Min)

11:50 – 12:50 h: Threat Update (UK,GER,UA) (60 Min)

– Moderation: Mr Dominic Nicholls

– Mr Mychajlo Federow, Defence Minister or Representative, Defence UA, Investing in Ukraine local defence industry: opportunity and challenge (20 Min)

– Mr Ingo Gerhartz, General, Comd. NATO Joint Forces Command, Brunssum, High level threat assessment with focus on the European theatre. (20 Min)

– Mr Peter Watkins, London School of Economics, Threat Assessment and LSE Publication (20 Min)

– UK tbc GCHQ |NCSC / Industry Representative

13:00 – 14:00 h: Ministerial Keynotes

13:00-13:30 h: KEYNOTE SPEECH: Mr Jens Plötner, Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence Germany

Moderation: Ms Emily Wigham

A perspective of Security policy significance the key defence agreement elements of Trinity House and Kensington and why they are so important to Germany. What progress is being made todate to cement the key content?

– Budgetary enhancements and dimensions which the German government has aleready passed in support of the Defence budgets.

– Key challenges to be overcome from procurement to manpower

– How this is also aligned with EU defence budgets.

– How can commerce and industry in Germany best rise to these challenges.

13:30-14:00 h: KEYNOTE SPEECH: Defence Minister United Kingdom

Moderation: Ms Emily Wigham

A perspective on why the key defence agreements are so key to the UK and what progress is being made todate to cement the key content and cooperation. What does the government view as top UK priorities.

– Budgetary facts which the UK government still must balance in support of the defence budgets.

– Is the UK PM’s intitiative “the Cooperation of the Willing” bearing fruit and what has been achieved to date.

– How can commerce and industry in the UK best rise to these challenges.

14:00 – 15:00 h: Lunch Break (Congress Centre/XPONENTIAL Europe) (60 Min)

15:00 – 16:00 h: Panel Discussion I: Autonomous Conventional Battlefield – Land, Sea, Air implications of autonomy & AI (60 Min)

Moderation: Mr Dominic Nicholls

– Sir Stuart Atha, Air Marshall (Retd) – BAE Systems NATO Representative

– Mr Klaus Kappen – CEO Rheinmetall Autonomous Systems

– Mr Micheal Armstrong – CEO Stark UK

– Mr Marc Wietfeld – CEO ARX Robotics

– Representative UA – Link1Film D

– Discussion Topics:

-What are the defined major threats we are observing on land, sea and in the air.

– What are the key weapon systems of the future and are they rapidly making large formations of expensive conventional equipment progressively redundant. Does this change the “Boots on the Ground” requirement? Not forgetting conventional hulls at sea and manned aircraft.

– As AI develops what are the implications for command and control over large expanses of territory and long boarders.

16:00 – 16:30 h: KEYNOTE SPEECH

Dr. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, MEP & Chair, EU Commission Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Moderation: Ms Emily Wigham

– Discussion Topics:

– Updating how the EU is determining optimal defence posture alongside NATO.

– Comment on the practical application of the EU defence budget

– Is independent EU Defence posture achievable with the US and NATO.

16:30 – 17:00 h: Break (30 Min)

17:00 – 17:50 | Panel Discussion II: Efficient Innovation and Procurement – Lessons and pragmatic changes. (30 Min) |

Moderation: Mr Moritz Brake

– Mr Bodo Koch – CEO Heckler& Koch

– Mr André Komp – CEO INFINTEQ

– Mr Christian Bock, Admiral – Chief Ministry of Defence Innovation GE

– Mr Klaus Frauenhof, Major General – Chief Bundeswehr Procurement

– Mr Stefan Fontanari – CSO KNDS

– UniCredit / FI BCCG Member

– Discussion Topics:

– Given this quantum change to the battlefield and the increased threat ,NATO and allies need to accelerate procurement, innovation and opportunity. What are the key lessons we have learnt in the past 12 months.

– How can we imporove this further and what blocks need to be removed

– Are the defence budgets GER, UK and EU adequate and able to react swiftly enough

– Is access to these budgets open to SMEs as well as the “Greats”.

17:50 – 18:40 h: Panel Discussion III: Total Cyber War – Satellite to tactical threat, infrastructure vulnerabilities & responses (60 Min) |

Moderation: Mr Moritz Brake

– Mr David Mudd – Global Head of Cyber Defence British Standards Institute

– Mr Markus Hartmann – Chief State Attorney NRW, Cyber Security Centre

– Mr Norman Heidt – Chief Security & Resilience Director, Vodafone Group UK

– Dr Martin Wolff – MD KRITIS & Cyber GmbH & Clausewitz Strategy Network

– Prof Timo Kob – CEO HiSolutions AG

– Dr Dirk Stenkamp – CEO TÜV NORD GROUP

– UK Gov, GCHQ/NCSC

– Discussion Topics:

– We are at “war” – so how does this manifest itself on a day-to-day basis with past examples. UK and Germany are our focus today but but what other examples to illustrate EUR and global impact.

– Visible corporate impact of wide dimension is being experienced in both countries.

– What does this look like and what is the assessed financial damage in the cases we are talking about.

– In the public domain what overriding principles must companies in both countries focus on to drive “Resiliance Engineering”.

– We hear about global and local threats. We are in NRW so what impact examples do we have on our doorstep?

19:00 – 22:00 h: VIP & Speakers Dinner by Invitation

– “Welcome”

  Mr Wolfram Diener, CEO Düsseldorf Trade Fair

  Mr Andreas Glunz, Vice President BCCG, Managing Partner, KPMG

– “What happened at MSC in 2026!” (15 Min)

  Mr Christoph Heusgen, Munich Security Conference Chair 2022-2025

Defence meets Wirtschaft – Program & Registration (pls. click)