Executive board and management

Prof. Rainer Kirchdörfer

Member of the Executive Board

Prof. Rainer Kirchdörfer was born in 1958 and is a partner at the law firm Hennerkes, Kirchdoerfer & Lorz in Stuttgart. He is an honorary professor at Witten/Herdecke University and has been active on the foundation’s Advisory Board for many years.

(Copyright Photo Download: © Marco Urban / Foundation for Family Businesses)

Press photo Prof. Rainer Kirchdörfer

Dr. Ulrich Stoll

Member of the Executive Board

Dr. Ulrich Stoll was born in 1972 and has served on the Supervisory Board of Festo AG since 2007, becoming the Board's vice-chairman in 2010. Stoll attended the University of St. Gallen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Harvard Business School, ultimately earning his doctorate in economics at St. Gallen in 2003.

(Copyright Photo Download: © Werner Schüring / Foundation for Family Businesses)

Press photo Dr. Ulrich Stoll

Stefan Heidbreder

Managing Director

Since completing a degree in business administration, Stefan Heidbreder (born 1967) has worked for leading family businesses in a management or advisory capacity.

In 2005 he became Managing Director of the Foundation for Family Businesses.

Stefan Heidbreder also represents the interests of the family businesses in various national and international bodies. He has a number of teaching positions, including at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen. He is married and has two children.

(Copyright Photo Download: © Thorsten Jochim / Foundation for Family Businesses)

Press photo Stefan Heidbreder

Dr. David Deißner

Managing Director

Dr. David Deißner, born in 1976, is a humanities scholar and trained journalist. He has worked for the Vodafone Foundation, headed the transatlantic association Atlantik-Brücke and most recently was responsible for global public affairs at Hello Fresh. In 2023, he became managing director of the non-profit Foundation for Family Businesses.

He is married, has two children and lives in Berlin.

(Copyright Photo Download: © Thorsten Jochim / Foundation for Family Businesses)

Press photo Dr. David Deißner