German American Business Outlook 2023

This in-person event takes place in partnership with the German American Chamber of Commerce Inc. New York and is hosted here in Boston by J.P. Morgan.

Date: Thursday, March 2nd, 2023
Time: 6PM to 9PM
Location: J.P. Morgan, 50  Rowes Wharf in Boston
Tickets: $30 member | $60 non-member

Schedule:

6:00PM to 6:30PM  Registration and check-in

6:30PM GABC Welcome followed by

• International Business Update by Morgan McGrath, Head of International Banking, Commercial Bank at J.P. Morgan
• Presentation of GABO 2023 Survey Results by Dietmar Rieg, President & CEO of German American Chamber of Commerce, New York
• Panel Discussion:
  • Dr. Bernhard Brinker, Managing Director, Head of Corporate Client Banking, DACH Region, J.P.Morgan (Moderator)
  • Felix Brockmeyer, President & CEO, igus Inc.
  • Shikha Jain, Partner and Head of the Boston Office, Simon-Kucher & Partners
  • Bruce Watkins, President & General Manager, KARL STORZ Endovision

Reception / Networking to conclude the event.

Speakers:

Morgan McGrath, Managing Director
Head of International Banking | Commercial Banking at J.P. Morgan

Morgan McGrath is Head of International Banking, responsible for the global relationship management of Commercial Banking clients headquartered in the U.S. and overseas. He joined the firm in 1983 and launched the International Banking Team in 2005.
Morgan has extensive experience in investment banking and commercial banking client coverage, and as a line of business executive in the U.S. and overseas. Throughout his career, he has worked with a wide range of U.S. and foreign companies, financial institutions and governments in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. Morgan was based in Asia for eight years where his roles included Regional Executive for Southeast Asia and India, Country Head for Singapore and Country Head for Indonesia.
Morgan’s outside activities have included serving on the boards of Helen Keller International, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council and the Securities Industries Council for the Government of Singapore. He holds a master’s degree in international economics and European studies from The Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC and Bologna, Italy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and Gonzaga University in Florence, Italy.

Dietmar Rieg, President & CEO
German American Chamber of Commerce, New York

Mr. Rieg has served as President and CEO of the German American Chamber of Commerce Inc. (GACC) New York since July 2013. Prior to joining the GACC New York, Mr. Rieg held numerous senior positions with BayernLB in New York since 1991. From 2006 to 2008, he shifted to the bank’s headquarters in Munich, where he was responsible for the corporate banking business in multiple industries, including energy and telecommunications. He returned to New York in 2008 to take the position of General Manager of Bayern LB’s New York office. Mr. Rieg is an economist with a degree from the University of Tübingen, Germany, and holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Dr. Bernhard Brinker, Managing Director
Head of Corporate Client Banking – DACH Region, J.P. Morgan

Bernhard Brinker joined J.P. Morgan in January 2019 as Head of Corporate Client Banking & Specialized Industries, DACH Region in Frankfurt.
Prior to assuming this role, Bernhard spent eleven years at Unicredit / HypoVereinsbank, where he started in 2007 in investment banking – first covering international corporates, then as Co-Head of investment banking and Head of Financial Institutions Group. For the last five years, Bernhard was, as a Divisional Board Member, responsible for HypoVereinsbank’s Private Banking business in Germany.
Before his time at Unicredit / Hypovereinsbank, Bernhard started his career at McKinsey & Company, Inc. in Munich, Frankfurt and New York, where he was spending most of his 13 years (the last six as a Partner) with financial services / banking clients, and where he was for his last four years also responsible for the Firm’s Corporate Finance & Strategy Practice in Germany. Bernhard has graduated with a PhD and an MBA from European Business School, Schloss Reichartshausen in Germany.

Felix Brockmeyer
President & CEO igus Inc.

Felix Brockmeyer is the President & CEO of igus Inc., which is part of the global igus group of companies. igus, headquartered in Cologne, Germany manufactures engineered plastics with a focus on motion plastics, cable carriers, cables, linear actuators, guides, bearings, robotics and automation.  Felix has over 17 years of experience in leadership roles in German owned businesses in the United States. Before joining igus Inc. in 2022, he was Vice President of Industrial Instrumentation at the WIKA Group. Felix is a graduate from the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Würzburg, Germany with degree in Mechanical Engineering for Product and Process design.  He resides in Providence, RI where igus Inc. is located.

Bruce H. Watkins, President & General Manager
KARL STORZ Endovision Inc.

Bruce has more than 30 years’ leadership and management experience leading businesses spanning technologies as diverse as high volume consumer goods, high precision machining, fine chemicals enterprises, pharmaceutical-food grade operations, and medical device companies. He skillfully integrates a hands on leadership approach that combines the entrepreneurial mindset of a small company with the discipline of a large stable organization to deliver high impact results. In his current position as President and General Manager of KARL STORZ Endovision located in Charlton MA, Bruce was recruited to lead a business turnaround, delivering unprecedented levels of customer service, quality, and cash flow. He has more than 20 years lean leadership experience, and has successfully implemented lean operating systems in several different businesses. A nine time Boston Marathon qualifier and runner, Bruce understands the discipline required to deliver a long term plan, while executing day-to-day operational excellence. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the Central Mass South Chamber of Commerce and for the Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership (a Toyota lean consulting non-profit organization based in New England), and for the last eight years has guest lectured, taught, and has served as an executive process improvement coach for students enrolled in the Masters of Business and Operational Excellence at the Fisher School of Business at The Ohio State University. Bruce holds a BS Mechanical Engineering degree from The Ohio State University and an MBA from the University of Rochester, Simon School of Business.

Shikha Jain, Partner & Head of the Boston Office
Simon-Kucher & Partners 

Shikha has been with the firm since 2012 and is a Partner in the Consumer sector as well as the Head of the Boston office. Shikha is a top-line growth advisor with a client portfolio that spans the B2C world including consumer goods, retail, and consumer services.

She has expertise in specialty retail, eCommerce, consumer products (both fast moving and durables), fashion/apparel, footwear, beauty, consumer applications/internet, home related services, and luxury goods. She works with CXOs to build effective go-to-market strategies and achieve commercial and digital excellence across all revenue growth topics. Advisory areas span (but are not limited to) consumer segmentation, value proposition and competitive strategies, activation strategies; portfolio architecture; price setting and optimization; promotional effectiveness; new product/service innovation and launch, incremental revenue stream identification, digital journey optimization; omnichannel effectiveness; governance and transformation.

In addition, Shikha is passionate and dedicates her personal time to two topics – sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is the lead author for Simon-Kucher’s Annual Global Sustainability Study that investigates consumer attitudes, behaviors, and willingness-to-pay when it comes to environmental sustainability. The study is conducted in 20 countries worldwide and covers all industries. She also serves on the DEI Council and was instrumental in setting up Simon-Kucher’s global DEI strategy and furthering related initiatives.

Shikha received her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a concentration in Strategy and Marketing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Smith College. She started her career at JPMorgan Chase as an Investment Banking Analyst in New York and Toronto.

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