How it all began

In the mid-1980s I became a member of the committee of the «Churburger Wirtschaftsgespräche». They took place every October at the Churburg in South Tyrol, and the topics revolved mainly around economic development in the Vinschgau and in the border triangle of South Tyrol, Austria and Switzerland. I gladly accepted; I knew the region well from many holidays.

The format: talks with discussion in the afternoon, followed by dinner and a fireside conversation. The topics were chosen by the board of trustees, and speakers were approached through the trustees' personal networks. Participants paid a flat fee, sponsors covered the deficit, and local newspapers reported on the event.

After 20 years on the board of trustees, I decided to venture setting up a comparable event — adopting much, and changing some things.

The requirements for the event yet to be founded looked roughly like this:

The committee

Of course, the project could only be set up with the active support of good friends. The first to be approached were Dr. Dieter Distler, chemist, then head of department in BASF Research and alumnus of the Baden-Badener Unternehmer Gespräche, and Werner von Baum, a banker in senior positions in London, Munich and Switzerland; both agreed immediately. The first brainstorming took place in 2005 at Schloss Freudenberg in Thurgau, with other interested parties. The concept was approved and a suitable venue was sought — it was found on the opposite bank of the Rhine: Schloss Marbach.

Next to join the committee were Dr. Boris Zürcher, speaker at the first event in 2007 and then chief economist of Avenir Suisse, and Prof. Dr. Joachim Spatz, nanophysicist at the Max Planck Institute. They were followed by Medard Meier, speaker in 2008 and media specialist. Gradually, further members from various disciplines joined: Prof. Dr. Martin Möller, professor at RWTH Aachen, Dr. h.c. Dietmar Schmid, long-standing board member of BHF Bank, and Dr. Nannette Reuther, formerly a director at Deloitte.

Expanding the committee is meant to give a younger generation a voice: Rahul Kaushik, mathematician, ETH graduate and startup founder, joined in 2023, and Hilke Hobein, sociologist and change manager in IT turnarounds, in 2024.

In 2024, Werner von Baum and Christoph Raithelhuber were interviewed on video by the managing director of Schloss Marbach, Mr Gerald Nowak, about the development of the association and its goals; the interview can be watched on YouTube.

In 2025, Dr. Dieter Distler and Dr. h.c. Dietmar Schmid stepped down for reasons of age, but remain with the association as participants. President Werner von Baum thanks them both for their many years of loyalty and valuable support.

And so it continues with the themes of our time

With the exception of the pandemic year 2020, an event has taken place every year from 2007 until today — 2025 — each with top speakers from business, research, the media, culture and politics.

All details on the programmes, topics, speakers and committee can be found at www.themen-unserer-zeit.org.

What makes it special

The conversations are confidential, no press. This has allowed us to win business leaders and politicians in the spotlight as speakers who would otherwise not speak openly.

No sponsors — the association is financially independent.

Committee members, speakers and participants who have attended several events confirm that valuable new relationships and friendships have grown from these contacts.

And most importantly

The insights gained in the 15 events so far do not lead to immediate solutions to the problems discussed, but they raise awareness, stimulate and resonate.

Christoph Raithelhuber, Initiator