Wolfram Kirchert is a graduate engineer and a graduate engineer in economics, he worked for the Porsche brand for 25 years. He has extensive professional experience in the field of production and project management, having worked in various management positions, including from 2002 as Head of Outsourced Manufacturing Management, from 2003 as Project Manager for Boxster/Cayman Product Line Production and from 2012 as Head of Project Planning vehicles and plant structure. Since 2018, as head of production planning, he has been responsible for product and process planning across all Porsche plants and product lines. In September 2023, he joined Volkswagen Slovakia as chairman of the board and member of the board of directors for the technical area.

He heads the External Relations / Environment / Social Services department at Volkswagen Slovakia, a.s. In the past, he was responsible for the management of the entire logistics at Volkswagen Slovakia and also held several management positions within the Volkswagen Group in Portugal and the USA. Since 2018, he is the President of the Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic (second term). In 2018, he was elected Vice President of the Federation of Slovak Industrial and Transport Associations.

Ivan Hodač is a Founder and President of the Aspen Institute Prague. He was Secretary-General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) from 2001 until October 2013. He is the Chairman of the Board at cabinet DN. The Financial Times listed him among the most influential personalities in Brussels politics. Before joining ACEA, he was Senior Vice-President and Head of the Time Warner Corporate office for Europe. Previously he was Secretary-General of the trade organization IFMA/IMACE, Senior Economist at Didier & Associates, and Assistant Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. He was born in Prague, where he studied mechanical engineering. He completed his education in economics and political science at the University of Copenhagen and the College of Europe in Bruges (European studies).

Dr. Martin Koers is Professor at Shenzhen Technology University (SZTU) in China and former Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive sector, he has worked across industry, policy, and academia, including positions at Ford of Europe. His current work focuses on the strategic transformation of the automotive industry with a main focus on China, particularly in the context of geopolitical shifts and intensifying international competition.

Petr Knap is the Head of the Consulting Division for the Czech Republic. After having worked at Procter & Gamble, he worked in consulting since 1996, and joined EY in 2002. His professional experience is based mainly on work in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, in the past he also worked for clients in the telecommunications and public sectors. Over the years, he has led management consulting projects focused on strategy development, organizational change, process improvement and cost optimization. Petr is actively involved in initiatives addressing innovative trends of the manufacturing future such as digitization, Industry 4.0, autonomous cars, e-mobility, etc.

Head of Chassis and Powertrain Development at ŠKODA AUTO, graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague in 1992. In 2002 he obtained an MBA degree from North Carolina’s Pfeiffer University and in 2006 he earned his doctorate from the Ostrava Technical University

Career
1992 Mercedes Benz AG, Stuttgart – Research / Development commercial vehicles, trucks
1993 – 1995 Škoda automobilová a.s.
Design Engineer – specialist in traction control systems
1995 – 1996 VW AG, Wolfsburg
Specialist in chassis development
From 1996 ŠKODA AUTO a.s., Technical Development
Various positions:
– Assistant Department Manager – brake systems (1996 – 2001)
– Simultaneous Engineering Team Manager of Chassis Development for FABIA and SUPERB (1997 – 2001)
– Department Manager, powertrain integration development (2001 – 2005)
– Department Manager, chassis development (2005 – 2008)
– Head of chassis and powertrain development (since 2008)

Member of
– Scientific Council of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague
– State Examination Board of the Czech Technical University in Prague
– Scientific Council of the Research Centre of the Technical University in Plzeň
– Board of Directors of Doctoral studies in Production Machines and Design department of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Technical University of Ostrava
– Czech Automobile Society
– Assessment Committee of the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education
– Chairman of the Board of Education of the Dr. Josef Pekař Secondary School Mladá Boleslav
– Management Board of the Endowment Fund of ŠKODA AUTO

Michal Horváth is the Chief Economist and Executive Director for Monetary Policy and Banking Operations at the National Bank of Slovakia. He completed his doctoral studies in economics at the University of St Andrews, focusing on interactions between monetary and fiscal policy.

Prior to joining the central bank in 2020, he held academic positions at the University of Oxford and the University of York in the United Kingdom. As an adviser to Slovak Ministers of Finance from 2009 to 2011, he served as a member of the Economic and Financial Committee of the European Union.

From 2012 to 2015, he was a founding member of the Council for Budget Responsibility. From May to October 2023, he served as Minister of Finance in the caretaker government appointed by the President of the Slovak Republic.

She is head of Environment Department at Volkswagen Slovakia. She has been involved in the application of environmental protection in car production for over 17 years – implementing the requirements of legislation and environmental management systems in production processes, design and implementation of environmental strategy or preparation of concepts and plans to reduce environmental impacts for environmental and energy-intensive technologies. As a chairman of the Environmental Legislation Commission of the Association of the Automotive Industry of the Slovak Republic, she prepares opinions and proposals for comments on the environmental legislation of the Slovak Republic and the EU. Since 2021, she has been active as a member of the Government Council for the Green European Agreement of the Slovak Republic for the Federation of Slovak Industrial and Transport Associations. She graduated in Environmental Protection / Geochemistry at the Faculty of Science, Comenius University in Bratislava, and later in the professional MBA program Automotive Industry of the Technical University of Vienna and the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava.

Petr Dolejsi started his career within the public services on different posts, leaving the Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic at the Head of Unit post to the Permanent representation in Brussels in 2004. He became member of the Czech EU Presidency team in 2009 chairing the Competitiveness and Growth working party of the Council. In 2010 he joined ACEA and became a Director for Mobility and Sustainable transport, with a specific focus on CO2 policy, industrial policy and alternative powertrains. As from March 2022, he is also acting as a Vice-President of the Automotive Skills Alliance.

Slovak diplomat, liaison officer to NATO in Brussels, ambassador to the United States, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

Andrej Krsjak is an experienced leader in research and development, with 20 years of experience in the automotive and general industrial sectors. He is currently responsible for the global strategic development of product platforms and for leading multidisciplinary teams. Over the long term, he focuses on innovation, efficient processes, and scalable solutions. He is known for his systematic approach, pragmatic leadership style, and strong emphasis on high technical quality.