It's time again on 11 July 2025. The transformation conference is entering its second round in Heidelberg. Following the successful inaugural event in 2024, top-class transformation experts will once again be guests this year, providing practical insights into their work.
As usual, the programme will provide valuable impetus for effective transformation work and cultural change. A highlight this year: even more in-depth presentations - and additional parallel sessions.
The Transformation Conference is the conference for business model and cultural change in practice and the major meeting of managers in Germany. The unique format ‘Effective Transformation in SMEs’ offers valuable fundamental insights and, above all, many concrete practical examples of how intentions become successes:
Concrete. Practical. Effective.
2nd Annual Transformation Conference
The programme of the Transformation Conference 2025
11.07.2025
| 08:30 |
Registration & welcome coffee |
||
| 09:30 – 09:50 |
Welcome and introduction |
Prof. Dr. Henning Werner |
|
| 09:50 – 10:45 |
"Follow the White Rabbit – Successful transformation begins with a change of perspective" |
Stephanie Borgert |
|
| 10:45 – 11:15 |
Coffee break |
||
| 11:15 – 12:00 |
"Radical transformation of Bayer AG: - Unleashing the full potential of the organisation with Dynamic Shared Ownership" |
Dr. Thomas Schubert |
|
| 12:10 – 12:55 |
The following options: |
||
|
Option 1
"Primacy of value creation at Herding GmbH Filtertechnik - organisational and cultural transformation in a medium-sized companies" |
Fabian Schunke |
||
|
Option 2
"How beliefs influence change - the invisible power of the unconscious!" |
Prof. Dr. Georg Kraus |
||
|
Option 3
"Effective implementation management for SMEs" |
Dr. Joachim Grabow Benjamin Niethammer |
||
| 12:55 – 14:00 |
Lunch break |
||
| 14:00 – 14:45 |
"Communication and culture - transformation means more than organisation and numbers" |
Frank Steimel |
|
| 14:55 – 15:40 |
The following options: |
||
|
Option 1
"On the trail of transformation success: What decision-makers are currently prioritising and why, and which management best practices really work - insights from the analysis of over 30,000 measures and >500 stakeholder surveys„ |
Dr. Jonas Steeger |
||
|
Option 2
"Those who do not transform will be restructured’’ - Panel discussion |
Mark Poppenborg Georgiy Michailov Sebastian Bretag Prof. Dr. Henning Werner Moderation: Detlef Fleischer |
||
|
Option 3
„Strategy work at the Seibert Group: How do alignment and autonomy go together?" |
Katja Weingärtner Paul Herwarth von Bittenfeld |
||
| 15:40 – 16:15 |
Coffee break |
||
| 16:15 – 17:00 |
"The high-performance mindset - what we can learn from the world's toughest bike race" |
Prof. Dr. Kurt Matzler |
|
| 17:00 |
Drink together |
Networking evening: The evening before the conference
Relaxed dialogue with decision-makers and transformation experts in an informal atmosphere. On the evening before the conference, we invite you to our networking evening from 6 pm.
Note: Please select the networking evening during the registration process.
Where: Hotel Qube Bahnstadt (Grüne Meile 21, 69115 Heidelberg)
When: 10 July 2025, 6 pm
Cost: 99€
Highlight from our Speaker 2025
The second round of the 2025 Transformation Conference will offer even more inspiration and practical examples. This year with even more speakers who will shed light on transformation from different perspectives: From the necessary change of perspective for successful transformation to an exciting panel discussion and the toughest bike race in the world - and what we can transfer from it to transformation processes.
All details and information on the programme, presentations and speakers can also be found on the IfUS Institute website.
This was the 2024 Transformation Conference
The 1st Transformation Conference was launched in 2024 with the aim of supporting people in complex transformation processes and networking with other transformation experts at the same time. Speakers such as Mark Poppenborg, Oliver Sowa and Tina Kleingarn gave practical reports on successful transformation work in SMEs. And Olympic rowing champion Andreas Kuffner translated his high-performance experience from competitive sport into practical tips for successful transformation projects.
Curious what 2024 was like? You can see more impressions in our recap.
About the Transformation Conference
"Effective transformation in the SME sector"
Digitalisation and sustainability are the big issues of our time and pose new entrepreneurial challenges, especially for SMEs. If this transformation and cultural change in companies is to succeed, then a fundamentally new culture of cooperation, initiative and taking responsibility is needed in companies. This will succeed if companies focus on cooperation between all those involved and enable them to act in a goal-oriented manner. We want to convey this systemic understanding to the participants of this conference and thus contribute to successful transformation in SMEs.
With topics from practice for practice, our speakers actively provide impetus for successful transformation projects in medium-sized companies.
The mission:
Appeals, guidelines or the famous corporate values. We believe that this is not the way to create tangible and successful long-term cultural change in companies. But we also believe that it is possible if you create structures that not only allow change, but above all promote and enable it. This is why we support decision-makers who accompany transformation processes in practice with valuable impulses and offer an ideal platform for networking with other transformation experts with our transformation conference.
Content focus
- Cultural transformation:
How do you actively involve employees in the change process and how do you create an atmosphere that is characterised by a willingness to change and the ability to innovate? - Digital transformation:
Successful digitalisation of business models and processes. - Sustainable transformation:
Successful approaches for companies to operate in an environmentally sustainable and yet profitable way.
- Transformation in the SME sector:
Learn from the best. With concrete practical examples from companies that have already successfully implemented transformation projects. - Strategic realignment:
How companies can position themselves successfully and sustainably for the future. - Organisational transformation:
Reduction of bureaucracy and other activities that stand in the way of value creation. Instead, focus on real value creation.
The target group:
The conference is primarily aimed at decision-makers who implement transformations in SMEs or actively support companies in their transformation. Special focus is placed on senior executives, interim managers and financiers.
The initiators:
The conference is a joint project of Prof Dr Henning Werner (ifus-Institut), Georgiy Michailov (Struktur Management Partner), Sebastian Bretag (Keyplayer) and Mark Poppenborg (intrinstify). We share the philosophy of a practice-orientated approach combined with a focus on medium-sized companies and the conviction of contributing to effective business model transformation with concrete impulses.
