Theme: The status quo, reimagined!

We are all currently living in times of high uncertainty, with many unknowns clouding our future. In our world, imminent and significant change is all but a given. As such, the status quo of today must make way for the innovations of tomorrow. This year’s TEDxWHU conference will do exactly that! We will bring speakers from diverse backgrounds together to challenge our reality and share their insights on how we reimagine the status quo with you.

It is our great pleasure to announce this year’s TEDxWHU conference taking place on the 11th of February, 2023 at the WHU Campus in Vallendar. Under the motto “The status quo, reimagined!”, we are working hard to make this year’s conference the most memorable one yet.

We are looking forward to welcome you at TEDxWHU 2023!

H1 Building
Burgplatz 2
Vallendar, Rheinland-Pfalz, 56179
Germany

Fritz Sitte

Fritz Sitte is a WHU alumni and at the age of 25 has lived many lives... After being a private equity investor, an Ironman (long-distance triathlon finisher) and a startup founder in Berlin and Los Angeles, he turned his life upside down to go on a life-changing adventure and cycle over 10,000km across Africa. Currently he is working on a world record attempt, aiming to run all the way from Cairo to Cape Town (11,000km) in under 200 days. Fritz’s courage to delve into discomfort, challenge the status quo, push his limits, and find beauty in exploring the unknown is just a little of what he shares in his TEDx Talk.

Jarno Opmeer

Jarno Opmeer is a Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Esports Driver, and a two time F1 Esports World Champion! He started his racing career at the age of 7, working his way up through karting leagues to eventually become the youngest driver ever to compete in the Dutch and German National Karting Championship. In 2017 Jarno started racing with the Renault F1 Junior Team, before making the switch to Esports. Jarno leads the F1 Esports world today, while also posting to his 400k subscribers on Youtube.

Katharina Kreutzer

As co-founder and CPO of Boomerang, Katharina is responsible for all product-related issues as well as all sustainability topics. "The paper trash cans in city centers are bursting with waste, which we cause through online shopping, in Germany alone we're talking about over 1 million tons through single-use shipping packaging." Katharina was in management for a large food retailer concern, but wanted a challenge that would make a difference. That's why she's actively involved in the issues of sustainability, female empowerment, and driving GenZ's knowledge transfer.

Lars Abromeit

Born and raised in Berlin, Lars Abromeit has always dreamt of discovering new worlds beyond the imaginary walls that limit our horizons. Now, as a science reporter, documentary filmmaker and book author, he regularly sets out with research teams to explore the unknown: in polar regions and oceans, deserts and rainforests, mountains and cave systems. At the German magazine GEO, Lars is responsible for the section “Adventures and Expeditions”. With 20 years of exploration experience, he is still fascinated by the endurance and curiosity of the scientists venturing out there to better understand and protect our future on planet Earth.

Vanessa Cann

In 2022, Vanessa Caan was honored by Forbes as one of the 30 most exciting people under 30 for her contribution to the European AI landscape. As a political scientist, she previously led the Artificial Intelligence and Future Mobility platforms at the German Startups Association (Bundesverband Deutsche Startups e.V.), where she facilitated collaboration between startups, established companies, and investors. She is also actively involved as a mentor for startups and in organizations such as Women in AI & Robotics.

Wolfgang Rams

Prof. Wolfgang Rams is the Co-Founder and CFO of Africa GreenTec, a german social enterprise empowering the global south to achieve more self-determination and growth through sustainable energy solutions. Previously, Prof. Rams taught entrepreneurship and innovation management for close to 10 years before shifting his focus to Africa GreenTec, where he now has the goal of scaling and expanding the impact it has on the lives of so many people.