REARM EUROPE Summit
Berlin
SYDNEY
First hand insights and in-depth discussions
MISSION 2044 Mittelstand Defense Forum featured an afternoon with Keynotes, Fireside Chats, and Panel Discussions covering a wide variety of topics around small and medium sized businesses and their pivotal role in stregthening the European defense industrial base.
Our agenda showcased a series of captivating Keynotes, engaging Fireside Chats, and thought-provoking Panel Discussions that dive into the most urgent and transformative trends shaping the future of European defense and security.
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MISSION 2044 Dusseldorf - Monday October 20, 2025
Welcome Address MISSION 2044
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- Markus Federle, Founder, MISSION 2044/Tholus Capital
Welcome Address: State Chancellery of North-Rhine-Westphalia (NRW)
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- Minister Nathanael Liminski, Head of the State Chancellery NRW
Opening Keynote: Is Germany capable of Defense - or merely of Debate
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- Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, former German minister of defense and of technology and economy
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Panel: Resilience as a Strategy for Peace, Innovation, and Growth
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- René Obermann, Chairman of Europe Warburg Pincus, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Airbus SE
- Minister Nathanael Liminski, Head of the State Chancellery NRW
- Benedikta von Seherr-Toss, Managing Director, European External Action Service
- Markus Federle, Founder, MISSION 2044/Tholus Capital (Moderator)
Fireside Chat: If Russia wins
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- Minister Mona Neubaur, Deputy Premier and Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy
- Professor Carlo Masala, University of the Bundeswehr Munich
- Professor Ulrich Schlie, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Moderator)
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Panel: Financing Resilience - Empowering Industrial Transformation and the Mittelstand
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- Susanne Wiegand, Member of the Supervisory Board VW
- Francois Evers, Executive Director, EMEA, J.P. Morgan
- Ephraim Rudman, Partner, Apollo
- Alexander Mann,Global Head of Industrials, Commerzbank AG
- Hendrik Röhricht, Partner A&O Shearman (Moderator)
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Fireside Chat: Defense newly programmed - Disruption as a Strategic Imperative
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- Charlotte Weil von der Ahe, Senior Group Director Government Affairs, Helsing
- Cathrin Wilhelm, Head of Mittelstand, BDSV
- Harald Cremer, Cluster Manager, NMWP.NRW (Moderator)
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Panel: Mission Resilience - Collaboration as the Key to Effective Defense
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- Arndt G. Kirchhoff, President, State Association of Enterprise NRW
- Ulrich Grillo, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Rheinmetall
- Timotheus Höttges, CEO, Deutsche Telekom
- Sven Kruck, CEO, Quantum Systems
- Markus Federle, Founder, MISSION2044/Tholus Capital
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Closing Keynote
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- Joschka Fischer, former German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister
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Networking Drinks
Connect with the minds that are shaping the future of defense innovation