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Founder and Chairman of the Board

Christian Steinberg has already enjoyed a successful career as an entrepreneur. After selling the shares in his company, he founded this foundation, which he heads today as Chairman of the Board.

He has found everything that has made his life a success so far in this country. The education and freedom to have the ability to make decisions about the course of his life himself. A high level of legal certainty, which gave him the opportunity to take responsible action himself. Christian Steinberg is also part of the first generation in Germany, which has been able to live their entire life in peace and democracy. His motivation to found the Hamburg Foundation for Business Ethics was his wish to give something back to society. At the same time, Christian Steinberg sees many developments in the economic system critically. On the whole however, as an entrepreneur, he is not content with demanding a discourse on the ethical foundations of this system, but wants to make specific contributions towards improvement with his foundation work.

After selling his company shares, Christian Steinberg engaged in ethical and business ethics issues as part of the postgraduate course "Master of Advanced Studies in Applied Ethics" at the University of Münster and is an active advisory shareholder of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Executive Director

Jesco Kreft is responsible for the foundation's work as Executive Director.

He initially worked as an economic journalist holding a special interest in the political and social framework conditions of the economy. After completing his doctorate at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg, he worked in a consulting firm with mandates from the (financial) industry, the public sector and non-governmental organizations.

Consultancy assignments in high-risk industries as well as specializing in labour conflicts and policy advising not only encouraged his interest in the political and ethical framework conditions, but also strengthened his conviction that the problems in this field lie less in social perception, but rather much more in the implementation of the solutions.

As Manager, he built up the Hamburg Foundation for Business Ethics since the start of 2005, which he now heads today as Executive Director. Jesco Kreft is also a lecturer at the University of Hamburg specializing in the didactics of business ethics and economics of education and also works in various advisory boards, supervisory committees and investment committees. Jesco Kreft has been a member of the Ethics Council for Welthungerhilfe [German aid for world hunger] since 2015.