At the age of 22, Florian Bernschneider was elected as the youngest member of the German Bundestag for the FDP and his home constituency of Braunschweig. Born in 1986, the business economist made a name for himself in parliament as the voice of the younger generation and sustainability expert for his parliamentary group. In a cross-faction initiative, he developed, among other things, alternative methods of measuring prosperity and growth far removed from gross domestic product.

When the FDP parliamentary group failed to re-enter the Bundestag in 2013, Florian Bernschneider joined a renowned consultancy for medium-sized businesses, where he was responsible for public affairs and human resources management and where he is still a member of the supervisory board.

In 2016, he took over as CEO of the employers’ association in his home region of Braunschweig-Wolfsburg, where he is considered the voice of well over 1,000 member companies from all sectors – from small businesses to industrial corporations. Under his leadership, the association has developed into one of the most modern German trade associations and was most recently in the finals as Association of the Year in 2020.

Florian Bernschneider Lecture topics

Tomorrow only AI will be working! - How digitalization is changing our working world.

New Work needs New Learning - The working world of tomorrow is not created in a learning world of yesterday.

Big Data versus German Mittelstand - How SMEs are securing their place in a digital world.

Startup meets midmarket: How we enable a new culture of innovation.

The great New Work bubble - glitz, glamor and office dogs - Just how new is this New Work? Do we even need to start with it or can the 4-day week still be prevented with table football and office dogs? An attempt at clarification.

Florian Bernschneider is considered a proven expert on the transformation of the “German Mittelstand,” the working world of the future, and sits on supervisory and executive boards of the pension insurance company, a major health insurance company and the employment agency, as well as on advisory boards of companies and banks. He writes debate articles for trade magazines and is a sought-after sparring partner and speaker on the transformation of our economy.

In his lectures and as a discussion partner, Florian Bernschneider combines his view beyond the horizon of daily politics with the practical reality of life from German companies. He remains optimistic and constructive, but leaves no doubt that the upheavals of our time require major changes. To this end, he makes concrete proposals that are refreshingly different from party pigeonholes and rehearsed trench warfare, and also dares to be clearly critical of inertial forces in politics, society and business.