Celebrating Klaus-Peter Müller – building bridges for education

It was a special evening at Frankfurt School. Yesterday, around 400 invited guests paid tribute to an important and long-standing companion – Professor Klaus-Peter Müller, who turned 80 on 16 September. Frankfurt School and Commerzbank jointly organised the celebration for the Honorary Chairman of the Frankfurt School Foundation Board of Trustees and the Commerzbank Supervisory Board.

Klaus-Peter Müller has accompanied Frankfurt School for decades. He has driven its development into a research-strong, international business school. He set up the Klaus-Peter Müller Scholarship Fund with one million euros to support Master's and MBA students. On the occasion of Klaus-Peter Müller's birthday, numerous guests donated to the scholarship fund – a wonderful birthday surprise was the generous donation of 100,000 euros from Commerzbank.

The event was organised as a symposium dealing with the question “25 years after “Bologna”: What educational opportunities does Europe offer?” What does education mean for individuals, for companies and for society? Has the Bologna Process improved student mobility?

Professor Nils Stieglitz, President and CEO of Frankfurt School, opened the event by welcoming the guests, congratulating Klaus-Peter Müller and emphasising his strength of character, perseverance and courage:

“Without Klaus-Peter Müller, there would be no Frankfurt School. At least not in the form in which we have established our business school today. He contradicted the critics who doubted that the Bankakademie could become the leading business school in Germany, and he was proved right.“

In his keynote speech, Günther H. Oettinger, President of the European Business School, former Vice President of the European Commission and former Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, recalled numerous encounters with Klaus-Peter Müller, who is an interesting, amiable and competent dialogue partner. He then made a strong plea for the future of Europe:

“There should be a new dawn, that Europe and Germany set themselves more ambitious goals than stagnation and recession. These goals have to do with many things, but especially with education, training, knowledge and research.. Klaus-Peter Müller has been dedicated to these topics for many years.”

Dr Manfred Knof, CEO of Commerzbank, first addressed the current situation at Commerzbank before paying tribute to Klaus-Peter Müller's life's work:

“Many prominent guests from Germany and abroad came here today. This shows the high esteem in which Klaus-Peter Müller is held, not only in Frankfurt, but also in Germany and Europe. Today we are celebrating the lifetime achievements of a man who shapeed Commerzbank and the Frankfurt financial centre like no other.”

Professor Dr h.c. mult. Roland Koch, Professor at Frankfurt School and former Minister President of the State of Hesse, honoured Klaus-Peter Müller as a friend in his very personal and humorous birthday speech:

“Klaus-Peter Müller and I got to know each other in the early 1990s. Since then, we have discussed many things and realised a wide variety of projects together. I feel great gratitude for these three decades together. The difference that characterises Klaus-Peter Müller has something to do with the word ‘personality’.”

Finally, Klaus-Peter Müller himself had his say:

“I would like to thank everyone who made this evening possible, especially Manfred Knof, who presented a cheque to enable students to study at Frankfurt School. These 100,000 euros support students who might otherwise not have been able to pursue such an education.”

The symposium was rounded off by a panel discussion moderated by Marcel Reif on the topic of educational opportunities in Europe. The panel included Günther H. Oettinger, Frankfurt School alumna Schanli Gazanfar, Consultant at INVERTO and Klaus Peter Müller scholarship holder 2020, and Dr Ingrid Hengster, member of the Frankfurt School Foundation Board of Trustees and Country CEO Germany, Global Chairman of Investment Banking at Barclays.

The emotional highlight – and the perfect transition to the informal part of the evening – was the presentation of the birthday cake by Klaus-Peter Müller scholarship holders, while all the guests sang “Happy Birthday”. The festive atmosphere of the symposium then flowed seamlessly into Frankfurt School's annual reception. Over dinner, drinks and lively conversations, the guests cultivated old friendships and made new contacts – living the spirit of the Frankfurt School community.