Chairman of the Board

Volker Hassemer was a Senator in Berlin for 13 years. From 1981 to 1983 and from 1991 to 1996 he headed the Department of Urban Development and Environmental Protection and in between, from 1983 to 1989, he was responsible for Cultural Affairs. During the seven years he worked for the Senate Department of Urban Development and Environmental Protection, which he was instrumental in creating, he was responsible inter alia for elaborating the new urban development plan for Berlin after the fall of the Wall in 1989 and for devising a new ecological strategy for the reunited city.

Two major events took place during the time Volker Hassemer was Senator for Cultural Affairs: Berlin’s 750th anniversary celebrations in 1987 and its year as the European City of Culture in 1988. He was also the instigator of such projects as the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, the Literaturhaus, the Bildhauerwerkstatt and a number of events at the turn of the millennium. In addition he established the European Film Prize in conjunction with activities marking Berlin’s year as the European City of Culture.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Management Board of Partner für Berlin - Gesellschaft für Hauptstadt-Marketing mbH from 1996 to 2002 Volker Hassemer was the brains and driving force behind such projects as Schaustelle Berlin, Berliner Rede and Lange Nacht der Museen. This latter was the prototype for all the subsequent ‘Long Nights’ in the fields of culture and science in both Germany and abroad.

Volker Hassemer has been Chairman of the Board of Stiftung Zukunft Berlin since it was founded in 2006. He was previously chairman of the organization which, together with Dieter Rosenkranz, laid the ground for the work of Stiftung Zukunft Berlin.

Deputy Chair

Karin Kohler, a lawyer and expert on foundations, has a German-South Korean family background. Having graduated in Law from the University of Munich and passed her First State Examination in Law, she spent part of her probationary training period in Seoul (South Korea) from 1993 to 1995. Having passed her Second State Examination in Law, she decided to enter the world of business.

Ms. Kohler has worked for Dresdner Bank since 1996 and, following its takeover by Commerzbank in May 2009, for Commerzbank. After completing a trainee programme, she gathered initial managerial experience during her four years as head of one of the bank’s Berlin branches. From 2001 she worked predominantly in her specialist field of inheritances and foundations, assuming direct responsibility for the eastern German region (with power of attorney) in the Private Banking sector of Dresdner Bank Berlin. Ms. Kohler subsequently took up the position of Senior Foundation Consultant in the bank’s Central Foundation Management Division in Frankfurt am Main whilst remaining in charge of the eastern German region and assuming additional responsibility for the Bavarian region. From the beginning her work in this position has encompassed membership of the executive boards of various non-profit-making foundations sponsoring a wide range of activities in science and research, education and training, and social work on behalf of the young, the old and the handicapped.

Since 2004 Ms. Kohler has served as a lawyer and expert on foundations in the Private Wealth Management Division of Dresdner Bank Berlin (as of 2009 the Wealth Management Division of Commerzbank). Since 2006 she has been Chairman of the Executive Board of Stiftung Deutsche Kinder-, Jugend- und Elterntelefone (DKJE) and served on numerous other executive boards.

At Stiftung Zukunft Berlin Ms. Kohler is in overall charge of the projects AG Freundeskreise der Berliner Kultur and Berlin - City of Foundations.