As part of the 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH International Marketing of the Region (FRM GmbH) once again hosted its high-profile reception on 21 January 2026. This event has become one of the most important in Davos. During his first participation, Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil emphasised this fact. The event provides an important platform for promoting the region to decision-makers and prominent figures from the worlds of business, politics and science.
This year, the Frankfurt RheinMain region reinforced its strong international presence: for the first time in the event's history, Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil took part in 'Frankfurt RheinMain – The Reception'. During a panel discussion attended by around 200 people, he expressed his enthusiasm for the FRM GmbH event and offered his thoughts on the speech delivered earlier by US President Donald Trump.
‘Frankfurt RheinMain -The Reception' was once again supported by Frankfurt Main Finance, the City of Frankfurt, DZ Bank, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as partners for the financial centre. Digital Reality GmbH joined as a new partner.
The reception centred was centered around a panel discussion featuring prominent figures. Another representative of the German government who spoke at the event was Carsten Schneider, the German Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. He emphasised the importance of the Frankfurt RheinMain region for politics and business. Dr Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, and Souâd Benkredda, Member of the DZ BANK Board of Managing Directors, discussed the current challenges and prospects facing the German economy, as well as the important role played by Frankfurt as a financial centre. Dr Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), emphasised the economic and strategic potential of Europe's space industry, as well as the economic opportunities arising for the Metropolitan region from the European Satellite Control Centre (ESA/ESOC) in Darmstadt. The event was once again moderated by the well-known journalist and presenter Astrid Frohloff. ‘Frankfurt RheinMain - The Reception’ is one of the most important platforms for promoting the region internationally and raising its profile.
Mike Josef, the Mayor of Frankfurt and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of FRM GmbH, welcomed high-ranking guests and companies from around the globe. He said: “Our world is changing rapidly. Political and economic upheavals, as well as geopolitical tensions, are presenting us with major challenges. It is our responsibility to ensure that people are heard, understood and respected, and I take this responsibility very seriously." The Frankfurt Rhine-Main region is, in many ways, the economic engine of Hesse and Germany, not to mention the financial centre of the European Union. That is precisely why we are here in Davos. We want to translate the positive economic development of our region into tangible benefits for people. The broad participation of top international decision-makers from business, politics, and science demonstrates that our region's potential is recognised both domestically and internationally. This is also reflected in the 90 new companies that settled in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area last year. There is still a lot in the pipeline for this year."
Frankfurt RheinMain has been the only German region represented at a reception in Davos for many years now. In addition to Mike Josef, the region was represented by Frankfurt Mayor Dr Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg; Stephanie Wüst, Head of the Department of Economics, Law and City Marketing for the City of Frankfurt; Dr Felix Schwenke, Mayor of the City of Offenbach; Sandro Zehner, District Administrator of the Rheingau-Taunus district; Martin Burlon, Mayor of the City of Dreieich; Ulrich Caspar, President of the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Volker Ludwig, Vice-President of the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Oliver Behrens, President of FrankfurtMain Finance e.V. and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the DWS Group; and Bernhard Grieb, Managing Director of Frankfurt Economic Development. These individuals attended the FRM GmbH reception to promote the region in numerous discussions.
At the reception, Dr Joachim Nagel, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, emphasised the strength of Frankfurt's financial centre: 'A vibrant and efficient financial centre in Frankfurt is essential for overcoming the structural challenges facing the German economy and enhancing its competitiveness.' As one of the EU's leading financial centres, Frankfurt attracts capital, fosters innovation and drives the integration of European capital markets. By combining the forces of business, politics and supervision, this creates an environment that ensures stability, enables growth and opens up new opportunities for Germany and Europe.'
Souâd Benkredda, a member of the DZ BANK Board of Managing Directors, added, “Frankfurt is one of Europe's leading financial centres. Its central location, excellent infrastructure — including one of Europe's largest airports — and proximity to the ECB and global companies make it a strategic business location and a magnet for skilled workers.”
FRM GmbH was honoured to welcome Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, who attended the reception for the third time. Two ESA astronauts also attended for the first time: Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy and Sławosz Uznański from Poland.
The FRM GmbH event is a fixture in the Davos social calendar, attracting decision-makers from national and international companies, associations, and corporations, as well as numerous guests from the world of politics. This year's guests included:
Katharine Braddick (Group Head, Barclays), Fabrizio Campelli (Member of the Management Board Deutsche Bank AG), Emmanuel Faber (Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)), Susanne Gellert (President, AHK New York), Andreas Golze (Managing Director, Cognizant), Jérôme Jean Haegeli (Group Chief Economist, Swiss Re), Catrin Hinkel (CEO, Microsoft Switzerland), Kim Joergensen (Head, Temasek Singapore), Dr Sabine Mauderer (Vice President, Deutsche Bundesbank), Dr Alexander Mayer (Head of Germany and Austria, J.P. Morgan), Dr Bettina Orlopp (Chairwoman of the Board of Commerzbank AG), Claudia Plattner (President German Federal Office for Information Security BSI), Markus Potzel (German Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein), Dr Helmut Reisinger (CEO EMEA, Palo Alto Networks), Frank Scheidig (Global Head of Senior Executive Banking, DZ BANK AG), Christian Sewing (CEO, Deutsche Bank AG), Walter Sinn (Senior Partner & Chairman, Bain & Company), Dr Mirjam Staub-Bisang (Chair of the Board, BlackRock Asset Management), Mohammed Rafee Tarafdar (Chief Technology Officer, Infosys), Subha Verma (CEO Mastercard), Franz von Metzler (Member of the Board of Directors Bankhaus Metzler), Gerhard Wiesheu, (Spokesman of the Board of Directors Bankhaus Metzler), Stefan Wintels (Chairman of the Board of Directors KfW Banking Group).
It’s important that the Frankfurt RheinMain region is represented at events with international appeal, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF). Here in Davos, we have the unique opportunity to meet numerous top global decision-makers in a short amount of time and have inspiring conversations with them. Many of our international dialogue partners are unaware that our region is not only an important financial centre and business location, but also has outstanding expertise in life sciences, pharmaceuticals, IT, and space travel. It is also not widely known that the Frankfurt RheinMain region is a leading European location for space travel. For almost 60 years, the European Satellite Control Centre (ESA/ESOC) in Darmstadt has been controlling numerous European satellites. Today, space travel is a key factor in European sovereignty, resilience, economic competitiveness, and data-based political decision-making. This makes it a relevant topic for financial and political decision-makers alike. We are very proud to have welcomed Dr Josef Aschbacher, a representative of the ESA, to our reception for the first time. The calibre of our guests and speakers highlights the importance of our presence in Davos," said Eric Menges, President & CEO FRM GmbH.