A lot of people know exactly what others “should have done”, what they themselves “would have done” in the same situation and why something didn’t turn out the way it “should have”. At GABF we don’t want to talk about “should haves“ and  “would haves“ – rather, we want to make an active contribution to current and future issues and to seek fitting solutions “up front”.

Main areas of transatlantic business stagnated in the last 30 years. The basic questions are still the same, although new problems have joined them. We still tend to talk more “about” than “with” those on the other side of the Atlantic and an institutionalized exchange of ideas on a business level should occurs more frequently. There are a lot of good and not-so-good reasons for this. Putting this aside and – following the imperatives of globalization -- focusing on new, common ways to move ahead is the main idea behind GABF.

The uniqueness of the German-American business relationship presents both a business challenge as well as an incredible opportunity for the 21^st century in which innovation will play the key role. Real innovation only occurs, however, when courage and resolve are joined by the willingness to see and do things differently. We are convinced that German and American business entities have what it takes to create such innovation – if only someone starts.

That is GABF and the credo of its initiator and founder, Peter H. Dehnen – with his almost 30-year transatlantic business experience – as well as his German-American team.

Peter H. Dehnen, President

Lisa Ledwith, Director
Programs and Memberships, Washington

Rober Clark, Deputy Director
(U.S.), Washington

Susan Wysocki
Corporate Treasurer, Washington

Wolfram Schuchardt
Corporate Communications Director, Berlin