ESB Business School Economic Forum: The Price of Morality – A balancing act between social responsibility and economic power

Solidarity and economic strength are the cornerstones of our society. Their interplay determines Germany’s future viability.

Under the title ‘The Price of Morality – A balancing act between social responsibility and economic strength’, we will discuss how much social responsibility a competitive business location can bear, and where moral imperatives become an economic burden.

A strong welfare state protects against poverty and creates security. At the same time, social spending, public debt and the pressure on businesses are rising, whilst demographic change, skills shortages and global competition are challenging the economic foundations.

Where does the line lie between social responsibility and economic viability?

Morality or the market – what will determine the future of our economic model?

ESB Economic Forum: The Price of Morality – A balancing act between social responsibility and economic strength
🗓️ Date: 28 April 2026
🕕 Time: 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm (doors open from 6.30 pm)
📍   Venue: Auditorium on the Reutlingen University campus
Free admission

The student organising team is delighted to welcome the following speakers (as of March 2026.):

Host: Rainer Maria Jilg: Television presenter and journalist. He works for RTL, ZDFkultur, 3sat and Bayerisches Fernsehen, amongst others, and brings experience in presenting social and cultural programmes.
Isabel Grupp-Kofler: She is an entrepreneur, speaker and expert in the generationally inclusive transformation of corporate culture. As CEO of Plastro Mayer, she drives innovation and diversity. She is also involved as regional head of the Young Entrepreneurs of Baden-Württemberg and as a mentor for start-ups. She has received awards from, among others, the Handelsblatt (Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs) and ‘Markt und Media’.
Dr Nils Schmid: He is a Member of the Bundestag for Nürtingen and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. The lawyer has previously served as Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs and Deputy Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, amongst other roles. Prior to that, he was the foreign policy spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. For decades, he has been politically committed to justice, international cooperation and his home region.
Jessica Tatti: She served in the German Bundestag from 2017 to 2025, initially for Die Linke, and later for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). In terms of policy, she was primarily associated with social, labour market and housing policy; in the Bundestag, she was active in the areas of labour and social affairs, among others. Since early 2024, she has been a member of the

Dr Bernd Villhauer: He is a German philosopher and publicist. From 2015 to 2025, he was Managing Director of the Global Ethic Institute in Tübingen and is now Senior Advisor for Finance at the Global Ethic Institute. He teaches and conducts research on financial ethics, monetary theory and sustainable finance.
Frank-Jürgen Weise: He is a German manager and former senior civil servant. He served as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Federal Employment Agency from 2004 to 2017; during the 2015–2016 refugee crisis, he also headed the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). Later, he held a leading role at the Hertie Foundation. Since 2026, he has been Chairman of the Pension Commission. He brings with him many years of experience at the interface of labour market, social and reform policy.
Dr Stefan Wolf: Former German business executive and employer representative. He was CEO of ElringKlinger for many years and, from 2020 until the end of 2025, President of Gesamtmetall, the employers’ association for the metal and electrical industry.

About the ESB Business School Economic Forum:

The ESB Business School Economic Forum is a public panel discussion on current topics in business, politics and society. It was founded by students in autumn 1998 and is organised anew each year by a student team. This team independently selects the topics, invites experts from academia and industry, and handles the entire organisation of the event.