The Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG) is realigning its leadership. At the most recent general meeting, voting members elected Burkhard Dallosch as the new Chair of the Board. He succeeds Susanne Eickermann-Riepe FRICS, who regularly steps down from the board after two terms to take on expanded international responsibilities. She remains associated with the ICG as an active member.
Under the leadership of Eickermann-Riepe, the institute consolidated its position as a driver of responsible corporate governance. Together with ICG founder Werner Knips, she particularly advanced the initiative for social impact investing in order to measurably integrate societal added value into corporate decision-making processes and business models across the industry. In addition to this thematic focus extending well beyond conventional compliance requirements, she successfully expanded the ICG's network at European level and within EU institutions.
Practical tools against industry pressures
The new chair, Burkhard Dallosch, founding partner of expadBridge Advisors and existing board member, aims to secure the continuity of the association while establishing new priorities. In light of ongoing economic strains in the real estate sector, Dallosch views reliable governance as the foundation for operational resilience and sustainable stability. In future, the institute is intended to assist companies even more purposefully in identifying strategic risks early and making sound decisions.
At the core is the ambition to develop the ICG further into an application-oriented think-and-do tank. Dallosch emphasised that good corporate governance must not be a theoretical end in itself, but must deliver clear added value through resilient structures. Existing expertise surrounding the social and governance criteria will be specifically expanded to achieve this.
- —Establishing standards for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI governance)
- —Providing practical guidelines and best practices for operational risk management
- —Targeted programmes to qualify and recruit suitable next-generation talent for executive and supervisory bodies
- —Issuing certifications as well as deepening professional dialogue across the industry network
Restructuring of the board team
The personnel change at the top is accompanied by further new appointments to the executive board. The assembly elected Stefanie Frensch, management board member of the Becker & Kries Group and already a member of the board, as Deputy Chair. She takes over the role from Werner Knips, who is stepping down from operational deputy leadership after many years as deputy chair, but will remain on the board as a member.
The leadership team is completed by Wiebke Merbeth, partner at Deloitte Consulting, and Maya Miteva, CEO of Deutsche Real Estate AG. The newly constituted board intends to channel the institute's accumulated expertise directly into the operational business practice of member companies.
