Future Leader Summit 2026: Connecting Youth and Experience
The Future Leader Summit, by ChefTreff, was held at the CCH Hamburg on April 10–11th, welcoming around 10,000 guests in this attendance-record edition. With numerous workshops, company booths, and open discussion panels, the event connected established professionals and young talents. KLU joined this mission with its presence at the main event and hosted, in addition, a side event on its Hamburg campus, bringing together around 300 participants from academia, industry, and the start-up ecosystem.
What is the Future Leader Summit?
The Future Leader Summit (formerly known as ChefTreff summit) is an annual Hamburg-based event that connects young professionals with companies, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. It aims to foster exchange across generations and support the development of future talent.
Starting the conversation: KLU Side Event
On April 9th, around 300 participants gathered on the Hamburg campus for an evening of networking and exchange. KLU Chancellor Immo Schmidt-Jortzig opened the session with insights into KLU’s Operations Mindset. A keynote by Flemming Pinck (founder of the streetwear brand Inferno Ragazzi) followed, sharing his perspective on entrepreneurship and setting the tone for the subsequent conversations in the foyer, accompanied by drinks and snacks.
The event gave participants the chance to get to know the core expertise of KLU: “I especially wanted to visit this side event at KLU to connect with supply chain and logistics topics and network with the start-up community.” – noted Niclas Kiefer, a student at Hochschule Bremerhaven.
Ira Horatschek, founder of Bold Development and consultant on digital learning, emphasized the importance of networking: “It has been a year since I became my own boss, but I still actively look for opportunities to connect. This KLU event was a great opportunity to meet people and have inspiring conversations.”
Strong engagement at the main event
The main event on Friday kicked off at 1 pm, with a keynote by the CEO and founder of ChefTreff, Jan Henri Kalinowski. Shortly after, the thousands of students, partners, and speakers moved across the congress hall, visiting company booths, stages, and working areas to find their perfect match: an employer, an investor, an inspiration, or simply a good partner for insights and conversation. KLU’s booth became one of those connection points, where hundreds of students came by during two days to dig into the study programs and their potential, with the help of KLU’s representatives.
Young talents came to the Future Leaders Summit to explore career opportunities, present themselves to companies, and gain new knowledge. According to Neil Xavier
Quintana du Pin, an HSBA student of International Management, his goal was to find direction: “My goal at this event is to define a clearer path for the next steps of my career and take away learnings that I can apply in my studies and daily life.”
Students also highlighted how the event shifted their perspective on the job market: “I was surprised to see data in one of the speeches showing that the job market is better than it appears on social media. I left feeling more optimistic,” said Markus Greiß, a Business Administration student at the University of Hamburg.
On a different scope, investors emphasized the value of the event: “As investors, we aim to identify the most promising start-ups. Events like this act as a strong filter; you can clearly see who is putting in the work. Founders who believe in action rather than perfection are the ones who succeed.”
KLU invites to explore emotion management in business
Within the Masterclasses offered at the event, KLU Professor Prisca Brosi led a session on emotion management in business. The room was full, showing a strong interest in the topic. Participants actively engaged in discussion following the session.
The key takeaway: emotions, whether anger, excitement, fear, or guilt, can be understood, managed, and even used constructively in the workplace. “Positive emotions are weaker than negative emotions, so we need to emphasize and foster them more.” – highlighted Prof. Brosi.
With its contributions to the Future Leader Summit, KLU continues to support dialogue between academia and industry while engaging with the next generation of talent.
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