Around 90 invited guests from the regional economy came together last Thursday evening for the Oldenburg Entrepreneur Talks 2026 in the Karls Lounge in Oldenburg. Under the motto “Substance decides – rethinking leadership, culture and location”, Robert C. Spies, together with VIEROL, invited to a cross-industry exchange on central future issues of the business location.
Kick-off: Joint view of the challenges and opportunities of the region
At the start of the event, Ibrahim Chahrour, Head of Marketing and Product Management at VIEROL AG, and Jens Lütjen, Managing Partner of the Robert C. Spies Group, welcomed the guests. In their introductory remarks, they outlined the current challenges and opportunities of the region in the competition for skilled workers, leaders and sustainable location quality.
Kick-off: Joint view of the challenges and opportunities of the region
At the start of the event, Ibrahim Chahrour, Head of Marketing and Product Management at VIEROL AG, and Jens Lütjen, Managing Partner of the Robert C. Spies Group, welcomed the guests. In their introductory remarks, they outlined the current challenges and opportunities of the region in the competition for skilled workers, leaders and sustainable location quality.
Continuity and impetus for the regional economy
The series of events builds on the successful previous years and once again provides important impetus for the entrepreneurial landscape in Oldenburg and the region. With the Oldenburg Entrepreneur Talks, Robert C. Spies strengthens the entrepreneurial dialogue and at the same time underlines the growing importance of location quality, corporate culture and future-oriented leadership as central competitive factors.
In focus: The attractiveness of places to live and work
The focus of the evening was on the question of what prerequisites must be met for the region to be perceived as an attractive place to live and work in the long term. In particular, the interactions between corporate culture, leadership, architecture, regulatory framework and high-quality location factors were discussed.
Keynote: Leadership and Culture as a Living Reality
Prof. Dr. Pia Lehmkuhl, Professor of Corporate Management, Human Resources and Communication and Director of the Institute for Construction and Real Estate Economics at Jade University of Applied Sciences, kicked off the event. In her keynote speech “Between façade and substance: Perspectives on HR and management work in times of increasing complexity”, she emphasised: “Companies today rarely fail because of a lack of concepts, but because of the gap between aspiration and lived reality. Where the two come together, trust is created – and thus real loyalty and sustainable strength in competition.”
Panel discussion: Requirements for modern locations
In the subsequent panel discussion, Ulf R. Koschig, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of VIEROL AG, Dana Milenkovic, Partner at Clostermann & Jasper Partnerschaft mbB, Stefan Schmidt, Managing Director of Wefers & Coll Unternehmensberatung GmbH & Co. KG, and Alexis Angelis, Managing Partner at Angelis & Partner Architekten, discussed the requirements for modern working and living spaces as well as the structural requirements of the Prerequisites for a sustainable location.
Conclusion: Substance as a decisive competitive factor
Jens Lütjen emphasised: “The Oldenburg Entrepreneur Talks see themselves as a platform for an open, relevant and solution-oriented dialogue between the regional economy. Today, it is crucial to create conditions under which people want to come, live, work and stay in our region. Especially in times of increasing complexity, this substance determines how attractive companies and locations are perceived in the long term.”
