BRITISH-GERMAN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Trustee of the British - German Association
Andrew Gilchrist has been a Trustee of the British-German Association since 2020 with a particular interest in military and business issues.
Andrew served in the British Army, spending several years in Germany with BAOR, and subsequently was with The Boston Consulting Group, The Financial Times, and Egon Zehnder. Andrew has now qualified as a full time Executive Coach.
Andrew was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (MA, Cantab) and the Harvard Business School (MBA).
With a German mother, Andrew has always been drawn to Germany and it remains a primary focus of his personal and business interests.
Arne joined the BGA in August 2023 as Regions, Partnerships and Schools Lead. He is responsible for town twinning and regional partnerships, manages the BGA's regional representatives, and supports our Youthbridge network in promoting German language teaching. He also maintains our social media presence.
Having studied at the Universities of Freiburg, Bristol and Oxford, Arne worked in opera before embarking on a career in classical music publishing, where he was a senior manager at Edition Peters. He is also a qualified translator.
Job Titles:
- Honorary Secretary
- Honorary Secretary of the British German Association
Sybille is the Honorary Secretary of the British German Association.
Sybille is from Germany but came to the UK with a scholarship from the DAAD and British Council a long time ago and stayed in the UK. She is a dual qualified solicitor and Rechtsanwältin in England/Wales and Germany and a Partner in the Employment and Immigration team of Irwin Mitchell LLP. Sybille is also the Chairman of the British German Jurists' Association.
Job Titles:
- Programme and Membership Lead
Tamara has joined the BGA in June 2023 and is the Associations's Programme and Membership Lead.
Tamara is a British-German dual national and holds a PhD in Drama and Theatre Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London. She has previously worked as a festival coordinator and most recently as an editor and translator for finance- and education-related content.
Job Titles:
- Honorary Treasurer
- Honorary Treasurer of the British - German Association
Duncan Johnston has been Honorary Treasurer of the British-German Association since 2021, and is responsible for the finances of the charity and for fundraising..
Duncan was a partner at Deloitte for 20 years until his retirement in May 2022. He focussed on M&A transactions in the industrial and services sectors
Duncan studied German and Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, starting his interest in German and the German language.
While at Deloitte, he worked extensively in Germany and for a five year period lived and worked in Duesseldorf. It was this period which sparked his desire to work on strengthening the civil society links between the UK and Germany.
Job Titles:
- Executive
- Honorary Secretary - Student Members
Maurice Hirt joined the BGA Executive Committee in 2020. He is responsible for student and U-25 members.
From 2019 to 2021, Maurice led the LSE German Symposium which has cooperated closely with the BGA for many years.
Maurice read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the London School of Economics and is currently completing his MPhil in European Politics at the University of Oxford.
Having lived, worked and studied in Germany and the UK, Maurice is passionate about the bilateral relationship, in particular fostering exchange between both countries.
Miriam Thiede has been on the board of the BGA since 2018 with particular responsibility for BGA members under the age of 35.
She has worked at Magdalen College, Oxford, the Royal College of Music and is now the Senior Development Manager at The Courtauld Institute of Art.
Miriam was educated at schools in both Germany and England and went on to read Theology at Worcester College, Oxford.
She holds dual nationality and strongly believes in fostering activities relating to strengthening ties between the UK and Germany.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of the British - German Association
Peter Barnes has been Chairman of the British-German Association since 2018, and is responsible for the overall leadership of the BGA.
Peter worked in HM Treasury, at Boston Consulting Group and for The Economist, before founding his own public affairs consultancy, which he wound up in order to focus his energies on the BGA.
Peter was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford (First Class BA Hons, PPE) and at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA).
As an undergraduate, Peter was encouraged by his Politics tutor to spend his two Summer holiday in Germany. This was the start of his continuing fascination with Germany.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Honours Committee