Dr. Daniel Diermeier internationally renowned political scientist and management scholar, Daniel Diermeier is the ninth chancellor of Vanderbilt University where he is University Distinguished Professor in the Owen Graduate School of Management and Political Science in the College of Arts & Science. Since stepping into the role in 2020, the university has risen in stature, topped the $1 billion mark in research funding, invested over $100M in bringing leading faculty to Vanderbilt and successfully launched a $3.2B capital campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic Vanderbilt was one of a very small number of leading universities to safely and successfully bring students back to campus. Under Diermeier’s leadership Vanderbilt has been recognized as a leader on free speech, institutional neutrality and civil discourse. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has published six books and more than 100 research articles in academic journals. Prior to Vanderbilt, Diermeier served as the provost of the University of Chicago, where he was previously the dean of the Harris School of Public Policy. Before that, he was a chaired professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and an Assistant Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. A first-generation college graduate, Diermeier earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Rochester. He also holds master’s degrees in political science from the University of Rochester and the University of Munich, and he earned a master’s degree in philosophy.
Ambassador Robert M. Kimmitt was named Chairman Emeritus of the American Council on Germany on January 17, 2018. Until that date, he served as Chairman of the Council, having first been elected to the position at the ACG’s Annual Meeting of the Board on March 31, 2011. He is Senior International Counsel at WilmerHale LLP. Both in government and the private sector, Ambassador Kimmitt has held a wide variety of senior positions at the intersection of international business, finance, and public policy. From 2005 to 2009, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, where he had significant responsibility for the Department’s international agenda, including cross-border investment, in his leadership role on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
He was American Ambassador to Germany from 1991 to 1993, for which he was awarded Germany’s Bundesverdienstkreuz; Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1989 to 1991; and General Counsel to the U.S. Treasury from 1985 to 1987. He served at the White House as National Security Council Executive Secretary and General Counsel from 1983 to 1985, with the rank of Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In addition to his government service, Ambassador Kimmitt served as Executive Vice President for Global Public Policy at Time Warner, Inc., from 2001 to 2005. Prior to that, he was Vice Chairman and President of Commerce One, a software company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area. Earlier, he was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (1997-2000), a managing director of Lehman Brothers (1993-1997), and a partner in the law firm of Sidley & Austin (1987-1989). Ambassador Kimmitt graduated with distinction from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1969.
He served in combat with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 and earned three Bronze Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. He retired as a Major General in the Army Reserve. He received his law degree from Georgetown University in 1977, where he was Editor in Chief of Law & Policy in International Business. From 1977 to 1978, he served as a law clerk to Judge Edward A. Tamm of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In May 2009, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Marymount University, and in May 2010, he received the Distinguished Graduate Award from West Point. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy.
Ines Pohl (moderator) has been Deutsche Welle (DW)’s Washington bureau chief since July 2020. She was previously DW’s editor in chief from 2017 to 2020. During her three-year tenure, she focused on expanding DW’s social media presence and exclusive journalistic offerings in all 32 broadcast languages. As a journalist, she is particularly interested in issues of democratic legitimacy and social transitions. She is passionate about human rights and the role of democratic structures in developing countries. She makes a strong case for using social networks to connect journalists and users.
Pohl spent 2005 at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow, exploring immigration, religion, and leadership. She is a member of the board of trustees of Reporters Without Borders and the advisory board of Youth Against AIDS. From 2009 to 2015, Pohl was editor in chief of the daily newspaper taz. During this time, she launched a weekend edition and revised www.taz.de, now one of the most widely used German news sites.
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