Dieter Hundt has been President of the German employer organisation BDA since 1996. He studied mechanical engineering at the Swiss technical university (ETH) in Zurich, and after completing his doctorate he worked for AEG Telefunken AG in Frankfurt am Main. From 1975 to 2008 he was the Chief Executive Officer of Allgaier Werke GmbH whose supervisory board he has chaired since January 2008. Dieter Hundt is a non-executive director of several companies, for instance as a member of the joint advisory board of the Allianz group of companies and chair of the supervisory board of VfB in Stuttgart. In addition, he is President of the German chamber of commerce in Austria and a member of the scientific advisory board of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). The many awards he has received include the Grand Cross with star and sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.