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Klaus-Michael Kühne

Actively shaping the world

Around 50 years ago, my parents and I set up the Kühne Foundation. We did so out of the conviction that business success goes hand in hand with social responsibility. It is gratifying to see how my foundation has developed. What began as a local organization is now one of the largest foundations in Europe: internationally oriented, decentralized and, something that is particularly important to me, efficient and independent in its actions. Around 800 staff members are involved in practical programs and projects focusing on logistics, climate, medicine and culture. The Kühne Foundation steps in where politics and markets fail. 

As a foundation with an operational role, we put our commitment into practice through our own initiatives and institutions. This underlines the Kühne Foundation’s ambition to taking responsibility and bringing about sustainable improvements in society through active engagement. 


Klaus-Michael Kühne

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Klaus-Michael Kühne

Following a commercial apprenticeship and several years of in-depth training, Klaus-Michael Kühne joined the family business, Kühne+Nagel, in the early 1960s; he became a personally liable partner in 1963 and, three years later, Chairman of the Executive Board. From 1975, he served as Chief Executive Officer and later as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the company’s international headquarters in Switzerland. He has been Honorary Chairman since 2011. The majority shareholder of the Kühne+Nagel Group is Kühne Holding AG, founded by Kühne in 1993, which also holds a stake of over 30per cent stake in Hapag-Lloyd AG, one of the world’s leading container shipping companies, as well as a 20 per cent stake in Lufthansa AG. In addition, Kühne Holding AG owns property and is involved in the luxury hotel sector. 

Together with his parents, Klaus-Michael Kühne founded the Kühne Foundation in 1976.

1976–2026

History of the Kühne Foundation

Foundation established by the Kühne family in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Establishment of the focus area logistics through support of research and teaching, as well as through scholarships. Initial research projects such as “Logistics for Small and Midsized Companies” (1989).

Dialogue on the environmental impact of transport and logistics through applied research, events, and publications.

Integration of the Kühne family’s previously private cultural patronage into the foundation’s work; focus on classical music and opera, e.g. the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

In logistics, endowed professorships were established (2000 WHU, Vallendar; 2003 HSG, St. Gallen; 2005 TU Berlin; 2007 Tongji, Shanghai; 2017 Universidad de los Andes, Bogotà).

At the initiative of Christine Kühne, the Neurodermatitis Counseling Center is established at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich.

First NetLoP seminar for the professional development of logistics experts.

CK-CARE (Christine Kühne – Center for Allergy Research and Education) intensifies its activities in the healthcare sector, focusing on areas such as allergology and personalized medicine.

With the start of the Kühne Logistics University (KLU) in Hamburg, the foundation’s commitment to academic teaching and professional development is significantly expanded.

The foundation’s logistics expertise forms the basis for HELP Logistics; this division supports humanitarian organizations worldwide with their aid deliveries to crisis areas.

The acquisition of the Hochgebirgsklinik Davos lays the foundation for the Medicine Campus Davos, which today combines therapy, research, and education.

With the founding of Cardio-CARE, the foundation expands its medical activities to the field of cardiology.

The Kühne Climate Center was founded in Hamburg with a focus on the decarbonization of logistic supply chains.

LEARN Logistics is spun off and expands its international offices in Tanzania and Ethiopia.

The foundation announces the construction of a new opera house in Hamburg.

KLU opens its second campus in Vietnam.