In this role, he reports to the Chair of the Foundation Board, Klaus-Michael Kühne, and works closely with the Executive Director of the Foundation Board, Dr Jörg Dräger.
In his role at the Kühne Foundation, Dr Wilmking will be responsible for the strategic and operational management of logistics-related activities. These include the Kühne Foundation’s subsidiaries and programmes, such as the Kühne Climate Centre, HELP Logistics, LEARN Logistics, the Foundation Alliance for Africa (SAfA) and the Foundation’s intercontinental offices in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Jordan, Senegal and Singapore. In addition, he will support the further development of the Kühne Logistics University (KLU), particularly with regard to research and industry partnerships.
Dr Wilmking was most recently a member of the Executive Board of Schenker AG, where he was responsible for contract logistics. Prior to that, he served as CEO of the Asia-Pacific region and, amongst other roles, as Managing Director of Schenker Vietnam. He began his career at Schenker in 2002. Since 2016, he has also served on the Expert Board of the Deutsche Bahn Foundation, where he was responsible for humanitarian logistics and international disaster relief. He obtained his PhD in logistics from the Technical University of Berlin.
Dr Jörg Dräger: “The Kühne Foundation makes targeted use of its logistics expertise to advance disaster relief, development aid, climate protection and science worldwide. With Dr Wilmking, an experienced leader is taking charge of the Foundation’s logistics-related activities. His proven expertise in the fields of logistics and management will be instrumental in driving the strategic development and international scaling of our projects. I am delighted to have recruited Dr Wilmking for the Kühne Foundation!”
Dr Niklas Wilmking: “Humanitarian crises, poverty and climate change are global challenges that require concrete, effective solutions. Logistics plays a key role in this. I look forward to helping shape the Kühne Foundation’s programmes and contributing my practical experience from logistics, operations in disaster-stricken areas and development cooperation. Klaus-Michael Kühne’s vision of using logistics for the common good is more relevant than ever – and lives on at the Kühne Logistics University, which puts this vision into practice through academic research. I see it as a great responsibility and opportunity to be able to contribute at this intersection.”