54th St. Gallen Symposium to discuss geopolitical changes

Federal councillors, presidents, activists, Nobel Prize winners, managers and entrepreneurs – for over 50 years, the St. Gallen Symposium has been bringing renowned guests to St.Gallen to discuss global challenges and seek dialogue between generations. Many leading prominent figures will once again be guests at HSG in May 2025 to discuss issues with students from all over the world. “Our goal is to develop stable and future-oriented solutions,” explains HSG student Charlotte Weishaupt, co-president of the International Students' Committee (ISC), which is organising the conference.

Under the heading “Shifting Global Power”, a wide range of topics will be discussed on 7 and 8 May 2025, including federalist ideas in the “Thriving Bodensee” dialogue format. Discussions will focus on geopolitical power shifts, technological competition, new security architectures and economic sovereignty – accompanied by exclusive study results.

Economic upheaval from a global perspective

Over 30 CEOs, executives from SMI, DAX and multinational companies, and government leaders from around the world will meet at the conference in St.Gallen. The guest list reflects the global diversity of topics. Speakers include:

• Roland Busch, CEO Siemens
• Nighat Dad, Oversight Board Meta
• Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe, Vice President & Minister of Finance of Botswana
• Christoph Heusgen, former Chairman of the Munich Security Conference
• Kristina Kallas, Minister of Education of Estonia
• Karin Keller-Sutter, President of the Swiss Confederation
• Miguel Ángel López Borrego, CEO of thyssenkrupp
• Jakov Milatović, President of Montenegro
• Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Roche
• Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank

From young conference participant to South African Minister of Home Affairs in ten years

The young talents qualify for participation in the symposium through a global essay competition. This year, participants in the Global Essay Competition addressed the question: “Global power relations are shifting. What risks and opportunities do you see and how are you dealing with them?” The essay competition attracted a very high level of participation from young students from all over the world. You can find the top 25 essays here. Time and again, winners of this competition go on to follow very special paths: the story of Philipp Navratil, who was a member of the Student Committee in 1998 and is now CEO of Nespresso, is particularly exciting. “Leon Schreiber took second place with his essay in 2015. Now he is returning to the symposium in his role as South Africa's Minister of Home Affairs,”says HSG student Luca Oberholzer, Co-President of the International Students’ Committee (ISC).

St. Gallen Symposium in Town: Public programme in St.Gallen pubs

From 4 to 8 May 2025, “SGS in Town» will once again bring international guests together with the city's residents – a total of eleven events will take place in cafés and old town pubs, including a concert and an art event. Speakers include:

• Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner (Migration and EU Border Policy)
• Mona Caron, artist
• Florence Gaub, futurologist
• Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nespresso
• Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa
• Ruth Metzler, President of Swiss Olympic, and Benjamin Huggel, former professional soccer player

"Our formats in the city bring international personalities together with the regional population in an inspiring atmosphere. This broad social exchange is particularly important to us in these turbulent times,” emphasises Beat Ulrich, managing director of the St. Gallen Symposium. Advance online application is recommended.

Programme of the 54. St. Gallen Symposium

Overview of the speakers

Image: St. Gallen Symposium 2024 / Podium "Balancing Act: Critical Resources in the Global Energy Transition” among others with Gerard Barron, CEO, The Metals Company