The Wharton Club is delighted to invite the Ivy Circle to a special evening on Artificial Intelligence at the Merantix AI Campus in Berlin.
AI beyond Claude and ChatGPT – real-world examples of how AI is already transforming existing industries and creating entirely new ones
In an inspiring conversation, our host for the evening, Adrian Locher, will share his insights on this important topic.
Adrian is Co-Founder and General Partner of Merantix Capital. An economist by training and an engineer at heart, he is also a serial entrepreneur, builder, and investor in AI. Having helped build and scale more than 20 companies, Adrian brings a unique perspective on the future of AI and its real-world applications.
Merantix Capital is a Berlin-based venture capital firm and part of Merantix, a group of companies and initiatives dedicated to advancing AI in Europe.
We look forward to welcoming you for an engaging and thought-provoking evening, followed by the opportunity for meaningful discussion and exchange with Adrian and fellow guests.
The London School of Economics (LSE) Generate project is currently organizing The Better World Summit: Responsible AI for Europe’s Next Tech Leap together with the Google AI Center in Berlin.
The one-day summit sits at the intersection of responsible AI, European competitiveness, and founder-led innovation. As part of LSE’s Global AI Founder Programme, the event brings together LSE academics, Google leaders, leading alumni innovators, AI experts and public policy makers from Berlin and across Europe to address questions as:
• How can Europe harness its expertise to become a leader in the AI race? • How do we defend privacy, free expression, and democratic integrity in an AI-first world? • How can founders build responsibly while remaining globally competitive?
A few of the speakers include:
• Professor Youngjin Yoo (LSE) • Slav Petrov, VP Research at Google DeepMind • Hannah Leach, Partner at Antler • Clemens Rawert, Founder of Langfuse • Dame Julia Black, former interim president of LSE
With governments increasingly backing entrepreneurship and Europe possessing formidable strengths in ethics, regulation, research excellence, and public trust, the summit explores how the continent can position itself as the world leader in ethical AI, as the home of responsible innovation and business growth.
The Harvard Club Berlin cordially invites the Ivy Circle to visit the Alexejew-Brandl private art collection on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.
For over four decades, a collection has been growing in a Charlottenburg apartment, consistently dedicated to one principle: It’s about art, not investment.
The event and brief chat will be be in German, and the invite below is in German, though all are welcome.
der Harvard Club Berlin lädt herzlich zum Besuch der privaten Kunstsammlung Alexejew – Brandl am Mittwoch, den 27. Mai 2026 ein.
Seit über vier Jahrzehnten wächst in einer Charlottenburger Wohnung eine Sammlung, die sich konsequent einem Prinzip verschreibt: Es geht um Kunst, nicht um Investitionen.
Manuela Alexejew und Carlos Brandl sammeln intuitiv – getragen von Neugier, Begegnungen und einer tiefen persönlichen Verbindung zu den Werken.
Ihre Wege zur Kunst sind verschieden und ergänzen sich gerade deshalb so perfekt:
Manuela Alexejew, geprägt von internationalen Erfahrungen und frühen Kontakten zu Künstlern;
Carlos Brandl, mit einem geschulten Blick für Alte Meister und Klassische Moderne. Gemeinsam entsteht eine Sammlung, in der Werke von Otto Dix, Otto Piene, George Condo, Yayoi Kusama oder Alicja Kwade selbstverständlich nebeneinander bestehen.
Bekannt geworden ist diese Haltung auch durch das Buch „It’s not about the Money“, das einen seltenen Einblick in ein Sammlerleben gibt, das sich eher wie eine Erzählung liest als wie ein Konzept.
Kunst wird hier nicht bewertet, sondern gelebt.
Zwischen Malerei, Skulptur und Geschichten gilt bis heute ihr Credo: Nicht wir finden die Werke – sie finden uns.
Ein Besuch, der zeigt, wie intensiv und persönlich das Leben mit Kunst sein kann – und warum in dieser Sammlung immer etwas los ist.
Die Kunsthistorikerin Annabelle von Oeynhausen, die uns zu dieser Sammlung die Tür geöffnet hat, wird das Gespräch mit den Sammlern moderieren.
Die Führung erfolgt in deutscher Sprache.
Für Getränke und Fingerfood ist gesorgt.
Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Anmeldung.
Ticketpeis:
Mitglieder 35 € p.P.
Nicht-Mitglieder 40 € p.P.
Verfügbare Tickets: 25
Um Anmeldung wird gebeten bis zum 20. Mai 2026:
Bitte melden Sie sich über den folgenden Link an: Anmeldung
Dear members and friends of the Harvard Community in Berlin,
The Harvard Cub of Berlin is honored to invite you to a Leadership Dinner with Professor Lothar Wieler.
The lecture was originally scheduled for October 2025, and we are very pleased to be able to welcome Professor Wieler to our club this April.
About the lecture:
Decision making and giving recommendations both to political leaders as well as to health professionals during an acute crises like COVID-19 can be a challenging task. In my talk I will outline the legal foundation given to the Robert Koch-Institute as a governmental agency deeply based on scientific excellence and evidence and the chances, barriers and obstacles which influenced political decisions during that crises. One major conclusion is that democracy will suffer if such governmental institutions are not scientifically excellent, well ressourced and recognized as trusted institutions. In addition, ministerial civil servants need to be both competent and resilient, giving them the strength to resist political despotism. Otherwise, single political decision makers will be able to deliberately decide by neglecting facts as well as scientific evidence. Without competent strong and legally soundly founded institutions, it will be hard to keep checks and balances.
About Professor Wieler:
Lothar H. Wieler is Coordinator of the Digital Health Cluster, Chair Digital Global Public Health, Hasso-Plattner-Institute, University Potsdam, and Adjunct Professor at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.
As a leader in Global Public Health, among others he advised the German government on combating the COVID-19 pandemic as president of the Robert Koch-Institute. He has 40 years experience in infectious disease research, teaching and transfer, and nearly 30 years in leadership positions both in the academic and the public sector. A veterinarian by training, he is microbiologist and global public health expert. His research is on pandemics and infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, known as zoonoses. In his work, initially he concentrated on infections involving antibiotic multi-resistant bacteria (AMR) and investigated transmission mechanisms and microevolution, as well as disease-causing factors and disease control strategies. Focusing his research on the molecular pathogenesis, genomic surveillance and evolution of infectious agents, he extended his work on public and global health, disease prevention and containment of pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential.
Wieler´s goal is to reduce health inequalities by promoting precision public health, at local, national and international levels. Before taking the Chair of Digital Global Public Health at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute at the University of Potsdam in 2023, he has served as president of Germany´s National Public-Health-Institute – the Robert Koch-Institute – for 8 years. Before then, he has been full-professor at the Freie University Berlin from 1998 to 2015. He is member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Senator of Leopoldina´s section Global Health, Member of the Council of Virchow Foundation, Co-Director of the Digital Health Partnership with Mount Sinai Hospital, and has been member and chair of various national and international commissions and advisory boards, among member others the Strategic and Technical Advisory Board of Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH), WHO, the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (WHO, UNEP, FAO, WHOA), the Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Health Threats, or chair of the International Health Regulations Review Committee (IHR-RC), WHO.
We look forward to seeing you at our Harvard Leadership Dinner.
When?: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 6:30 pm
Where?: Restaurant Il Punto, Lasagneria
Neustädtische Kirchstraße 6, 10117 Berlin
Dresscode: Smart Casual
Tickets:
Members & partners: 45 € p.p.
Non-Members: 55 € p.p.
Welcome drinks and two course menu are included.
Drinks with the meal will be charged separately.
30 tickets are available for this event.
Please register via the following link: registration link until April 15, 2026.
Payment options:
Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:
Artist Gwendolyn Kerber (Yale MFA ’84) invites the Ivy Circle to the finissage of her art exhibit “Ice Melts To Water,” taking place Sunday, March 22 from 2pm-5pm at the HELL gallery at Spittastr. 2, 10317 Berlin. The gallery is owned and run by another Yale School of Art graduate, Alexis Knowlton. There will be a musical performance by the British improvising trio “arc:3” at 3pm. Simple refreshments will be served.
Kerber will provide a tour of her works and be available for any questions.
From gallery owner Alexis Knowlton: In Gwendolyn Kerber’s exhibition, a purple painting, a fragile structure of sticks, and erased drawings of water ripples are resolved at various states of finish. The works depend on each other as much as on natural observation for their creation. The touch of the painter emerges in details that shimmer between information and idiosyncrasy.
The intention of Kerber´s work across several years has been to convey the experience of standing in a clear shallow lake, sunlight creating patterns on the sandy bottom. Water plants moving slowly, catching light. Her solo exhibition at HELL, to which you are invited, shifts attention to the work´s conceptual aspects.
Kerber is a painter who has developed a skill-vocabulary rather than a style or genre. Her working process moves between careful observations of visual phenomena, both on-site and in the studio, and welcoming the unexpected: the physical unruliness of such earnest attempts.
Through shifting textures, resonance and gesture, the music will respond to Kerber’s visual language of color, light and form, while suggesting the emotional and narrative associations the images evoke.
We look forward to welcoming everyone to the finissage of the exhibit on March 22!
The Ivy Circle Berlin Stammtisch for May is postponed until Wednesday, June 3, 2026 because our regular venue at FREDERICKS suddenly closed for unexpected repairs.
We gather June 3 from 6PM onwards at QUASIMODO at Kantstr. 12A, just a quick walk from Bahnhof Zoo.
The Quasimodo is one of Berlin’s most storied music bars and clubs, with roots going back to the late 1960s when they first operated in the basement of the Delphi Filmpalast. Over time it evolved into a cornerstone of Berlin’s jazz scene, hosting legends like Prince, Chet Baker, and Dizzy Gillespie.
Today, Quasimodo operates as both a live music venue and a stylish cocktail bar, balancing tradition with a more contemporary nightlife offering.
We meet at the bar upstairs, which serves high-quality cocktails—from classics to inventive house creations. The bar has reserved an outdoor space for the Ivy Circle so we can enjoy the warming weather.
Complimentary wine while it lasts.
A cool atmosphere and a perfect place for our after work monthly cocktail rendezvous. Come meet new friends and old.
The Wharton Club of Germany And Austria invites us to an exclusive factory visit at Siemens Energy in Berlin. During the visit, we will have the opportunity to tour the gas turbine manufacturing facility as well as the electrolyzer factory, gaining insights into advanced technologies for energy generation, hydrogen production, and to the future of sustainable power.
This behind-the-scenes experience provides a rare opportunity to see advanced engineering processes, innovative production techniques, and the expertise that drives Siemens Energy’s global impact.
Date and Time:
Thursday, March 26, 2026 6:00pm— 7:00pm
Location: Siemens Energy Huttenstraße 12 Berlin 10553
The Harvard Club of Berlin invites us to a diner and chat with Jörg Rocholl, Chair of the Advisory Board to the German Ministry of Finance.
Details below from Harvard.
Cheers! Carl Kruse
Dear members and friends of the Harvard Community in Berlin,
Germany’s future prosperity and stability can no longer be taken for granted. Economic pressure, demographic change, and global competition are raising urgent questions about how we stay innovative, resilient, and socially cohesive.
In this moment of strategic reorientation, we invite you to a Leadership Dinner and Lecture with Professor Jörg Rocholl, president of ESMT Berlin and a leading voice on Germany’s economic future. As a finance expert and chair of the advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Rocholl is deeply engaged in some of the country’s most urgent debates. He is currently contributing to the German pension commission, where the challenge of financing social security in an aging society is no longer theoretical. It is immediate.
Germany’s demographic reality is reshaping everything, from pensions and public finances to skilled labor and long-term growth. To answer this Germany must become a country of brain gain that attracts, retains, and empowers international talent while strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship. At a time when many highly qualified people from the U.S. and around the world are reconsidering where they can best live, work, and build their future, Germany has a real opportunity to position itself as a destination of choice. Brain gain is also about building a society where talent can succeed, education and lifelong learning are prioritized, and transformation is embraced. At ESMT Berlin, where Jörg Rocholl serves as president, this mission is central to developing the leaders the country requires.
What does Germany need to thrive economically, socially, and globally? And what decisions must be made now to secure long-term prosperity for the next generation?
Join us for this timely and forward-looking conversation on February 19. The discussion will be held in English.
We look forward to welcoming you.
When?: Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 6:30 pm
Where?: Restaurant Il Punto, Lasagneria
Neustädtische Kirchstraße 6, 10117 Berlin
Dresscode: Smart Casual
Tickets:
Members & partners: 45 € p.p.
Non-Members: 55 € p.p.
Welcome drinks and two course menu are included.
Drinks with the meal will be charged separately.
30 tickets are available for this event.
Please register via the following link: Registration Linkuntil February 12, 2026.
Payment options:
Bank transfer: Please transfer the ticket to our bank account:
The Ivy Circle Berlin invites you to an exclusive preview of the art exhibit Face Off at the Vorona Galerie, Friedbergstraße 12, 14057 Berlin on Thursday, February 19, 2026 starting at 6pm.
This is a private tour by gallery owner Julia Vorozhtsova and art curator Jenia Yanes on the day before the exhibit opens to the public.
Champagne expert Fanny Thiel — who is from Champagne, France — will be on hand to serve champagne from her curated selection, while it lasts.
Event Description
Face Off is a group exhibition bringing together artists from diverse cultural contexts: Anastasia Tory (Ukraine–United Kingdom), Rolf Abendroth (Germany), Andreas Geissel (Germany), Cristine Balarine (Brazil-Italy), Sergio Gomez (Mexico-USA), and Jens Joneleit (Germany).
For centuries, the portrait has remained one of the central genres of art. Kings and aristocrats commissioned formal portraits to affirm status and power; artists depicted themselves and their loved ones in an attempt to preserve a gaze, a gesture, a presence in time. The portrait was not merely an image of a person, but a tool of memory, authority, and identity.
A fundamental shift occurred in the early nineteenth century, when photography assumed the role of preserving the human face for posterity. In the twenty-first century, this function has been fully transferred to the cameras of mobile phones: the realistic portrait is created instantly and loses its sense of exclusivity.
It is at this point that art enters a new field of inquiry. If outward appearance no longer requires artistic mediation, what constitutes a portrait today?
Where is the boundary between face and image, between recognizability and inner state?
How can a person (or the self) be described through means removed from the conventions of realistic portraiture?
The exhibition Face Off unfolds as an artistic investigation of these questions.
The works on view reveal a broad range of approaches: from distortion and fragmentation to symbolic and emotional languages. Here, the face ceases to function as a mirror of physical likeness and instead becomes a site of projection, confrontation, and play. It may appear as a mask, a trace, a sign, a state, or an unresolved question.
The title Face Off refers to a moment of direct confrontation: between viewer and image, artist and the tradition of portraiture, the real and the imagined. It evokes the act of “removing the mask,” when the face loses its social function and transforms into a carrier of inner, often vulnerable and unsettling content.
The event is free but has limited space and an RSVP to Carl Kruse at info@carlkruse.net is mandatory. Please do not show up without having reserved a spot.
Following the exhibit, those who wish can head over to the Galander Bar for a nightcap – a 5 min walk from the gallery at Stuttgarter Pl. 15 10627 Berlin. The Galander is one of the top bars in Charlottenburg and a throwback to another era. Perfect for after-gallery gatherings.
The Ivy Circle cordially invites you to a special evening at the Auto & Art Gallery called ART | CIGARS & LONG DRINKS to take place Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 6:00 PM at the Auto & Art Gallery, Nachtalbenweg 61, 13088 Berlin.
The event will feature an art exhibit from artist Michael Dynne Mieth, complimentary long drinks, and cigars all taking place amid the unique space of Auto and Art Gallery.
The evening’s host is Mr. Jürgen Form, the gallery owner, who is a Berlin-based entrepreneur and art collector. The gallery space functions as both a showroom for classic cars (oldtimers) and an exhibition space for contemporary art.
Over the years, the gallery has hosted numerous exhibitions featuring international and German artists, such as Wilfried Fitzenreiter and Hans Scheib.
The space includes a café-lounge and is often used for events that bring together the business community and the diplomatic corps.
Jürgen Form also serves as the President of the Association of Economic Consuls in Berlin-Brandenburg (Vereinigung der Wirtschaftskonsuln in Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., or VWK), a professional network that fosters relationships between the diplomatic corps, economic representatives, and political leaders in the capital region. Several members of the Berlin diplomatic corps will be in attendance.
Artist Michael Dyne Mieth is a painter, sculptor and multimedia artist living in Berlin, whose art is exhibited internationally and always attracts attention due to his visionary motives. Some of his work includes his massive “G18” in which he revisits and reimagines Picasso’s Guernica, which has forever inscribed itself in art history as an appeal for peace. G18 was exhibited along with Pablo Picasso’s original Guernica at the Imperial Hofburg Museum in Innsbruck during the anti-war exhibition GUERNICA – “Icon of Peace.
Please RSVP to Carl Kruse at carl@alumni.princeton.edu so that we have an idea of the crowd for drinks and such.
I look forward to seeing you on January 15th for what should be a beautiful evening.
