Welcome to the Event Website of the Heraeus Precious Metals Forum Hanau 2023!

We are delighted to invite you to our annual event, which will take place on Thursday, November 23rd, 2023 at the Heraeus Site in Hanau. On this website you find all details about the agenda, the speakers, travel guidance and accommodation, and of course, the registration.

Spend the day with us and learn and collaborate with a powerful and influential group of industry leaders. Leave with the latest information on precious metals.

Your registration will be confirmed via email. If you have any questions, please contact Lina Wagenfuehrer

Event Details

When

Thursday, 23rd November 2023

10:45 hrs to 23:00 hrs CET

Where

Heraeus Precious Metals Site

Heraeusstraße 12-14

63450 Hanau, Germany

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Questions

Lina Wagenfuehrer

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Agenda

Timing	Agenda
10:45 – 11:00	Arrival and accreditation for production tours in Hanau
11:00 – 12:30	Production tour
12:30 – 13:30	Arrival and light lunch
13:30 – 14:00	Welcome André Christl, CEO \| Heraeus Precious Metals
14:00 – 14:30	Supply and demand dynamics of platinum group metals Wilma Swarts, Director of PGM Research \| Metals Focus
14:30 – 15:10	Coffee break
15:10 – 15:40	Crafting Excellence: A golden journey inside Argor-Heraeus Saverio Matarise, Head of Sales and Marketing Minted Products \| Argor Heraeus
15.40 - 16.10	A turning point for physical investment in Europe? Junlu Liang, Senior Analyst \| Metals Focus
16:10 – 16:50	Coffee break
16:50 – 17:20	Precious metals in the glass industry: Meeting the demands of efficiency and performance Dr. Matthias Wegner, Head of Innovation Functional Materials \| Heraeus Precious Metals
17:20 – 17:50	Economy and stock markets: current situation and outlook for 2024 Dr. Gertrud R. Traud, Chief Economist \| Helaba
17:50 – 18:00	Conclusion Henrik Marx, Global Head of Trading \| Heraeus Precious Metals
18:00 – 18:30	Aperitif
18:30 – 23:00	Dinner

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Speakers

André Christl, CEO | Heraeus Precious Metals

André Christl is the CEO of Heraeus Precious Metals, a position he has been holding since 2015. The company is a global leader in the precious metals industry. In addition to his role at Heraeus, André Christl represents the company in various industry associations. He is currently the Chairman of the German Precious Metals Federation (FVEM) since 2022.

André Christl joined the Heraeus Group in 2009 as Global Head of Corporate Finance. In 2011 he took over as Global Head of Precious Metals Trading. Prior to joining Heraeus, he held senior management positions at companies in the automotive supply and pharmaceutical industries. André Christl holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Cologne.

Wilma Swarts, Director of PGM Research | Metals Focus

Wilma Swarts heads all platinum group metals research at Metals Focus with 16 years’ experience in the platinum group metals industry. She has 12 years’ experience in the PGM mining industry focused on metal sales and marketing from her time at Lonmin, where she was Head of Commercial Services. She served as non-executive director on the boards of the Platinum Jewellery Development Association, World Platinum Investment Council and Furuya Metals . She also served as chairperson of The Platinum Incubator from 2016-2019 and is the current Chairperson of Women in PGMs. Wilma holds a MSc in International Business Administration from the University of London.

Saverio Matarise, Head of Sales and Marketing Minted Products | Argor-Heraeus

Saverio Matarise is the Head of Sales and Marketing for Minted Products at Argor-Heraeus since August 2022. With an educational background in Marketing, he has always worked in business development and marketing roles. He joined Argor-Heraeus in 2019 as a Product and Marketing Manager.

Alongside his team, Saverio oversees all aspects of the Minted Products Division, including sales and business development, marketing, customer satisfaction, and product development.

Junlu Liang, Senior Analyst | Metals Focus

Junlu has 15 years’ precious metals experience and is responsible for research in Europe, the official sector and PGM chemical and petroleum demand. Junlu previously worked for GFMS undertaking official sector and investment research. Junlu holds a MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr. Matthias Wegner, Head of Innovation Functional Materials | Heraeus Precious Metals

Matthias Wegner studied physics at the University of Münster and subsequently completed his doctorate at the Institute of Materials Physics investigating the properties of interfaces in severely plastically deformed metals. After his doctorate, Dr. Wegner remained at the Institute of Materials Physics and conducted research in the field of thin film solar cells. During his PhD and post-doc, Matthias completed several research stays abroad, including India, Russia and at CERN. At the beginning of 2017, Matthias joined the R&D department of Heraeus Precious Metals - Functional Materials, which he is heading since 2022. He specializes in high-temperature resistant precious metal alloys and their industrial applications.

Dr. Gertrud Rosa Traud, Chief Economist | Helaba

Dr. Gertrud Rosa Traud has been Helaba's Chief Economist since 2005, and in 2006 she also took over the role of Head of Research. She began her career at Julius Bär (Deutschland) AG. In 1999, she moved to Bankgesellschaft Berlin, where her responsibilities included Head of Institutional Equity Market Strategy.

She serves on numerous boards, including the Supervisory Board of DLE Group AG, the Asset Advisory Board of the Volkswagen Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the Aventis Foundation. She is involved in social projects, including as patron of ZONTAlente.

Dr. Gertrud Rosa Traud is a frequent speaker on financial market and economic issues in the press, on radio and in social media, and a frequent guest speaker at national and international financial market conferences and webinars.

Henrik Marx, Global Head of Trading | Heraeus Precious Metals

Henrik Marx is heading global precious metals trading at Heraeus with four sites in Germany, New York, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. He has been working with Heraeus and in the precious metals industry for over 18 years. He went through various roles starting in Recycling through Sales and Business Development. From 2015 to 2018 he was heading the Heraeus business in Hong Kong as the General Manager, followed by two years in Switzerland at Argor-Heraeus being in charge for the investment products department as Director of Sales. Since June 2020 he is the CEO of Heraeus Metals Germany overlooking the global trading activities for Heraeus.

Accommodation

In order to make your visit to the Heraeus Precious Metals Forum as pleasant as possible, we have set up a call-off contingent for participants of the event at the Best Western Premier Hotel Villa Stokkum in Hanau. You are welcome to book a room here under the keyword "Precious Metals Forum".

Best Western Premier Hotel Villa Stokkum
Steinheimer Vorstadt 70, 63456 Hanau, Germany
Phone: +49 6181 6640
Email: info@villastokkum.bestwestern.de
Website: Villa Stokkum

Travel Directions

Arriving by car:

The Heraeus Hanau parking lot can be found through the following address: Heraeusstr. 12-14 in 63450 Hanau. You will find signs to guide you towards the parking lot on the day of the event.
Via A3 – coming from either west or east: Take the exit Hanau and drive in the direction of Hanau on B45.
Via A5 – coming from either north or south: At the “Frankfurter Kreuz” (motorway junction), take the A3 in the direction of Würzburg. You’ll reach the exit Hanau after about 25 km. From there, follow B45 to Hanau.
Via A45 – approach from either north or south: Coming from north, you’ll arrive at the “Langenselbolder Dreieck” (interchange). Here, get onto B8 and drive in the direction of Hanau to the sign “Stadtmitte” (city center).
Coming from south, you’ll arrive at the “Hanauer Kreuz” (motorway junction), where you change to A66 towards Frankfurt. You can then take either the exit “Erlensee” onto B8, or the exit “HanauNord” onto B45 in the direction of Hanau.

Arriving by train:
Hanau Main Station is well connected to the ICE rail hubs in Frankfurt/Main, Würzburg and Fulda through tight regional rail, S-train, and bus networks. You will find the current bus-connections at www.rmv.de .