
Leadership
The BGA is led by our Executive Committee and enjoys the Royal Patronage of HRH The Duke of Kent KG, and the Patronages of HE Jill Gallard CMG, the British Ambassador to Germany, and HE Miguel Berger, the German Ambassador to the UK.


Peter Barnes
Peter Barnes has been Chairman of the British-German Association since 2018, and is responsible for the overall leadership of the BGA.
Peter worked in HM Treasury, at Boston Consulting Group and for The Economist, before founding his own public affairs consultancy, which he wound up in order to focus his energies on the BGA.
Peter was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford (First Class BA Hons, PPE) and at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA).
As an undergraduate, Peter was encouraged by his Politics tutor to spend his two Summer holiday in Germany. This was the start of his continuing fascination with Germany.


Duncan Johnston
Duncan Johnston has been Honorary Treasurer of the British-German Association since 2021, and is responsible for the finances of the charity and for fundraising..
Duncan was a partner at Deloitte for 20 years until his retirement in May 2022. He focussed on M&A transactions in the industrial and services sectors
Duncan studied German and Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, starting his interest in German and the German language.
While at Deloitte, he worked extensively in Germany and for a five year period lived and worked in Duesseldorf. It was this period which sparked his desire to work on strengthening the civil society links between the UK and Germany.


Dr Sybille Steiner
Sybille is the Honorary Secretary of the British German Association.
Sybille is from Germany but came to the UK with a scholarship from the DAAD and British Council a long time ago and stayed in the UK. She is a dual qualified solicitor and Rechtsanwältin in England/Wales and Germany and a Partner in the Employment and Immigration team of Irwin Mitchell LLP. Sybille is also the Chairman of the British German Jurists’ Association.


Neelam Cartmell
Born and raised in Germany in a dual heritage (British & Indian) family, Neelam has lived in the UK since the late 90s with long stints spent working in Brussels, Strasbourg and Paris. Now settled in London, she is the Director for the UK Business Development at POLITICO Europe. Prior to this Neelam worked in a banking supervision role at the Bank of England and as a political assistant in the European Parliament.
Having always been passionate about maintaining her connection to Germany and her native German language skills, she has founded and led German Clubs in the Bank of England and POLITICO. Aside from this, she enjoys bhangra dancing, organising anything she can get her hands on, following politics and spending time with family & friends.


Andrew Gilchrist
Andrew Gilchrist has been a Trustee of the British-German Association since 2020 with a particular interest in military and business issues.
Andrew served in the British Army, spending several years in Germany with BAOR, and subsequently was with The Boston Consulting Group, The Financial Times, and Egon Zehnder. Andrew has now qualified as a full time Executive Coach.
Andrew was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (MA, Cantab) and the Harvard Business School (MBA).
With a German mother, Andrew has always been drawn to Germany and it remains a primary focus of his personal and business interests.


Paul Stocker
Paul is Head of Youthbridge, which supports the teaching of German in UK schools. His background is in education, as Head of Modern Languages in both maintained and independent sectors, and in education consultancy. He has written and co-authored numerous textbooks for A Level German, for undergraduates, adult learners and travellers.
He is on the Board of the Dresden Trust, responsible for the Scholarship programmes.
A graduate in German and French (Sheffield), he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
His fascination with Germany was piqued as a child through his love of music, and by family holidays.


Miriam Thiede
Miriam Thiede has been on the board of the BGA since 2018 with particular responsibility for BGA members under the age of 35.
She has worked at Magdalen College, Oxford, the Royal College of Music and is now the Senior Development Manager at The Courtauld Institute of Art.
Miriam was educated at schools in both Germany and England and went on to read Theology at Worcester College, Oxford.
She holds dual nationality and strongly believes in fostering activities relating to strengthening ties between the UK and Germany.


Maurice Hirt
Maurice Hirt joined the BGA Executive Committee in 2020. He is responsible for student and U-25 members.
From 2019 to 2021, Maurice led the LSE German Symposium which has cooperated closely with the BGA for many years.
Maurice read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the London School of Economics and is currently completing his MPhil in European Politics at the University of Oxford.
Having lived, worked and studied in Germany and the UK, Maurice is passionate about the bilateral relationship, in particular fostering exchange between both countries.
Richard Carter


Peter Brown
Barbara Ford


Nathan Bray


Susan Vinther and Abigail Hucker


Ann-Kristin Vetter and Matthew Yates
Rob Grimmond


James Allan


Thomas Nutt


Robin Hart OBE


Ray Hagger


Paul Bristow


David Goater
Chris Horne


Rosemary Campbell


Phil Coppard


Richard Cutler


Antonia Wunnerlich
Antonia has been working with the BGA since September 2019 and is the Association’s Membership and Events Manager.
She has actively driven the BGA’s modernisation process and has overall responsibility for event management, membership, communications, and board and financial reporting. In 2020, she initiated the BGA’s popular newsletter, and in 2021, she launched the BGA’s podcast series, “Understanding Germany”.
Antonia is a British-German dual national and has a BA in Modern Languages (German and Russian) from University College London (UCL). During her time at university, Antonia was an active committee member of the UCL German Society and completed internships at the Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI) and the German British Forum (GBF). She participated in the Young Königswinter Conference in 2017.


Oliver St. John
Oliver has been with the BGA since November 2020 and is employed as the BGA’s Strategic Partnerships Executive.
In 2021, Oliver played a key role in the establishment of the Greater Manchester – Ruhr Metropole strategic partnership. He is also responsible for supporting British-German town twinning partnerships and managing the BGA’s regional representatives. Furthermore, Oliver runs our Facebook and Twitter pages and supports our Youthbridge schools’ network.
His educational achievements include a degree from the University of Konstanz (Germany) and a master’s degree in International and European Relations from Linköping University (Sweden). Previously, he has worked in the field of international relations, including at embassies in Germany and Panama.
Sir Paul Lever KCMG
The Hon Stephen Watson
The Lord Watson of Richmond CBE
John Hobley


HRH The Duke of Kent
The relationship between Britain and Germany is highly important to both our countries. As partners in Europe, in NATO, and with huge interests in business and commerce, it is vital that we continue to forge links and deepen mutual understanding. I have had a long relationship with Germany and it is a country I’ve visited many times. The British-German Association, which was founded in 1951, has played a pivotal role in furthering and shaping the relationship between Britain and Germany. Today, it is a thriving and vibrant Association, bringing together leaders in politics, business and culture. It is also a place where many people, from all walks of life, can come together as friends and share their interest in our two countries. I am delighted to serve as the British-German Association’s Patron and would like to encourage you to join and get involved.


HE Miguel Berger


HE Jill Gallard CMG
Bernadette Holmes MBE
Professor Katrin Kohl
Professor Sarah Colvin
Join us
Keen to debate contemporary UK-German issues? Interested in German history and culture? Or do you just want to meet like-minded people over beer and pretzels? In any of these cases, the BGA is for you. Join us now and become part of a dynamic and growing network of British-German relations enthusiasts.
Support us
The BGA is now playing a greater role in British-German relations than ever before. We receive no regular funding from any Government, and our income from individual membership fees covers less than a fifth of our running costs. So we are reliant on donors to continue and expand our work. Your support is hugely appreciated.