Hosted Events
Conferences and workshops I have organized to connect academic research with policy and practice.
COBRA Launch Event — Economic Miracle 2.0?
23 February 2027 · Aula, University of Mannheim
Save the date. Public launch of COBRA, the Mannheim Research Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis, on the theme “Economic Miracle 2.0? How much regulation does Germany need amid geopolitical realignment and technological disruption?” I open with first research findings on Germany as an investment location, followed by a fireside conversation with Sebastian Matthes, Editor-in-Chief of Handelsblatt, on his new book “Inside 2029”, and a panel with Dr. Danyal Bayaz, Finance Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Julia Stadler, Co-CEO of Stadler Anlagenbau, and Annika Maldener, Managing Director at CVC Capital Partners. 17:00–19:30, followed by a reception. The event will be held in German; formal invitations follow in the autumn.
MaFAT Annual Event — Germany in Search of Growth: What Can Private Equity Contribute?
29 September 2026 · Room SN 163, University of Mannheim
Annual event of the Mannheimer Forum Accounting & Taxation (MaFAT e.V.) on private equity between capital, growth and valuation: how the German private equity market is structured, what makes software and AI companies hard to value, and the role of taxes and accounting for valuation and value creation. I am moderating the panel, with Dr. Ralf U. Braunagel, Partner and Private Equity Leader at PwC Deutschland, and Cornelius Becker, independent investor and independent sponsor, previously with the software investor Hg in San Francisco and Munich. 17:30–19:00, followed by a reception in the foyer. Open to all; the event will be held in German.
Run with your Prof – Tax Run Club 2026
23. September 2026 · Mannheim
5-km-Lauf durch Mannheim mit Studierenden, Christoph Spengel und mir. Start um 17:30 Uhr am Ehrenhof der Universität Mannheim, im Anschluss Get-together im Café EO mit DJ Jelly, Freigetränken für alle Teilnehmenden des Laufs und Merch. Organisiert vom MaFAT Student Club, ermöglicht durch MaFAT e.V., COBRA und KPMG Mannheim.
COBRA Summer School on Empirical Tax Research
July 2026 · Mannheim
An intensive COBRA program for PhD students and early-career scholars on empirical tax research — lectures on frontier research, research pitches, and feedback sessions, with tax systems as empirical settings. Fully booked.
COBRA Soft Launch
9 June 2026 · Mannheim
Public launch of COBRA — the Mannheim Center for Corporate Behavior and Regulation Analysis, which I founded and lead as Academic Director. COBRA is a platform for rigorous, data-driven research on regulation, taxation, financial markets, corporate decision-making, and public policy, connecting academic research with policy and business practice.
AI & Code Clinic for Research and Teaching
20 & 26 May 2026 · Mannheim
COBRA workshops for faculty and researchers on how AI agents such as Claude Code can support the research process — practical applications, common pitfalls, and new data infrastructure for research. Sessions by Philipp Doerrenberg, Marcel Olbert, and Paul Seidel; slides and recordings available via the COBRA events page.
Tax Bootcamp 2024
19 June 2024 · London Business School (Sussex Place), London
Co-hosted with Rebecca Lester (Stanford GSB). Brought together leading policymakers, practitioners, and scholars on two increasingly important trends — AI for businesses' tax functions and tax policy for sustainability. The Wheeler Institute for Business and Development prepared a three-part blog series with key insights.
LBS–Stanford Global Tax Conference 2023
13–14 June 2023 · London Business School (Sussex Place), London
Co-hosted with Rebecca Lester (Stanford GSB). Two days with leading policymakers, practitioners, and scholars on pressing global tax issues, with a keynote by Alenka Turnsek (EY) on the world's more than 3,000 environmental taxes. Speakers included Achim Pross (OECD), Timothy Power (HM Treasury), Pat Brown (PwC), Christoph Spengel (Mannheim), Michael Devereux (Oxford), and Raffaele Russo (Chiomenti). Academic sessions covered tax and public finance in developing countries, carbon leakage, emission taxes and air pollution, and wealth taxation and migration of the very wealthy, plus a PhD poster session.
