Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller Wins 2026 Benedict Award for Business and Ethics

The selection committee for the Benedict Award has unanimously chosen the entrepreneur Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller as this year's laureate. A leading voice in Germany's business world, Leibinger-Kammüller regularly speaks out on economic policy issues as well as fundamental societal values. The committee's decision was driven by her outstanding entrepreneurial success, combined with her broad social engagement and her commitment to family responsibility.

"Professor Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller's exemplary work—rooted in Christian and Western values—across society, culture, and politics sets a powerful example," said Ulrich M. Harnacke, chairman of the Benedict Award Association in Mönchengladbach.

The award ceremony will take place on September 8, 2026, in the Kaisersaal of the Haus Erholung in Mönchengladbach. The laudatory speech will be delivered by Dr. Alexander Erdland, the former CEO of Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG, who served as president of the German Insurance Association until 2017. Today, he holds positions including chairman of the representative assembly of the Church Pension Fund for the Dioceses of Germany.

For over half a century, the Benedict Award of Mönchengladbach has honored distinguished figures. Since its reorientation in 2013, it has joined the ranks of North Rhine-Westphalia's most prestigious accolades—alongside Aachen's Charlemagne Prize and Münster's "Westphalian Peace Prize"—with national significance.

Past recipients include Jean-Claude Juncker, Queen Silvia of Sweden, and, most recently, former German President Joachim Gauck. The award is presented every two years.