Prof. Dr. Vogel (born in 1941) holds the degree of Diplom-Ingenieur (Certified Engineer) from the Technische Universität Darmstadt (Technical University of Darmstadt) and he earned a PhD from the Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich), where he was appointed an honorary professor in 2004. After working in various management positions at Bertelsmann, Pegulan and BAT from 1972 to 1985, he was appointed as a member of the management board of Thyssen AG in 1986 and chairman of the management board in 1996. At the end of 1998, Prof. Dr. Vogel set out on his own as a managing partner of Lindsay Goldberg Vogel GmbH in Düsseldorf, which represents the interests of the private-equity fund Lindsay Goldberg in Europe. Prof. Dr. Vogel also serves as member of the administrative board of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG and holds an advisory board position at Ernst & Young AG.