Esra Kücük

Esra Kücük is Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit Allianz Foundation.

Born in Hamburg, she studied political and social sciences in Münster and Lille and since then has been addressing future-oriented issues in a changing society. She is committed to topics such as social and cultural participation and social justice in times of transformation. Over the past 10 years she has held various leadership roles in the cultural sector and in civil society. Before the Allianz Foundation was established, she was CEO of the Allianz Umweltstiftung and Managing Director of the Allianz Kulturstiftung.

Previously, she worked on the development of post-migrant narratives for a diverse urban society as a member of the board of directors at the Maxim Gorki Theater. With the Gorki Forum she created a place for this debate at the intersection between culture, science, and politics. At the Stiftung Mercator she developed the idea for the Germany-wide educational program “Junge Islam Konferenz” (“Young Islam Conference”) in order to give young people a voice as part of the political debate about racism, diversity, and social cohesion in Germany.

Her path previously led her to the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration to Stanford University (USA), and Humboldt University of Berlin.

Mandates

Chairwoman of the Board Schwarzkopf Foundation.
Member of the Board of Trustees of Pro Helvetia.
Member of the Board of Trustees of the Hessische Kulturstiftung (“Hessian Cultural Foundation”).
Member of the Supervisory Board of the European Cultural Foundation.
Member of the Advisory Board of the Genshagen Foundation.
Member of the Advisory Board of the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie (“German Post Code Lottery”).
Member of the Jury of the Thomas Mann House.
Member of the Jury of the Tarabya Culturural Academy.
Member of the German UNESCO Commission.
Member of the Académie de Berlin.
Member of the Art University Advisory Board of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.