Karin Heyl

Karin Heyl studied Romance languages and German language and literature in Cologne. In 1990 she joined the general secretariat of the Dresdner Bank, working in the art and science department, which she then headed from 2000 to 2004. During this period she also sat on the board of directors of two foundations. From 2004 to 2006 she was the managing director of the Association of Arts and Culture of the German Economy at the Federation of German Industries, and from 2006 until 2012 she managed the Crespo Foundation. She has been vice president of social engagement at BASF since 2012.

Karin Heyl worked closely with Ulli Crespo in setting up the Crespo Foundation as its first managing director until 2012. She has been has been a member of the Crespo Foundation’s supervisory board since 2022 and its Chairwoman since April 2024.

Prof. Dr. Christian Duve

Professor Christian Duve studied law in Würzburg, Caen, Geneva and Munich, and has completed a post-graduate programme at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Since 2018 he has been active as an arbitrator and mediator in legal disputes concerning international business. Before that he spent over twenty years as a lawyer and partner at the international corporate law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Frankfurt. In addition, he is an honorary professor at the law faculty of Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg and a board member of Business Angels FrankfurtRheinMain. 

Christian Duve has been a member of the Crespo Foundation’s supervisory board since 2020.

Dr. Axel May

Dr. Axel May studied law in Hamburg, joining the city’s CMS Hasche Sigle law firm as a lawyer in 1976. Between 1984 and 2007 he was co-head of Harald Quandt Holding in Bad Homburg, the family office of the Quandt family’s international investment management company, and he has sat on the holding’s board of directors since 2008. 

Axel May has served alongside Ulli Crespo on the executive board of the Crespo Foundation since its inception. He has been a member of the Crespo Foundation’s supervisory board since 2020 and was its Chairman until March 2024.