ULA

What ULA does

ULA e.V. – Deutscher Führungskräfteverband (United Leaders Association) is Germany's largest umbrella organization for expert and manager associations, founded in 1951 as the 'Union des Employés Dirigeants'. Headquartered at Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Str. 33, 10117 Berlin, it operates as a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) under German law with a small central staff (1-10 employees) and represents approximately 70,000 senior executives through 14 industry-specific member associations spanning chemistry, insurance, agriculture, aviation, public service, accounting, telecommunications, and other sectors. Its core function is political advocacy on labor law, social security, pension reform, dismissal protection, and economic framework conditions affecting executives in Germany and at the EU level through its founding membership in CEC European Managers, which connects it to over one million executives across more than 15 EU member states.

ULA's service portfolio centers on advocacy outputs and member convening rather than a unified software product. Deliverables include the annual Deutscher Führungskräftetag flagship conference, the Mixed Leadership Konferenz, the Führungskräfte-Dialog digital series, and Politik-Dialog events; the ULA-Newsletter published every 4-6 weeks and the ULA-Nachrichten magazine; recurring surveys including the Führungskräfteumfrage (in partnership with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung and bdvb, with 1,420 respondents in 2025) and the VAA-Einkommensumfrage (~4,200 participants); position papers and press releases distributed through Handelsblatt, FAZ, and Süddeutsche Zeitung; and a digital policy tool, the Arbeitnehmer-Rechner, simulating the net-income impact of social contribution cap changes. Embedded within the structure, Führungskräfte Institut GmbH (FKI) provides paid seminars on negotiation, career development, labor law, and accounting law to member-association executives at exclusive rates.

The business model is membership-driven rather than transactional. ULA does not sell products or services directly to end customers; membership is held indirectly via the 14 constituent associations. Revenue sources — which are not publicly disclosed — are inferred to comprise member-association dues allocations, FKI seminar fees, and event-related sponsorship. Distribution to executives occurs through the member-association network, direct Berlin/Brussels government-relations engagement, and a multi-channel content presence spanning ula.de, LinkedIn, Twitter/X (@ULA_Verband), YouTube, and earned media. Leadership comprises President Roland Angst (also Chairman of the Deutsche Telekom AG Group Works Council), Vice Presidents Dr. Christoph Gürtler and Dr. Holger Benjamin Koch, Treasurer Markus Ebel-Waldmann, Managing Director Michael Schweizer, and Press Spokesperson Klaus Bernhard Hofmann.

Name

ULA

Legal name

ULA e.V. – Deutscher Führungskräfteverband

Website

https://ula.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ULA - Deutscher Führungskräfteverband is Germany's largest umbrella association for executives, representing roughly 70,000 senior managers through 14 industry-specific member associations and providing political advocacy on labor and economic policy in Berlin and Brussels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Advocacy Association (Professional/Trade Association)

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Executive advocacy
• Umbrella association
• Political representation
• Labor law advocacy
• Executive training

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ULA e.V. – Deutscher Führungskräfteverband is Germany's largest umbrella federation for executive and managerial associations, providing political representation and advocacy for approximately 70,000 senior executives and managers (Führungskräfte) on labor law, social security, pension, and economic-policy issues in Berlin and Brussels. Its service portfolio includes recurring advocacy and publications (position papers, surveys, ULA-Nachrichten magazine, ULA-Newsletter), a calendar of conferences and dialogue events (Deutscher Führungskräftetag, Mixed Leadership Konferenz, Führungskräfte-Dialog, Politik-Dialog), and executive training delivered through its embedded subsidiary FKI – Führungskräfte Institut GmbH. Membership is held indirectly through ULA's 14 industry- and profession-specific member associations, with European representation provided via ULA's founding membership in CEC – European Managers.

Product overview

ULA (Deutscher Führungskräfteverband) is a German umbrella association representing approximately 70,000 executives across 14 member organizations. Rather than a unified software platform, ULA operates as a membership-based advocacy organization offering a portfolio of services including a regular newsletter, annual executive surveys, conferences (Deutscher Führungskräftetag, Mixed Leadership Konferenz, Führungskräfte-Dialog), the ULA-Nachrichten magazine, and position papers on economic and social policy. Sub-brand FKI (Führungskräfte Institut) provides training seminars. Digital tools include the Arbeitnehmer-Rechner for calculating social contribution impacts. ULA's products and services function as an integrated advocacy and member services ecosystem rather than a modular software architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Deutscher Führungskräftetag: Annual flagship event for executives covering topics in politics, business, leadership, and employee representation
• Führungskräfte-Dialog
• Mixed Leadership Konferenz
• Politik-Dialog
• ULA-Nachrichten
• Führungskräfte Institut (FKI)

Products and services

• Deutscher Führungskräftetag (German Executive Leadership Conference) ULA's annual flagship conference for senior executives and managers, addressing politics, business, leadership, employee representation (Sprecherausschuss/Mitbestimmung der Leitenden Angestellten), and Germany's economic competitiveness, featuring prominent speakers including federal ministers and politicians.
• Mixed Leadership Konferenz Recurring ULA conference focused on mixed-leadership themes and diversity in executive positions, targeted at senior executives and managers across German industries.
• Führungskräfte-Dialog Digital dialogue sessions on leadership topics featuring expert speakers, addressing themes such as talent management and longevity management for the executive audience.
• Politik-Dialog Policy-dialogue events that connect senior executives directly with political representatives to discuss policy matters affecting leadership and business.
• FKI – Führungskräfte Institut Executive training institute (GmbH) operating within the ULA structure (managed by VAA – Führungskräfte Chemie), offering paid seminars on negotiation, career development, style/etiquette, accounting law, and labor law tailored to senior executives and Sprecherausschuss members.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bundesverband Deutscher Volks- und Betriebswirte (bdvb)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ULA partnered with the bdvb for the 2025 executive survey (Führungskräfteumfrage 2025), which was conducted jointly with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung and received responses from 1,420 executives. The survey assessed executives' views on Germany's economic competitiveness, bureaucracy, and skilled labor shortage.
• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die FreiheitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021ULA collaborates with the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung on joint executive surveys (Führungskräfteumfrage), most recently conducting surveys in 2021 and 2025. The partnership combines ULA's executive network with the foundation's research capabilities to produce insights on leadership, digital transformation, and Germany's economic competitiveness.
• CEC – European ManagerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1951ULA is a founding member of CEC European Managers, a network of European executive associations representing over one million executives from more than 15 EU member states. CEC has existed since 1951 and participates in EU-level policy on technical and industrial change, new forms of work organization, and research and training. As a recognized social partner by the EU, CEC contributes to European social dialogue and participates in hearings of the European Commission and Parliament.
• Führungskräfte Institut GmbH (FKI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FKI, managed by VAA – Führungskräfte Chemie, is embedded within the ULA structure. It offers seminars to all executives on topics including negotiation techniques, career development, style and etiquette, and accounting law. Members of ULA member associations access FKI seminars at exclusive rates. The FKI also provides comprehensive labor law training for speaker committee members.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• MEDEF: MEDEF is the Movement of French Enterprises, France's principal employer federation. Comparable to ULA in serving as the political voice for business leadership, MEDEF operates at significantly larger scale across all sectors.
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI): The CBI is the UK's primary business and employer federation, engaging in political advocacy with government and running executive-level events and research programs comparable to ULA's Deutscher Führungskräftetag and Führungskräfteumfrage.
• BDA – Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände: The BDA is the German employers' federation and the broader counterpart to ULA on the management/employer side of labor policy. It operates at much larger scale across all sectors and shapes the same German and EU policy debates in which ULA participates.
• BDI – Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie: The BDI is the Federation of German Industries, representing industrial-sector policy interests in Berlin and Brussels. It operates at much larger scale in the same political-advocacy space as ULA, though focused on corporate rather than individual-executive interests.
• DGB – Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund: The DGB is the umbrella confederation of German trade unions, representing workers across all sectors. It is a counterpart organization in the same German labor-policy dialogue, representing employees broadly while ULA focuses narrowly on senior executives.

Regional players

• Vereinigung der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (vbw): The vbw is the Bavarian employers' association, operating in the same German labor-policy space as ULA but focused regionally on Bavaria. It runs comparable member-service, training, and advocacy functions at sub-national level.

Direct peers

• VAA – Führungskräfte Chemie: VAA is one of ULA's largest member associations, representing executives specifically in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It operates the embedded FKI training institute and conducts the annual VAA-Einkommensumfrage income survey — a structural peer within ULA's federation.
• CEC European Managers: CEC European Managers is the EU-level executive association that ULA co-founded in 1951; it represents over one million executives across 15+ EU member states. It is the closest direct counterpart to ULA, operating the same executive-advocacy mission at the supranational level.
• dbb Beamtenbund und Tarifunion: The dbb is the German civil-servants and public-sector union federation, addressing a specific employee constituency similar to how ULA addresses the executive constituency. It operates comparable political-advocacy, training, and member-service activities within the public-sector umbrella.

Others

• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit: The Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung is a German political foundation that has been ULA's research partner since 2021, co-producing the annual Führungskräfteumfrage executive survey. While not a peer in advocacy, it is a close strategic collaborator in producing the research that drives ULA's media influence.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ULA_Verband
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCy1OQ3eUycZMw7NnAm5lbpw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutscher-f-hrungskr-fteverband-ula

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ULA