The Team of hbpa

Hans Bellstedt (Ph.D.), born in 1963, studied modern history, economics and politics in Göttingen, Bordeaux, Bonn and Paris. After taking his PhD, he began his career as assistant to a member of the German parliament who played a leading role in foreign and European affairs. From 1993–95, Hans Bellstedt managed the office of Hans-Peter Stihl, President of the Association of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHT). From 1995 on, he worked for ABB Asea Brown Boveri AG, initially in corporate communication and then, from 1998–99, in Sales (assembly facilities).

In 2008, Hans Bellstedt founded his own Public Affairs Consultancy, called hbpa - The House of Public Affairs. He works as a columnist for the political blog www.carta.info on a regular basis and is an instructor for Public Affairs at the Technical University (TU) Berlin.

Patrick Alfers (M.A.), born in 1976, studied North American Studies, Political Science and Modern History in Germany and England. After receiving his degree, he worked as an independent contractor for InWEnt – Capacity Building International at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Patrick Alfers joined hbpa in August 2008. To his responsibilities belong the political monitoring, contact management with German ministries, parliament and other public institutions, drafting and finalizing position papers as well as organizing political discussions and Roundtables.

Daniela Otto (MScEcon), born 1983, studied International Relations in Dresden and Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2009, she was awarded a Master’s Degree with distinction in Social Science and Economics by the Aberystwyth University, Wales. During her studies, Daniela Otto worked as assistant at the School for International Studies as well as at the newspaper “Sächsische Zeitung” in Dresden. As intern, she assisted in organising an international conference for a NGO. Miss Otto is an honorary member of the German Academic Association for Security Studies, where she is responsible for public relations. Since 1 July 2009, she has been working as assistant to the manager at hbpa.

Sven Zetzsche (M.A.), born in 1972, supports hbpa in line with specific projects. Zetzsche has been working in the political arena for a considerable amount of time. After his assignments as the Office Manager for a Member of the German Bundestag and Manager Corporate Communications at the Industrial Investment Council (IIC), he was member of the executive board of the “Verband der Cigarettenindustrie” (VdC), responsible for industrial politics.

An English version of Jens Walter's CV will follow soon!