ULA at a Glance

The ULA  – Deutscher Führungskräfteverband (United Leaders Association) was founded in 1951 under the former name „Union of Executive Employees“ and is the largest umbrella organization for experts and managers associations in Germany. As the common political voice of its 14 member associations, it represents the interests of all executives in Germany. While ULA e. V. – United Leaders Association ensures common representation in the political arena, its member associations represent the specific professional and industry-related concerns and interests of their members.

At the European level, we are a founding member of CEC European Managers, which represents one million executives across Europe.

Member Associations

Around 70,000 executives are united under the ULA umbrella through thirteen member organizations. For executives in the German economy, the ULA member associations are the immediate point of contact. They provide individual advice and information on all questions related to their employment relationship. Many professional associations also offer their members assistance and legal protection in matters related to labor, invention protection, and social security law. Other associations primarily focus on professional political issues and offer their members a wide range of relevant training opportunities and numerous options for professional exchange with colleagues.

Each member association of the ULA represents senior executives from different sectors: VAA (chemistry), VFF (various industries), VDL (agriculture), VGA (insurance), bdvb (economists), Vereinigung Cockpit  (pilots), VMA (Volkswagen Management Association), BVHD (public service), BVBC (accountants, controllers), VK (gay executives), Syntra (Deutsche Telekom), EWMD (women), BPW Germany (women) and VLK (senior hospital doctors).

CEC – European Managers

At the European level, ULA represents the political interests of executives through its European umbrella organization, CEC – European Managers. CEC is a network of European executive associations with over one million members from more than 15 EU member states. It has existed since 1951 and was co-founded by ULA. CEC participates at the European level in all matters related to technical and industrial change, new forms of work organization, and research and training. As a recognized social partner by the EU, CEC contributes significantly to the functioning of European social dialogue. It participates in hearings of the Commission and the Parliament. Since 1999, CEC has been part of the employee delegation coordinated by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in negotiations under Article 139 of the Treaty of Amsterdam. CEC President is Maxime Legrand.

German Executive Leadership Conference

The German Executive Leadership Conference is the leading cross-industry forum for forward-looking issues in the fields of politics, business, leadership, and employee representation for elected representatives of senior executives. In recent years, our flagship event has featured Minister-Presidents Alexander Schweitzer and Dr. Reiner Haseloff, as well as Deputy Minister-President and Hessian Minister of Economic Affairs Kaweh Mansoori. In addition, former Federal Ministers Christian Lindner and Dr. Volker Wissing, CDU Secretary General Dr. Carsten Linnemann, and many other leading figures from across the democratic centre have participated as speakers and panellists.

Impressions from previous events, including event videos, can be found here:
2025 | 2024

FKI – Führungskräfte Institut GmbH

The Führungskräfte Institut (FKI), managed by VAA – Führungskräfte Chemie, is embedded within the ULA structure. FKI offers seminars to all executives on a broad range of topics (negotiation techniques, career development, style and etiquette, accounting law, etc.). We also provide comprehensive labor law training and other mandate-specific offerings, especially on negotiation techniques, for members of speaker committees and works councils. Members of ULA member associations can access all FKI seminar offerings at exclusive special rates. If interested, please contact the Führungskräfte Institut directly: info@fki-online.de