FCIB pays tribute to Dr. Hans-Werner Hauck at 119th International Conference in Prague.(Finance, Credit and International Business)

In October, FCIB hew their 119th International Conference & Workshop in Prague. While there, Brian Clarke paid tribute to a gentleman retiring after 38 years of continuous FCIB membership, Dr. Hans-Werner Hauck--"surely the longest serving member anywhere in the world," said Clarke.

Werner was one of the founding fathers of FCIB-Europe, joining the association soon after its inception in Europe in 1967. He helped to recruit the first contingent of German members, and over the years introduced more than 40 members into the association. Werner was present at FCIB's first meeting, held in Brussels in 1967, and from that time until just a few years ago, he almost never missed an FCIB conference. As Finance Director of the multinational pharmaceutical company, E. Merck, he regularly appeared on the FCIB conference discussion panel and, Clarke said, "likely holds the record for moderating FCIB conferences--no less than nine times!"

Clarke illustrated the type of person Werner was by recounting a dinner he had with him in the Hotel Adlon, the famous hotel just inside what used to be the Eastern sector of Berlin, close to the Brandenburg Gate. Werner recalled that it was at that very hotel, at the end of 1944 and near the end of the war, that he spent his last night before joining the German Luftwaffe as a pilot. In that short time just before the war ended, Werner's unit was overrun by British forces; his unit was captured and taken to the UK as prisoners of war. The war in Europe ended soon after, but the UK held onto their prisoners for a considerable ...