The Droege family has quickly risen to become one of Germany’s most successful business families, due to its 100 per cent ownership stake in Droege International Group AG. The Group is one of Germany’s leading family-owned consulting and investment companies. The heads of the family are Walter P. J. Droege and his wife, Hedda im Brahm-Droege, who together founded the Droege Group in 1988. Since then, the couple has worked to build the company into what it is today. Along with the business, Walter and Hedda are also passionate art collectors and display several contemporary art pieces in their offices. In 2018, Walter stepped down from running the day-to-day of the company and handed the reins to his son, Dr Ernest-W. Droege. Ernest-W. first studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe before eventually earning a doctorate in economics at RWTH Aachen University. He worked at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker before joining the family business as co-head of operations on the management teams. Walter remains on the board of directors and owns 78 per cent of the group, while Hedda serves as vice-chairwoman of the supervisory board and holds 12 per cent.
