Mönchengladbach – The recipient of the Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach 2026 is Prof. Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, Chairwoman and shareholder of the mechanical engineering company TRUMPF in Baden-Württemberg. This was announced by the Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach association. The Board of Trustees unanimously decided in favor of the entrepreneur.
Prof. Dr. Nicola Leibinger‑Kammüller is considered one of the most influential voices in the German economy. She regularly takes a stand on economic policy issues as well as fundamental societal values. Decisive for the Board of Trustees’ decision was her entrepreneurial success, combined with broad social commitment and lived family responsibility.
“The outstanding work of Prof. Dr. Nicola Leibinger‑Kammüller in society, culture, and politics, founded on Christian and Western values, is exemplary,” explains Ulrich M. Harnacke, Chairman of the Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach association.
The award ceremony will take place on September 8, 2026, in the Kaisersaal of Haus Erholung in Mönchengladbach. The laudatory speech will be given by Dr. Alexander Erdland. The former CEO of Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG was President of the German Insurance Association until 2017. Today, he serves, among other roles, as Chairman of the Representative Assembly of the Church Supplementary Pension Fund of the German Dioceses.
The Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach has been awarded for more than half a century. Since its reorientation in 2013, it has been one of the significant awards in North Rhine-Westphalia with supra-regional appeal, alongside the Aachen Charlemagne Prize and the “Peace of Westphalia Prize” in Münster. Previous recipients include Jean‑Claude Juncker, Queen Silvia of Sweden, and most recently, former Federal President Joachim Gauck. The prize is awarded biennially.
