Governance

CBM has offices and staff spread across the world. We are governed by a Supervisory Board and an Executive Management, consisting of a CEO and a COO based in Germany.

Executive management

Hans-Peter Lauffs and Dr. Rainer Brockhaus

The CBM Executive Board consists of Chairman Dr. Rainer Brockhaus and Executive Board Member Hans-Peter Lauffs.

Dr. Rainer Brockhaus (CEO) holds a master's degree in Business Administration and a PhD in Applied Computer Science. Before joining CBM in 2009, he held various management positions in finance, business development, marketing and sales in the IT sector. Outside of his professional life, he has taken on a number of voluntary assignments.

Hans-Peter Lauffs (COO) has been a member of the CBM Executive Board since January 2026. For over five years, he was Chief Operating Officer at EIT Health, an innovation network in the healthcare sector. Prior to that, the 58-year-old was Managing Director of the non-profit company Haus des Stiftens, which supports non-profit organisations through software donations from well-known software companies. As co-founder and managing director of a start-up, he also made it easier for older people to access digital media. At Malteser Hilfsdienst, he improved the financial control systems and expanded the quality management system.

Supervisory Board

The Executive Management is accountable to the Supervisory Board for the overall performance of CBM. The Board approves strategy and budget and consists of ten members, working in an honorary capacity:

  • Prof. Dr. Anna Svea Fischer (Chairperson of the Supervisory Board) is a university lecturer in Munich. She supports CBM with her Supervisory Board mandate because she believes it is important to support people in the Global South.
  • Markus Bohni, (Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board) an independent investment consultant, wants to break the cycle of poverty and disability in low and middle-income countries as well: "So that blind and otherwise persons with disabilities finally get equal opportunities!"  
  • Claus Duncker, Director of the Deutsche Blindenstudienanstalt e.V. (blista), believes it is important that good care and support for people with visual impairments also become standard in low and middle-income countries. 

CBM US Board of Directors

  • Dr. Kirsten Girnth, business lawyer, is honoured to support CBM with legal advice and appropriate action. She is committed to contributing to the Supervisory Board and accompanying CBM on its path to a better world, which aligns with Erich Kästner’s motto: “There is nothing good unless you do it.”
  • Dr. Helga Rau is a graduate ecotrophologist and Africa consultant for the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau. She wants to support persons with disabilities in countries of the global South, enable them to live in society with equal rights and make equal opportunities a matter of course.
  • Dr. Rainhard Koch is a microbiologist who has worked in applied research for many years. He would like to help ensure that the ethical values of Jesus, which he proclaimed in his teachings on the kingdom of God, take concrete form

  • Angelika Jacobi is a sales and marketing expert. As the founder and managing director of Lockruf, Angelika Jacobi brings extensive expertise in sales and marketing to both corporate and nonprofit sectors. She advises organisations on strategic development and implementation, drawing on more than 11 years of leadership experience at executive and board levels within the nonprofit world. Since 2025, she has also been a certified supervisory board member.
    “CBM operates with a high level of professionalism, enabling lasting change in the lives of many. I am truly inspired by the opportunity to contribute to this impactful mission.”

  • Dr. Christian Wolfram: The need for people with eye conditions and other disabilities in developing countries is immense, and good care can make a very significant difference. Implementing this is CBM’s task - or, in other words, its mission. It matters greatly to me that CBM achieves the greatest possible benefit for those affected through its donations, giving them hope and genuine prospects.

  • Roland Bien

  • Klaus Wittkuhn