The Managing Director

The Managing Director of the Helmholtz Association supports, advises and represents the President in the performance of his duties and manages the Association’s head offices in Berlin and Bonn with their branches in Brussels, Tel Aviv and Beijing.

As a special representative in administrative matters, she represents the Helmholtz Association externally and internally. Alongside the President and the Vice-Presidents, the Managing Director is a member of the Helmholtz Association's Executive Board.

The Managing Director’s responsibilities

The Managing Director is primarily responsible for the procedures regarding the allocation of funds under the Association’s program-oriented funding and investments in further expansion. He ensures that the resources are allocated transparently and is responsible for key output figures in terms of overall coordination of the Helmholtz Centers. The Managing Director also provides support on the establishment of long-term partnerships between research and business via technology transfer instruments (spin-off support and the Validation Fund).

The Managing Director is nominated by the President and elected for a term of five years by the general assembly. The Managing Director may be re-elected.

New Managing Director from November 2025: Sabine Helling-Moegen

The Helmholtz Association has appointed Sabine Helling-Moegen as its new Managing Director. She will assume the position on November 1, 2025. The decision was made unanimously by the Members’ Assembly during a special session in mid of August 2025. Sabine Helling-Moegen has been serving as Administrative Director of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), a research center of the Helmholtz Association, since 2015. From 2021 to 2024, she also served on the Helmholtz Executive Committee as an Administrative Vice President and spokeswoman for the Administrative Directors of the Helmholtz Association.