Call for Action & Solidarity

- Fight back Corona

Now is the time for leaders to come together and stand united in the fight against this pandemic.But, let us not get lost in hysteria. We got this.

The Coronavirus has taken us by surprise. The unknown threat of a potentially deadly virus, unexpected shop closures, sold out groceries, curfews and a flood of news reports have made us fearful not only of the virus, but also of the psychology behind our responses.

You’ve all read the abundant statements that leaders in business and the public sector have done too little, too late. The anger is understandable because losing a loved one to Coronavirus is simply tragic. On top, many fear losing their jobs, a company, or savings because of the COVID-19’s effect on our economy.

However, aside from all the grave tragedies, let us not forget to also look at the positive aspects: by and large, our society has shown a remarkable level of adaptability, resilience, and compassion.

• Thousands of doctors, nurses and hospital workers are pulling countless additional night shifts in order to maintain a functioning health and care system.

• The scientific community has brought in strong efforts to understand the novel pathogen and develop solutions for its diagnosis, containment, and cure.

• Delivery workers and shop assistants guarantee a well functioning supply of goods.• Many of us are adapting to holding meetings virtually thanks to strong digital infrastructures.• Neighbourhoods have grown closer together thanks to a sense of solidarity.

We should also take a moment to reflect on how we, as a society, stand together in such difficult and uncertain times. However, we must ensure that we stay resilient over the next months. In most countries, Coronavirus will get worse before it gets better. But let us not amplify these problems by panicking. We have regularly been exposed to disease outbreaks. Every outbreak that has different characteristics from the annual influenza that we seem to have gotten accustomed to is creating new fears. Yet, we should not forget that most infected individuals show only mild symptoms.

We have great confidence in the way our responsible decision-makers in politics but also in the health system will deal with the situation and take the best possible decisions. We also believe there is an opportunity for the digitalisation of many businesses. However, as digital leaders and innovators, we see it as our duty to fight back by keeping calm and maintaining our creativity and productivity. There are many problems worth solving and a healthy economy will help all of us cope better with the Corona challenge. We have entrepreneurial skills and technologies available to us that were hardly imaginable 20 years ago. Let us not get lost in hysteria. Instead keep a steady course on our mid and long-term goals to drive better societies. At the same time, we are ready to support wherever we can short-term, e.g. neighbours, freelancers, entrepreneurs and employees. No virus should stand in our way. These are the times that get things moving.

Everyone of us has already helped where they can, by buying food for neighbours, collecting lists of home-schooling tips amongst many other things. We are very aware of the fact, that there are numerous great ideas and initiatives out there, which need further support. So, please send us your ideas and/or impactful initiatives that you are aware of, which will strongly benefit from further support. We will discuss these within the group as well as with the community and jointly choose one to three of the initiatives that we, as a group will support.

The Corona epidemic, as tragic as it is, will ultimately allow us to prove once more to ourselves, how agility, innovation, and solidarity make our societies so remarkably resilient.

We will take action and fight back against Corona. Contact: fightbackcorona@joinfightback.com

Call for Action & Solidarity Fight back Corona

Signed byDr Sven JungmannCo-Founder Health Vertical

FoundersLane

Dr Danny Krautz(ex. ZEISS Ventures)

building a digital health venture

Felix StaeritzCEO and Founder

FoundersLane, Founder FightBack

Dr. Mustapha Al HelwiInnovation Manager

HELLA Aglaia Mobile Vision GmbH

Lawrence LeuschnerCo-Founder and CEO

TIER Mobility

Verena KuhnLead Global Innovator

Community World Economic Forum

Dr Oliver ScheelCTO and Executive Committee

Member Curaeos

Dr Andreas Ringman UgglaChief Business Development

OfficerDoktor24

Annika BrackHead of Community

DevelopmentWorld Economic Forum

Andreas KunzeCEO and Founder

KONUX

Dr Oliver HüfnerCo-Founder and CFO Smunch

Founding Partner Hyazinth

Jochen M. WilmsFounder and Managing Director

W Ventures

Dr Ulrich FaisstDigital Transformation Officer

TRUMPF

Alexander ShulginCEO and Founder

Gruppa Kompaniy Familia

Manuel MandlerCEO and Founder

Value Based Managed Care GmbH

Andreas WiniarskiChairman, CEO and

Founding Partnerawesome capital Group

Patrick WirthDirector Investment and

InnovationBaloise Group

Peter BorchersFounder and Managing Partner

pbo.vc

Dr Andreas M. RickertCo-CEO and Founder

PHINEO

Christian UmbachCEO and Founder

Xapix

Johannes BurgardFounder and CEO

Solytic

Richy UgwuCEO

INTERSPORT Marketing Services

Ali CiğerCommercial Director

Pfizer

Philipp SchoeffmannCEO and Founder

The Fam Fund

Peter SchlechtCEO and Founder

Artificial Link

Ziar KhosrawiGlobal Shaper

Berlin Hub

Rita MaierMedical Expert FoundersLane

Tim Thonhauser-RöhrichCEO and Co-Founder

FightBack

Dr Jessica SchmeissBusiness Design Expert &

Consultant

Konstantin MihovIncubation & Communications

Continental

Pierre-Yves CaboussatFounder and Senior Partner

INNOArchitects AG

Sönke-Timo KiskerCFO

Pepper.com

Birgit StröbelFacilitator for transformation

Co-Founder FoundersFightClub

Daniel CroninCo-Founder

AustrianStartups

Christian RebernikCEO and Co-Founder

Vivy

Carolin LessouedCEO and Co-Founder

Openers

Monika SmithAdvisor futur/io

Stefanie SchrammDirector Venture Marketing

Next Big Thing AG

Marina SchmidtCo-Founder

TheDeepTalks

Gunnar GroeblerSenior Vice President,Head of Business Area

Vattenfall

Lutz GlandtBoard member

Cavalry Ventures

Yeming WangGeneral Manager

Alibaba Cloud EMEA

Dr. Tonino GrecoChief Analyst

Sony Corporate Technology Strategy Division

Eric NehrbassHead of Online Technologies

at Carl Zeiss Vision

Holger EwaldCEO and Founder

RobotX Digital Ventures

DDr Alex Farr Associate ProfessorMedical University of

Vienna

Attila TurosHead, Strategic Partnerships

The Fourth Sector Group

Dr Claudia PelzerCMO

Ströer Content Group

Wiebke KöhlerCEO

impactWunderStrategieberatung GmbH

Cornelia RöperCEO and Co-Founder Mitunsleben GmbH

Caroline E. HeilDigital Innovation Board

University of Digital Science Berlin

Dr Ralf BelusaChief Digital Officer

Hapag-Lloyd AG

Marcelo GarciaFounder

WisdomAccelerator.org

Andreas von OettingenFounding Partner

FoundersLane

Dino ScheidtVice President of Applied

Machine Learning FoundersLane

Michael StephanblomeFounding Partner

FoundersLane

Sebastian HerzogPartner

hy - the Axel Springer ecosystem firm