History

In 2003 Nuremberg based Susanne Bohn, then Chair of a women in business network called Frauen als Unternehmerinnen (FAU), interviewed women in business in Atlanta about their recipes for success, networking and work/life balance. Back in Nuremberg, she wrote a report about her visit to Atlanta. Susanne Bohn presented the most important aspects of the report in April 2004 at the German American Institute in front of a large audience of business women. That same evening, fifteen women founded the Crossing Bridges network, with the aim of promoting cooperation between business women in Nuremberg and Atlanta by putting on a conference in Nuremberg.

The first Crossing Bridges conference, under the patronage of the Lord Mayor Ulrich Maly, was organized by a project team consisting of FAU members and other business women. The American participants at the first Crossing Bridges conference decided that the next conference would take place in Atlanta. Crossing Bridges 2006, the theme of which was „ Women Communicating-Connecting- Succeeding“, introduced new elements into the original concept, in particular related to sponsoring and choosing the conference speakers.

After two successful conferences, the original organizers discussed the future of Crossing Bridges. Out of this grew the vision of putting on yearly conferences focusing on the connections between Nuremberg and Atlanta with a view to strengthening the existing contacts.