The Board of Executives

The Board of Executives is the managing body of the RAG-Stiftung. Under the foundation’s articles of association, it is responsible for the strategic orientation and operational management of all the foundation’s activities. The three members of the Board of Executives are each appointed by the RAG-Stiftung’s Board of Trustees for a five-year term of office. Reappointment of them is permissible. The members of the Board of Executives are also members of the Supervisory Board of RAG Aktiengesellschaft.

©Robert Hoernig

©Catrin Moritz

“Our mission obliges us to sustainability”

Bernd Tönjes

Chairman of the Board of Executives

Bernd Tönjes (born 1955) studied mining at the RWTH Aachen university between 1976 and 1981 and earned a diploma degree as Engineer. 1982 he started his professional career as technical underground employee at Fürst Leopold/Wulfen mine of Bergbau AG Lippe. After various professional positions in the mining industry he was Mining Director of Heinrich Robert mine in Hamm between 1994 and early 1998 und subsequently Mining Director of Ewald/Hugo mine of Deutsche Steinkohle AG in Herten until the end of 1999.

2000 he became Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Steinkohle AG and was Chairman of the Board since May 2001. Additionally he was nominated to Member of the Executive Board of RAG Corporation in 2004 and was Chairman of the Board from 2008 until his switch to RAG-Stiftung.

In May 2018 he was appointed to Chairman of the Board of Executives of RAG-Stiftung and subsequently to Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of Evonik Industries AG and RAG Corporation.

©Robert Hoernig

“We improve the educational opportunities of children and youngsters.”

Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia

Member of the Board of Executives

Bärbel Bergerhoff-Wodopia (born 1954) began her professional career as a business management trainee at RAG Aktiengesellschaft. She subsequently held various managerial positions at the company.
From March 2004 on, Ms Bergerhoff-Wodopia was the Operating Director for Personnel and Social Issues of the Technology and Logistics Services Ruhr/Saar unit at RAG.

She was appointed to the RAG-Stiftung's Board of Executives on 1 December 2012. Since December 2012 she has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of RAG Aktiengesellschaft. Ms Bergerhoff-Wodopia has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of Vivawest since July 2013 and became its Chairperson at the beginning of April 2019.

Ms Bergerhoff-Wodopia also holds positions on various other management boards. She has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Essen University Hospital since March 2015 and its Chairperson since July 2019. She has been a member of the Governing Board of ZDF since July 2017. And in January 2019 she also became the Chairperson of the University Council of the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Deutsches-Bergbau Museum in Bochum.

“Sustainable investment means investing today in a way that allows us to shape the future tomorrow.”

Kerstin Terhardt

Member of the Board of Executives

Kerstin Terhardt (born 1977) began her professional career with an apprenticeship as a bank clerk at Trinkaus & Burkhardt KGaA. She subsequently studied Business Administration at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where she graduated with a Diplom Kauffrau degree. During her studies, she gained practical experience as a working student in product development and quantitative analysis at HSBC Trinkaus Capital Management.

Since 2004, she has held various national and international positions in asset management within the HSBC Group. Among other roles, she served as Head of Global Fixed Income Solutions, where she led the development of bespoke investment strategies for institutional investors and was responsible for the active management of fixed income strategies in Düsseldorf and Paris. In May 2024, she was appointed Managing Director of HSBC Global Asset Management (Germany) GmbH.

She joined RAG-Stiftung in April 2026 and was named Chief Financial Officer in May 2026.

In addition to her professional responsibilities, she has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Oper am Rhein since 2020 and has served on the Supervisory Board of Tonhalle since 2025.