 Although little more than a messenger boy Ilgner built up a strong network of contacts and, with his uncle's support, advanced through the ranks at the company.By 1934 Ilgner had been appointed as a deputy member of the "Vorstand" of IG Farben and had a remit that gave him some control over not only financial and public relations decisions but also the company's dealings with central government.He led two important subsections of the central finance unit, namely the Department of Economic Research (known as "Vowi") which was established in 1929 and dealt with overseas investment opportunities and the Department of Economic Policy ("Wipo") which was set up in 1932, under Heinrich Gattineau and then Ilgner, to keep an eye on legal, foreign policy and taxation issues that might impact on the relationship between the company and the government.