Anker has been a member of the German Cardiac Society and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) since 1995. He is currently vice president of the ESC in charge of National Cardiac Societies and Communications. He has been serving on the board of the ESC since 2012. In addition, he has been serving on the board of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC since 2006. He was HFA President between 2012 and 2014 and he currently chairs the HFA committee on regulatory affairs.
