Background

I grew up in Germany and in Canada. People often ask me where my home is. I don’t have a place I call home. Home is where the heart is. So as long as my heart does not drop into my stomach, home is at the right place. Right now I am living in Berlin and Witten and I am occasionally staying in England, when visiting part of my family in West Sussex. I visit my friends and the other part of my family in Vancouver once in a while. From Canada I got my “can-do” attitude. I also have a great admiration for German culture, particularly with regards to classical music, philosophy and German pretzels.

Downtown Vancouver

Berlin

Education

My definition of what it means to be educated includes…

• a willingness to use the scientific method when appropriate,
• the consideration of multiple perspectives before casting judgement,
• an innate interest in human nature and in high culture,
• and the courage to ask the big questions.

Obviously, this definition does not include academic achievement. Although, I believe that schooling, if approached in the right way, may have a positive impact on your education. I graduated with a MA in General Management from Germany’s oldest private university Witten/Herdecke University. There  my definition of education is being cultivated by both the faculty and the students (with a few exceptions whom I dare not to mention here). Previously, I received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Simon Fraser University where I discovered my passion for constructing a good written argument. I  won the scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes) and the Provincial Scholarship of the Province of British Columbia.

Witten Herdecke University

Hobbies

A bookish person by nature, I love reading books about business, psychology and philosophy to keep my mind stimulated and to get regularly inspired by completely new ideas. I also like to get creative. I play clarinet and piano. Musically speaking I have had a strictly Classical upbringing and have performed Classical music in several ensembles with  amateur and professional musicians. Only later on, while living with roommates who were rapping and playing e-guitar, I discovered jazz improvisation and pop music.

Since discovering pop music, I have written my own songs which I perform on special occasions. I suspect  that the warm reaction of the audiences to my songs has less to do with my voice and more to do with the funny lyrics.

Colin Powel once said “surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” I agree with this statement.

Find out about my work experience