One word to describe me initially: Energy.
The search for energy and its usage is what drives me most, generally spoken. I was born into my family’s plumbing and installing business in a village near Kassel, right in the center of Germany, so-called Northern Hesse. This region has had a great updraft in the last 15 years and is famous for the “documenta” modern art fair (next time in 2017), the “Herkules” statue within a beautiful mountain park that’s now a UNESCO World Heritage and its culinary highlight, the “Ahle Wurscht”, which is NO SALAMI! (https://world-of-ahle-wurscht.de/)
In search for more of the world, I went away from Kassel to Wolfenbüttel (known to be the home of Jägermeister) for my studies to become a HVAC engineer. They brought me to London, UK, for a 5-month internship in 2001, and I was fascinated of the vibrancy, the lifestyle and cultural horizon, that was so different from what I knew before.
Since then, I always tried to dig deeper into cultures. Now, I prefer to know locals and being a little part of the real life rather than a superficial tourist.
After finishing my engineering degree, I went back to the consulting company from London and worked in their Frankfurt-based German partner office. Within one year, I went to many of the famous banks, like Lehman Bros, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America etc. – at the times when they were respected, but before they made fantastillions out of nowhere to maybe spend them for new HVAC systems.
Which means: For really starting to work, I had to search for a bigger company with stable structures for me to fit in. I was able to get a job as a product manager for one of the top heating and cooling manufacturers worldwide. In the following 11 years I found out a lot about energy – fossile energy, renewable energy and the energy of my bosses to lead a company with over 10,000 employees and still remain a family business.
I’ve seen many countries, people and cultures in these years. In fact, it was my job to understand why people do what they do and create the matching products. Sometimes that worked very well, sometimes… um, not. Let’s be honest, this is no job interview.
If things go well from now, I will no longer be applying for jobs, because after realizing that I may miss a great opportunity, I took over my father’s business and I’m an employer by myself now. The 70-years-old family business will have a future! We’re not only selling and installing heating appliances, we’re also the shapers of the future of energy in every household. The view from this side is also very interesting. I’ll probably tell you more about that in later posts.
I’ve also realized how important it is for me to maintain a high level of energy and health of my body and soul. I’m always interested in improving my sleep, my fitness level, relationships, finances and my business. And I’m open to the pleasures of the tasteful sides of life.
I like networking with cool people, so I joined the German branch of the Junior Chamber International in 2007. We are young professionals and business owners striving for improvement in different aspects of life. I’ve worked voluntarily as the local president twice and in the regional board of Hesse for three years, because I really enjoyed helping others and having unforgettable parties all over Europe!
I’ve just entered another high-level network, which showed me Steemit, so I HAD TO enter this new world of possibilities.
This time I’m sure: I am part of the next “disrupting technology”. Steem on!
