I was born in East Germany in 1977 and grew up in the city of Jena. Until the age of 12 years old, I experienced the experiment socialism-communism. While religion did not play a role in my family I was raised on humanistic values. I learned Russian as my first foreign language and attended an elite sports school. As I grew up in this political-economic system I saw first hand how businesses operated in the context of the rigid paradigm. I also witnessed the effects on people and the environment. In 1989 the Berlin wall fell and Germany was reunited in October 1990. An entire new world opened up for me. I graduated from high school and went on to study Business Administration. I finished my college degree in Arizona where I moved in 1998 to Northern Arizona University. After a first work experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, I returned to Northern Arizona University in 2000 to attend the MBA program. I graduated with an MBA degree with an emphasis in international marketing and finance in 2001. In the same year, I joined the Salt Lake Organising Committee to stage the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Salt Lake City. During this experience, I really took the humane Olympic values in. In spring 2002 I returned to Germany and started a 14-year career at global sports brand Adidas where I worked in various positions within global marketing and finance. Working for a global brand and leading a team which was located around the world gave me global exposure. During the many business trips, I did not only get to see the marketplaces and consumers in the various countries but also got to experience the social and environmental problems around the globe. At Adidas, I met many very inspirational purpose-driven people some of whom have become lifetime friends. I also volunteered for Adidas’ own foundation “adidas fund” in the favelas of Brazil working with youth to teach positive values on the basis of sports. Grateful for all the experiences and learnings I could gain I left Adidas in 2016 on good terms to pursue my life’s purpose. At the end of 2016, I served several weeks as a volunteer in one of the largest refugee camps in Lesbos, Greece where thousands of refugees who fled from the IS war and the crises in Africa live in inhumane conditions. This profound and very humbling experience has strengthened my intent to leverage my skills to create more dignity in the world. I am also greatly concerned about the destruction of ecosystems. The polar bear has become the tragic symbol of global warming. I love nature and I love polar bears. I am fully committed to doing what is necessary to protect mother Earth as I deeply believe that economy is only a subset of ecology.