About me

I’m Christian – an international strategist, marketer, sustainability entrepreneur, advisor and fractional leader with a unique blend of corporate, consulting and founder experiences.

I thrive in pivotal moments of change – brand reinventions, market entries, strategic re-alignments, sustainability transitions – where clarity is scarce, playbooks don’t exist and speed matters.

Over the past 20+ years, I’ve built the Global Consumer Insights Team for Mazda during a three-year assignment in Japan, launched and scaled Avaus – the leading Nordic digital consultancy – in DACH, and founded Sneakers Unplugged, Europe’s first retail concept for sustainable & fair sneakers, nominated twice for the German Sustainability Award (2025 & 2026).

Throughout my corporate career, I led strategic marketing, brand, media & insights functions for more than a decade, introducing innovations from econometric modelling to applied behavioural science and was awarded with the prestigious Automotive News Europe Rising Star Award in 2017.

Having lived and worked in Germany, the UK and Japan, I move seamlessly between cultures, industries and disciplines – forming a contextualised understanding of people, relationships and organisational dynamics.

I bring strategic depth and hands-on execution alongside energy, speed, curiosity and decision guts. Clients value me as a trusted sparring partner and kickstarter who can master new, unfamiliar and complex topics fast and turn them into tangible results.

“I swim fast, especially in cold & unknown waters.”

Black, white, red, and yellow badge with the text "NOMINEE" at the top, a black circle with a white center and black border, and black, red, and yellow stripes at the bottom. The badge features the words "German," "Sustainability Award," and the year "2025."
A badge with the text 'NOMINEE' at the top and 'German Sustainability Award 2026' at the bottom. The badge features a black, red, and yellow horizontal stripe at the bottom, reminiscent of the German flag. The main background is white, and there is a black and white circular design in the center.
Cover of Automotive News Europe 2017 Rising Star magazine.
  • Man with glasses pointing at store window with large text that says 'Stylish Sustainable Eco-Friendly Air' and display of sneakers inside store.
  • Group of seven smiling people taking a selfie in an office, with a banner and a green emergency exit sign above.
  • A man in a suit with glasses standing in front of a large tractor tire, with arms outstretched and smiling.
  • A man with glasses and a denim shirt smiling and pointing upwards at a sneakers store sign.

“I help ambitious leaders & teams to regain clarity and build momentum in pivotal moments & transitions”

Career Milestones

A man wearing glasses and a plaid blazer is giving a presentation in front of a slide with hexagonal shapes containing text. The man is holding a remote control and gesturing with his hands.

    • Current Projects in the area of Strategy Development, New Business and Sustainability

  • Founder & Owner

    Cologne / Düsseldorf / ex-Münster

    • Conceptualised and established Europe’s first retail fashion concept for sustainable & fair sneakers with highly acclaimed press coverage

    • Developed the Onlineshop and three physical retail concept stores in central locations

    • Operationally led all business areas from purchasing, inventory & sales planning to Marketing, HR, Finance & Accounting

  • CEO & General Manager DACH

    Munich / Germany

    • Led the successful market entry of a Nordic Digital Transformation Agency and MarTech implementation partner of Adobe and Salesforce

    • Kickstarted the agency incl. office set-up, New Business Development, recruitments, PR & events.

    • Consulted clients across B2B marketing, automation, lead management, as well as change management and modern marketing initiatves

  • 06/2015 - 04/2018 (Leverkusen / Germany)

    Head of Brand, Media & Insights

    • Sparring partner & trusted advisor to the local management teams

    • Re-positioned Mazda’s European Brand direction, established brand governance principles & European media guidelines

    • Initiated media audits and econometric modelling (MMM) with significant effectiveness and efficiency gains

    • Pioneered several advanced Market Research and Consumer Insights initiatives, such as the implementation of System1 Brand Tracking, Neuroscience techniques and business adoption of key Behavioural Economics principles (i.e. website design, sales materials, etc.)

    09/2013 - 05/2015 (Leverkusen / Germany)

    Head of Launch & Car Connectivity

    • Strategic & operational lead of most intense ever launch period with go-to-market of five new models across 12 markets in 6 months

    • Creation of Strategic Marketing function, introduction of relevant Brand KPI’s & Scorecards, Advanced Analytics and milieu-based Segmentation

    09/2020 - 08/2013 (Hiroshima / Japan)

    Manager Global Consumer Insights

    • Dispatched to Global HQ in Japan on a three-year expatriate assignment to successfully set-up and lead a new Global CI Department

    • Introduced all-new Global Knowledge Hub, developed highly motivated and respected Team of 13 and closely guided and inspired global management across key product, brand & business decisions

    09/2007 - 08/2010 (Frankfurt / Germany)

    Team Leader Brand Strategy & Insights

    • Analysis and interpretation of target customer needs, wants & requirements, development of strategic brand directions and recommendations for positioning, pricing, communications and customer service

    • Initiation, development and roll-out of Net Promoter Score (NPS) concept across all European markets

    07/2006 - 08/2007 (Frankfurt / Germany)

    Specialist Consumer Insights

    • Coordination of European market research and consumer insights projects across product, brand & communications and web analytics and presentation of results to senior management leaders

    • Pioneered the first Digital Product Clinic with immense time & cost savings and conducted the first Interior Quality Assessment study (JD Power)

  • Senior Executive Client Service

    Frankfurt / Germany

    • Coordination of international market research projects and client service for large clients across the sectors automotive, beverages and FMCG

    • New Business Development and Winner of Global VW Group Pitch

Functional Competence areas

  • Strategic Marketing | Brand Strategy | Positioning & Narratives

  • Market Research | Consumer Insights | Behavioural Science

  • Corporate Strategy | Change & Business Transformations

  • Go-to-Market | Business Development | New Ventures | Scale-Ups

Why me?

  • Unique blend of long-term corporate, consulting & founder life

  • Depth & breadth of functional & industrial experiences

  • High degree of intercultural & relationship building competence

  • Strategic mind coupled with entrepreneurial speed, energy & decision guts

  • Ability to master new, unknown & complex topics with very fast turn-around

  • Open, honest & curious Changemaker mindset