baby boomers

growing up

The school curriculum was boring and "easy to handle". The "adventures" that followed were much more exciting. Tuning mopeds, dreaming of a Ford Capri, playing "ice hockey" between sandpits with homemade wooden bats, hanging out "swinging" in the youth center, kicking around on the soccer field, making first acquaintances with girls while playing "spin the bottle"... everything was much more interesting than boring school.

I was particularly interested in sport. This is where I found my first successes and recognition. My dream of becoming a professional athlete was born.

I took my caring parents' advice to learn something "sensible" first. So I learned the wonderful profession of "furniture carpenter" and am still proud of my "journeyman's piece" today. I could have imagined having my own carpentry business, but life had other plans for me.

Sportslife

Handball Bundesliga

My dream was actually to become a professional footballer. When the Offenbach football legend "Hermann Nuber" insisted on taking me into his Kickers youth team together with Rudi Völler, I was overjoyed.

But here I had to learn for the first time in my life how groundbreaking small decisions can be. My parents' ban at the time still annoys me today.

Two years later, I was "allowed" to follow the call of handball veteran "Peter Fenn". He "discovered" my "talent" as a handball player and brought me to SG Dietzenbach. 10 years as a competitive athlete followed, which have shaped me to this day. Every top athlete knows the wonderful feeling of pushing yourself "beyond" your limits and being rewarded with longed-for success. It was during this time that I realized:

"it seems to be impossible, until it's done"

private

my love

I will never forget the evening of December 5th. When I was visiting one of my favorite bars in Bad Homburg, I was struck by a "BLITZ". A blonde "superwoman" made my knees "weak" and my heart "warm". It was the most wonderful day of my life and when it was at its "most beautiful" I put on my coat and left... for me it was already clear then: HER or NO ONE... and as it turned out a few days later, she was thinking exactly the same thing.

• forever and ever


• through thick and thin


• in good times and in bad
• the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life


• I love you ❤️

Business

Sales & Management

Together with the founders of SECAL GmbH, Bernd Scherer and Norbert Schaaf, I built up the sales team as the responsible manager and worked on the "sales front" myself. The company produced alarm systems for companies and private homes. I developed a system called "Security Analysis" which was used very successfully by the entire sales network.

Under my leadership, the product portfolio of SECAL GmbH was constantly expanded. The company grew into a full-service provider for security technology and received VDS recognition.

Business

Product management

I think back to my "mentor" Uwe Christiansen with great gratitude. He brought me to the Bally Wulff Group. From him I learned "management tools" that were ahead of their time. Under his leadership I was responsible for the entire security technology area in the group.

One of the most important projects was the development of a "money exchange safe", which was used in countless gaming halls and was one of the most lucrative products in the portfolio.

When I told Uwe Christiansen at the end of 1992 that I wanted to work with my wife in the future, he made it particularly difficult for me to say goodbye. He offered to recommend me as his successor.

I followed my gut feeling and my heart and not my reason and my intellect. Today I am happy about this decision, which, from today's perspective, was the right one.

Business

SULU

The SULU brand was launched in 1993. Fashion in the "Clochard style" was popular at the time. Kerstin Bernecker's designs were very popular from the start and it quickly became clear that a structural structure was needed to allow the brand to grow successfully. At the same time as "Sabine Ruppert", who still works closely with Kerstin today, I started as managing director in our joint company. My "starting salary" was 1,500 DM gross, only a fraction of my previous salary, but the following 20 years were wonderful and very successful. The "SULU" period inspired and shaped my ideas and knowledge in the fashion industry for a long time. Here are a few facts:

• own design
• short-term availability
• classic passive wage processing
• own knitting machines
• own pattern knitters
• own sample studio
• own production in Lithuania
• 6 own showrooms in Germany and Switzerland
• 40 employees

Business

FUNKY STAFF

The success story of FUNKY STAFF began as a pure cash & carry T-shirt brand. Through a business partner, I "discovered" Italy as a "fast fashion" production country. The production possibilities seemed great and limitless. Through my long-standing connections to Italian market participants, the doors to the most important production companies in the relevant regions of Italy opened. Contrary to the general practice of buying goods in the "Chinese" halls and labelling them with one's own labels, FUNKY STAFF created its own collections and had them manufactured in the best possible "fast fashion" quality.
produced in Italy. The demand for FUNKY STAFF grew very quickly and aroused new desires.

I developed a completely new "short-term order" system, which became the core of the FUNKY STAFF brand and led to sales in the double-digit millions.

FUNKY STAFF was a success story until Corona came along. To put it bluntly, the FUNKY STAFF brand became a victim of the consequences of Corona.

Coming to terms with this "defeat" was a "painful" phase of life with a high learning effect. In addition to financial losses, I got to know the species "HOMOSAPIEN" from a completely different perspective.

"In times of crisis, character is revealed"

(Quote: Helmut Schmidt)

corona

we make ATTENTION

As is well known, the German federal and state governments had ordered textile retailers to close their stores for a total of 8 months. No customers, no income and the store full of goods. I still get goosebumps when I remember the tearful phone calls with the affected retailers. Thousands of livelihoods were threatened and this seemed to interest no one in the government centers.

On January 4, 2021, while watching the news with a glass of red wine in my hand, I realized once again that this unspeakable suffering was not being properly perceived by the public at all, while at the same time supermarkets and hardware stores were happily allowed to sell clothing and their sales were through the roof. I spontaneously "chatted" Günter Nowodworski and asked him if he was "brave". With this "courage" and endless energy, we started a campaign that, for a short but very important time, brought the entire industry together again after many years.

"We make AUF_merksam" managed to capture the hearts of
of commerce, people and the media. This campaign spread like wildfire throughout the entire nation. With active help, great commitment and creative support from those affected, we initially succeeded in raising awareness of the issue in communities and towns. Regional press and television stations took notice and we ended up on the Tagesschau, the HEUTE news and on Markus Lanz's show.

The Hessian Ministry of the then Prime Minister and close confidant of Merkel, Volker Bouffier, contacted me and we "discussed" possible conditions for the bridging aid III. Ultimately, millions in aid were distributed to specialist retailers, and many thousands of livelihoods in the specialist retail trade were secured.

Business

Consulting

In 2015 I started working as a consultant. With smaller
very successful consultations, I really started to enjoy it. Seeing how I can help my clients to fulfill their wishes and achieve their goals fulfills me. To date, I have worked with full commitment and success on numerous, very different projects.
contributed.

Today I am no longer working in my own company and am working as a FREE CONSULTANT in cooperation with the internationally positioned US - Consulting & Sales company

The variety of mandates is large and only those that I am allowed to name for reasons of discretion are mentioned in the projects section.