Managing Partner

Andreas Neef

Andreas Neef is managing partner of Z_punkt. As one of the pioneers in the field of strategic future consulting, he has 25 years of experience in designing and managing sophisticated foresight projects for large corporations and public institutions. As a process designer and moderator, he creates situations of openness to the future, clarity and creativity even in complex stakeholder constellations. His passion is the development of strategic objectives for the orientation of long-term transformation processes.  In addition, the information scientist Neef advises management on building foresight competencies and on future-oriented organizational development.

Permalink

Managing Partner

Holger Glockner

Holger Glockner is managing partner of Z_punkt. He is passionate about a sustainable, equitable and people-centered transformation of the economy and society. For Glockner, the future is a multidimensional design space. For two decades, decision-makers from companies, associations and politics have valued him as a content-rich initiator, designer and moderator of strategic dialogues on the future. In his projects, he leads the stakeholders and organizations involved to networked, future-open thinking, initiates processes of realignment and creates clarity on the relevant future issues. He studied political science, sociology and business administration; in addition, he was involved as a lecturer in the faculty of art and design at the Bauhaus University in Weimar and in the master's program in futurology at the Free University of Berlin in the training of the next generation of foresight experts.

Permalink

Scientific Director

Dr. Karlheinz Steinmüller

As Scientific Director, Dr Karlheinz Steinmüller is responsible for the methodological excellence and scientific basis of Z_punkt’s work. Karlheinz Steinmüller is a specialist in methodology and a generalist for questions about the future. He has a degree in Physics and a doctorate in philosophy. As an expert in history and the fundamentals of future studies, he teaches on the Master’s course in Future Studies at the Free University of Berlin. Together with his wife Angela, Karlheinz Steinmüller has written several textbooks and science fiction novels.

Permalink

Foresight Director

Kai Jannek

Kai Jannek has many years’ experience in managing foresight projects for clients from a range of sectors. Among other issues, he focuses on the question of how new technologies – such as robotics and additive manufacturing – will change everydaylife, work and consumption. He is particularly interested in changes in consumer behaviour. He also develops approaches to make strategic management tools applicable to foresight processes. Kai Jannek studied economics, specialising in strategic marketing and development economics. He has been writing the science fiction column in the philosophy journal agora42 for the past five years or so.

Permalink

Foresight Director

Dr. Christian Grünwald

Dr. Christian Grünwald is responsible for the Public Foresight division. His work focuses on scenario planning and vision development as well as trend projects in the public sector and industry. He intensely explores the consequences of technological change for politics and society, the future of work and the innovative application of foresight methods. Before joining Z_punkt, Christian studied political science and religious studies, followed by a doctorate, and worked for eight years in a large German communications agency and as a lecturer at the University of Kassel.

Permalink

Foresight Director

Sivert von Saldern

Sivert von Saldern is an expert on questions relating to technology and innovation management, an interest that was sparked during his degree course in business administration. He is particularly interested in new routes to innovative products and services, such as those in the area of open innovation, for instance. Sivert von Saldern’s expertise also covers the future of mobility and the disruptive potential of information and communication technology.

Permalink

Foresight Manager

Thomas Hufnagl

Thomas Hufnagl deals, in particular, with the question of what our clients’ new, disruptive business models will look like in promising growth areas. In doing so, he draws on more than ten years of professional experience. Before joining Z_punkt, he helped develop an electric vehicle from scratch and held the roles of CEO and CTO in a start-up for six years. For a few years now, his work has focused on autonomous driving and the city–energy ecosystem. His whole approach looks at links between disruptive technologies through to behavioural research.

Permalink

Foresight Manager

Louisa Kastner

Louisa Kastner works on the development of future-relevant topics and methods, especially in the field of consumer foresight. She draws on her many years of experience as a consumer and cultural researcher in the FMCG, lifestyle and biotechnology/life science segments. She is particularly interested in the design and implementation of participatory and interactive workshop formats. Before joining Z_punkt, she completed a Master's degree in Futures Studies at the Free University of Berlin and a German-French Bachelor's and Master's degree in Consulting/Strategic Management. In addition, she regularly trains herself methodically and didactically, e.g. as a facilitator of Futures Literacy Laboratories.

Permalink

Foresight Manager

Daniel Bonin

The economist Daniel Bonin is involved in trend and scenario projects for global companies, especially those operating in the energy and automotive sectors, and also works in the field of public foresight. Daniel Bonin spends his time analysing social and technological upheavals and their implications for our clients. Prior to joining Z_punkt, he completed a Master’s degree in economics at the University of Cologne, which involved spending a semester in Hungary focusing on business futures studies.

Permalink

Foresight Manager/ Innovation Coach

Birgit Schaldecker

More than 25 years of experience in product development, product management, strategic marketing and innovation management helped Birgit Schaldecker to build her broad-based methodical expertise for strategic innovation processes.

She is an expert in creative processes that really work and produce the results desired. She is particularly interested in consulting and implementing sustainable innovation cultures, healthy team processes and integrating lateral thinkers.

Building a base of thorough trend research and in-depth market analysis, the engineer focusses always on the customers needs and sets her priorities in product and strategy concept development and the development of valid business models and diverse business cases.

Permalink

Foresight Consultant

Julian Menninger

Julian Menninger is a Foresight Consultant at Z_punkt and an expert on future narratives, speculative storytelling and strategic storytelling. He studied German Studies, Cultural Anthropology as well as "Modern German Literature, Culture, Media" in Freiburg and Würzburg and was a research assistant at the DFG Research Training Group "Factual and Fictional Narrative" as well as at the Institute for Media Cultural Studies at the University of Freiburg. Among other things, he taught on the medial representation of scenarios and is co-editor of anthologies on the thematic focus of narratology.

Permalink

Foresight Consultant

Clarissa Schmitt

Clarissa Schmitt is a strategic designer with a background in industrial design. She is particularly interested in participatory and transdisciplinary processes.
She came to Foresight through her work with speculative design and philosophy of technology during her master's studies at Eindhoven University of Technology. During and alongside her studies, she also continued her entrepreneurial education: for example, she and a fellow student participated in several incubators and competitions to develop a formerly student project into a market-ready product.

Permalink

Foresight Consultant

Joonas Lindeman

Joonas Lindeman works for Z_punkt as a foresight consultant. His focus is on prospective analysis of interactions between technology and society. He is passionate about using his foresight skills to make business models, organizational practices and products sustainable and societally desirable.
 
Joonas holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Helsinki and a master’s degree in Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society from the University of Twente where he began developing methodological approaches in anticipating and analyzing social impacts of technologies. In addition, he’s studied Futures Studies in Finland. Prior to joining Z_punkt, he has worked both in market and foresight research as well as founded and run a pioneering start up focused on anticipating, analyzing and developing the social impacts of technologies.

Permalink

Foresight Consultant

Pallavi Rao

Pallavi Rao works at Z_punkt as a Foresight Consultant, focusing in particular on urban, spatial and environmental issues. She is an urban developer with a background in spatial design and  economics. Her interest lies in the sustainable and social impacts of urbanisation processes. During her interdisciplinary master’s studies at Technische Universität Darmstadt and University di Roma Tor Vergata, she became involved in projects concerning nature-based urban solutions, participatory planning processes and circular economy. Using a range of analytical, strategic and design research methods brought her to foresight and future studies. Prior to joining Z_Punkt, Pallavi worked as a designer and as a project consultant supporting international development projects.

Permalink

Foresight Analyst

Lena Irmler

Lena Irmler works at Z_punkt as a trainee with focus on innovation and technology management. Her passion lies in preparing companies for the future with the help of technology and innovation analyses.

Within her master studies in innovation management, she gained in particular insights and competencies for future technologies and their input into innovation and business strategies.

Permalink

Foresight Design Associate

Julia Ochsenhirt

Julia Ochsenhirt is Z_punkt's artistic soul. She visualises scenarios, visions of the future and innovation ideas and has played a decisive role in shaping the company's corporate design. Her work has won numerous awards in creative competitions.  The communication designer trained at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and was Head of Design at the renowned creative agency Strichpunkt in Stuttgart and Berlin for many years. She works as a freelance art director and illustrator for clients from Europe and Asia.

Permalink

Accounting and Administration Manager

Anne Driever

Anne Driever is Accounting and Administration Manager at Z_punkt. As a trained assistant for international office management with additional language qualifications, she has profound business knowledge, foreign language skills and methodological competences. Ms Driever is the contact person for all administrative matters as well as for questions concerning finances.
 
Her experience in sales and in the hotel industry makes her an expert in managing a diverse environment with varied topics.

Permalink