Team

Michaela Bauer has been working for the Max Planck Foundation 2009-2014 and again since 2018.

Michaela studied music education at the Franz Liszt School of Music in Weimar.

Thomas van Bremen has been working in the asset management of the Max Planck Foundation since 2018.

Thomas completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster and his master’s degree in finance & management at the University of St. Andrews.

Susan Ebeling has been working at the Max Planck Foundation since 2020.

Previously, Susan has been a freelance consultant in transaction and data room management for 8 years. Before that she worked for a financial service provider in the real estate sector for 16 years.

Susan completed vocational training at a bank and studied business administration at the VWA Munich.

Shelley Elliott joined the Max Planck Foundation in 2021.

She completed her training in life assurance and worked in South Africa as an account administrator and broker consultant in various areas of the insurance industry until her move to Germany in 1999.

Most recently, she worked as a customer advisor and saleswoman in the retail sector.

Franz Gaul has been responsible for the asset management of the Max Planck Foundation since 2008. Previously, he worked as a managing director at a software company and for a family office in the late 1990s building an alternative investment portfolio. He started his career in a bank and as a business consultant.

Franz holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Passau.

Athina Grigoriadou has been working at the Max Planck Foundation since 2020.

Prior to this time, she worked as a personal and management assistant in internationally operating companies in various industries and divisions.

After completing her bank apprenticeship, Athina studied philosophy, education and psychology at the LMU Munich. Following her first degree, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in human resources and an additional qualification in intercultural communication.

Javier Gutiérrez joined the Max Planck Foundation in 2021 as Startup Scout.

Javier has been involved in technology transfer since 2009, most recently at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. After his technical and scientific career, he continued it as a group leader and then as a project and business coach. In doing so, he worked both directly at his then home institute, Fraunhofer IIS, The Home of mp3, and for Fraunhofer headquarters in Munich, in close collaboration with the Fraunhofer Venture Group.

Javier received his Dipl.-Ing. in Electrical Engineering from TECNUN, at the University of Navarra. Among other numerous advanced trainings, he is a certified ECQA Innovation Manager, Scrum Master and Fraunhofer Research Manager.

Julia Hof has been working for the Max-Planck-Foundation since 2020.

From 2016 to 2018 she already had been contact person for the concerns of new and existing major donors.

After studying business administration at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and working as Marketing Director in an international consumer goods company she advised private donors and companies in starting and developing their own foundations at Haus des Stiftens. Last she was head of partners and donors for a foundation supporting a new concert hall in Munich.

Vincent Höhn joined the Max Planck Foundation’s investment team in 2021.

Previously, he worked for a management consultancy firm and as an investment manager in a German single-family office.

Vincent completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and his Master’s degree in Finance & Information Management at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Toronto.

Mark Möbius has been working for the Max-Planck-Foundation since 2020.

He has been in leading positions at startup incubators for 20 years, working with technology-based startups from universities. Additionally, he has created his own successful ventures and worked as a coach, trainer and consultant for startups as well as for large corporations.

He holds an MBA in Innovation and Business Creation from TU-Munich and holds a Master in Media Science from Bauhaus-University Weimar.

Friederike Nohl has been working for the Max Planck Foundation since 2010. Before that she was employed in the tax department of a medium-sized auditing firm; since 2010, she is a certified tax consultant.

Friederike holds a degree in Economics from the University of Heidelberg.

Johanna Pöllath has been working for the Max Planck Foundation since 2012. Previously, she worked in cultural marketing and public relations.

Johanna studied cultural economy at the University of Passau and holds a certificate in foundation management.

Iryna Shafranovych has been working for the Max Planck Foundation since 2016. Before, she was employed in the accounting department of an international automobile and motorcycle manufacturer.

Iryna graduated in business administration at the TU Dresden and at the National University of Economics at Ternopil, Ukraine.

Verena Walterspiel has been working for the Max Planck Foundation since January 2019.

After studying philosophy, linguistics and literature, Verena has been in the non-profit sector since 1988: first in the foundation of a visionary entrepreneur, then as the board member of a foundation established according to the last will of an artist.