From October 1989 to September 1990, I studied Protestant Theology at Ruhr-University Bochum. In summer 1990 I decided to give up studying theology and opted for English and Philosophy instead. From September 1992 to April 1993, I attended Trinity College Dublin on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Since 1994 I have been working as a freelance tour manager and educational tourguide for Studiosus Reisen Muenchen. While I was enrolled at Ruhr-University Bochum I worked as a research assistant at the Department of Philosophy for Prof. Dr. Gert König, whose special area of research is the Philosophy of Science, and also for Prof. Dr. G. Gawlick und Prof. Dr. Bernhard Waldenfels. In May 1996 I wrote my thesis on the Irish novelist James Joyce ("Philosophical Discourse in James Joyce's 'Ulysses'"). Apart from Joyce, I focused on the Irish philosopher George Berkeley and the dramatist William Shakespeare, the world's greatest bard and story-teller. I also devoted myself to the study of Business and Commercial English, Irish Literature and the culture and geography of New Zealand. In November 1996 I graduated with a teacher-training degree in English and Philosophy. I received a final mark of 1.3 on a 6 to 1 marking scale.
From January to March 1997, I worked as an intern in the Sales & Marketing department at Continental Airlines in Neu-Isenburg (near Frankfurt). From April 1997 to April 1998 I served my country as a 'Zivildienstleistender'; this service is mandatory if you refuse to join the army for the military service and are registered as a conscientious objector. Thus it is an alternative to the military service. Since then I have occasionally been working as a freelance translator specialising in Business English, with a special focus on financial markets. During May and June 1998 I worked as an intern in the Editing department at the international management consulting firm A.T. Kearney in Düsseldorf.
From October 1998 to November 2000 I worked as a Customer Support Executive for the Datastream product at Primark GmbH in Frankfurt (now part of Thomson Reuters). From December 2000 to December 2002 I worked in the equity index team at Deutsche Börse AG, the operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange, where I was subsequently employed as project manager in the reference data area from January 2003 until October 2006. From November 2006 till April 2009 I worked in the product management section of Deutsche Börse's cash market area. Since May 2009 I have been Innovation Manager of the Deutsche Böerse Group. In this role I am responsible for the group-wide idea management process and for fostering an innovative culture in the company. In November 2002 I completed the traders exam for floor trading and Xetra trading, an in May 2004 I also passed the Eurex exam which is required to be admitted as a futures and options trader at Eurex Frankfurt.
In January 2013 my Ph.D. thesis on the Ethical and Aesthetical Aspects of Stock Exchanges was accepted by the University of Würzburg.