Gregor Woeltje

Change Agent, Consultant, Environmentalist, Idea generator, Investor, Marketer, Parent, Social entrepreneur, Startup, Writer/Editor

I am a fully qualified architect, and worked as a copywriter, journalist and creative director before founding my own advertising agency. Since selling the agency, I have been dedicating myself and my entrepreneurship exclusively to “sustainable business ideas”, thereby combining profit and non-profit goals. The main emphasis of my work lies in consulting, coaching, strategy and concept development. I am married, the father of three children and stepfather of four more. I am an avid TEDster since many years having attended almost all TEDGlobal-Events and many TEDxEvents. I am co-organizer and co-host of TEDxMunich and have been Head Curator for all TEDxMunich events since 2014. 2016 - today: founder and managing director of "The Lovelace - A Hotel Happening". The Lovelace is the world's first pop-up-hotel in Munich. 2014 - today: Co-organiser, head curator and host of TEDxMunich 2009 - today: founder and managing director of the consulting company Wöltje GmbH, focusing on sustainability, strategy, marketing and corporate communications. (www.woeltje.eu) 2007 - 2018: Co-founder and Board of Directors of Good Restaurants AG. Goal: developing a sustainable fast-food chain. The first WakuWaku organic wok restaurant opens in Hamburg/Germany in November 2008 (www.waku-waku.eu). Co-founder and Supervisory Board of UTOPIA, Germany’s largest online community for strategic consumption and sustainable lifestyle (www.utopia.de). Co-founder of the Utopia Foundation for sustainable development (www.utopia-stiftung.de). 2005: Sale of the advertising agency to the Omnicom Group. Sabbatical. House construction. Intensive research in the following subjects: climate change, sustainability, ethical consumption. 1992 – 2005: Co-founder and managing partner of the advertising agency .start (www.start.ag). Chief Creative Officer responsible for communication-strategy and creativity, e.g. for the following customers: MTV, Burger King, Yahoo, Levi’s, e.on and Deutsche Bank. 1962 – 1991: Born in Hannover/Germany, raised in Munich. High School Diploma in Munich and Boston. Studies in architecture in Berlin and Munich. Working as a journalist, copywriter and concept creator.

Making sustainability irresistible. Ideas worth spreading. Hotel Happenings. My Kids, my wife, my friends, my planet.

"A Hotel Happening". Rather than designing hotels for a long term hospitality usage we use derelict spaces and turn them into temporary hotel happenings. Including not only rooms and suites but offices, shops, sport venues, bars, clubs, many events spaces and an extensive daily program that combines cultural and sociopolitical events and performances. This way we can open unused spaces to the public and at the same time revive the myth of the classic Grand Hotel, which was not only a place to sleep, but a place to work, perform, celebrate and even call out political revolutions.

Creative thinking, Creative Writing, Ideas that change something worth changing., Marketing + Communications, Pop-Up-Hotels, Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, TEDx

I am an avid TEDster since many years having attended almost all TEDGlobal-Events and many TEDxEvents. Through the years I have made many TED-Friends and volunteered to organize a big TEDxEvent in Munich since 2014. As a long-time TEDster I always wanted to bring TEDx to Munich. And so I did every year after 2014. Today I am co-organiser, head curator and host for TEDxMunich. I work on the concept and communication of the event, I acquire and coach most of the speakers and present the program on stage. The moment I will not forget was the minute I stepped on stage with my co-hosts. We saw a sold-out theatre with more than 800 guests eagerly waiting for a whole of TEDx. Since I coached quite a few of the speakers I was really nervous about their talks and very relieved when they recieved standing ovations.

Cooking, packaging X-Mas presents,