Mark Fliegauf – Keynote Speaker

Mark Fliegauf is a social entrepreneur, co-founder of On Purpose Berlin and Practitioner Fellow at the Social Science Research Center Berlin. Besides his passion for asking questions and exploring, Mark Fliegauf is driven by three “P”s in his professional work: Purpose, People and Productivity. Mark (*1977) worked as a journalist before studying politics and modern history in Munich, Tokyo and Harvard. He was subsequently a visiting fellow at Oxford University and founded and ran an NGO in England in tandem.

In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, he carried the Olympic torch to the London 2012 Games, while adopting the English tradition of never calling himself an expert. As policy advisor at a digitalisation think tank, he then led intersectoral working groups on innovative policy. There he raised the question “How much annual salary would high potentials give up if they could get a career with meaning in return?”. A few months later he knew the answer and, with a friend, founded On Purpose Berlin, a community that helps others find meaningful work.

Mark Fliegauf successfully recruited high potentials from Amazon, Adidas, McKinsey and Louis Vuitton – at an annual salary of €20,000. From 2015 to 2018, Mark Fliegauf established On Purpose in Berlin and subsequently managed the London, Paris and Berlin offices remotely as interim CEO. This experience propelled him to the next question: “How do I manage digital overload?” Since then, his answers have helped companies in Europe and the Middle East manage their digital workday effectively and healthily, earning him the job title “Productivity Ninja”. Since January 2023, he has been responsible for the entire Middle East and South Asia as Executive Director at Think Productive. As a Practitioner Fellow at the Social Science Research Center Berlin, Mark Fliegauf has been investigating another question: “Is working remotely as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day?”