Michael Okrob Email & Phone Number

Potsdam, Brandenburg, Deutschland

Kinnings Foundation is the private philanthropic foundation of Rubin Ritter, Robert Gentz and David Schneider, the founders of Zalando SE. We invest in promising social impact organisations with highly ambitious leadership teams who are dedicated to advancing opportunities for children and youth. Our regional focus is Eastern Germany.• Foundation Building and Strategic Direction: Spearheaded the establishment of the Kinnings Foundation, steering it from inception towards a forward-looking strategy, "Kinnings 2024+". Played a pivotal role in team development, elevating the first hire to Co-CEO, and aligning organisational strategy with shareholder visions.• Brand Development and Network Expansion: Executed a significant brand transformation and established a new corporate identity, positioning the foundation as a recognisable and engaging entity. Strengthened regional influence by setting up offices in key Eastern German locations (Potsdam, Erfurt), with further expansion planned.• Partnership and Capacity Building: Built a portfolio of 15 impact partners, offering close collaboration with Senior Leadership Teams on strategic and operational matters, facilitating access to relevant partners, enhancing visibility, and providing continuous motivation and support.• Advocacy and Regional Engagement: Championed the interests of East German civil society, establishing the foundation as a vital connector and advocate. Instrumental in promoting regional perspectives at national levels, e.g. by orchestrating events ("Kinnings Konvent", "Kinnings Dinner") to forge social capital among diverse stakeholders and raise our partners' visibility.• Achieving Market Position and Distinction: Transitioned the foundation from startup phase to a prominent, professionally recognised organisation with a unique competitive edge. This was achieved through strategic leadership and a clear focus on fostering societal change through collaboration, partnerships and targeted support.

TFD is a leading social enterprise, specialising in educational and civic leadership. The organisation is a member of the global Teach For All alliance.• Co-founded one of Germany’s leading social enterprises in the field of education, recruited the original management team, devised the initial strategic plan and attracted core funding in its founding year.• Act as strategic advisor on political matters to the executive team.

• Successfully lobbied the state government of NRW and key stakeholders (parliament, unions, employers) to continue and expand the programme; solicited donations by foundations and business in excess of 200k EUR p.a.• Led a team of 6 full-time employees and 15 volunteers; founded and ran Teach First Deutschland’s first satellite office in Düsseldorf.

EDUCATION Y is a social-profit organisation, specialising in innovative education programmes. Originally founded by Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland, EdY today collaborates with more than 1,400 schools and pre-school institutions.• Successfully developed new partnership models, attracting the single-highest funding commitment (1.3m EUR) ever awarded to the organisation.

Düsseldorf Und Umgebung, Deutschland

Frankfurt Am Main, Hessen, Deutschland

START is an award-winning operative foundation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Hertie-Stiftung. With close to 3,000 scholars and alumni, START operates a leading democracy education programme for young talents with a migrant background.• Successfully led a 24-month transformation process, redefining the foundation’s vision, mission and values in close collaboration with the boards. Won the PHINEO “Wirkt-Siegel” for distinguished social impact in 09/2019 and an impact grant over 150k EUR by Eleven / Benckiser Stiftung Zukunft.• Expanded START’s core programme to all German Länder, attracting 3 new key donors for Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (in total: >700k EUR).• Substantially raised the level of programme quality, introducing state-of-the-art impact management standards. Significantly improved public outreach, based on a comprehensive communication strategy and new corporate identity.• Manage a team of 21 employees (4 direct reports) and 24 affiliated state coordinators; responsible for an annual budget of ~4.0m EUR (including ~1.5m EUR of external funding).• Represent the foundation at 14 Länder governments and at the federal government, primarily on the ministerial and state-secretary level.

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organisation for children.• Raised annual income by 46 percent (+1.6m EUR) to >5m EUR for innovative partnership programmes in support of children’s rights. Devised a strategic plan to increase income from corporate and foundation partnerships to 8m EUR within 3 years.• Developed a strategy, governance and management structures for the newly established department, leading a team of 10 employees.• Represented Save the Children at and built relationships with key clients and corporate partners in Germany, the UK and India.

• Consulted clients in different industries (automotive, energy, public/social sector) on strategy, marketing, and sales. Gained international working experience on client-engagement projects in Germany, Belgium, UK, China.• Academic leave from 10/2009 to 03/2011

Master, Public Policy

Activities and Societies: Young Professionals Series (Founder)

Executive Education Degree, The Art And Practice Of Leadership Development

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Economis, Political Science

Activities and Societies: Student Government; Political Science Honor Society (President); EUROPA!