ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
In September 2018, Axel Rungweber, as CEO of Dr. Bronner's Europe, visited Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences for the first time as part of a guest lecture in the Sustainability Management course taught by Prof. Dr. Stephan Hankammer. Both quickly realized that a closer cooperation between practice and science is urgently needed in the development and implementation of more profound sustainability approaches, but that there is a lack of institutions that promote the mutual transfer of knowledge and methods. Thus, over the years, the idea of establishing a transfer institute to promote progressive, holistic and in-depth management approaches developed: an Institute of Regenerative Economics. In 2022, the time had finally come: Axel Rungweber and Prof. Dr. Stephan Hankammer founded REGWI as an affiliated institute of Alanus University.
Prof. Dr. Stephan Hankammer
Co-Founder & Scientific Director
Stephan is Co-Founder and Scientific Director of REGWI, Professor for Sustainable Management and Entrepreneurship, Head of the Sustainable Business Studies program and thought leader for interdisciplinary and business approaches to a sustainable regenerative economy.
Stephan is Professor of Sustainable Business Management, Innovation Entrepreneurship and Deputy Head of the Department of Business at Alanus University of the Arts and Social Sciences. He leads the Sustainable Business degree program and teaches the subjects Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Sustainability
Management and Innovation Mangement and conducts research on sustainable business models that contribute to the regeneration of ecological and social systems. He received his PhD on the topic of collaborative value creation from a sustainability perspective at the Institute for Technology & Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University and is an affiliated researcher and guest lecturer. Stephan studied Business Administration, European Studies and Philosophy at WWU Münster, Universidad de Granada, Phillipps-Universität Marburg and Universidad de Sevilla. He was also a visiting scholar at the Politecnico di Milano in 2016.
Axel Rungweber
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Axel is Co-Founder and Managing Director of the REGWI, regenerative entrepreneur and experienced practitioner in the regenerative economy, founder and partner of a company dedicated to raising children's awareness, lecturer in sustainability management, NGO ambassador, fully qualified lawyer and graduate of Harvard Business School.
Axel was involved in building a regenerative business system for over a decade as CEO of
Dr. Bronner's in Europe. In his work for one of the world's most consistent organic and fair trade companies, he focused on using
regenerative business practices and regenerative organic agriculture approaches to combat the challenges of our time (most notably global warming and biodiversity loss).
In 2019 Axel founded the organization Change&More gUG, which is dedicated to the "consciousness education" of children for the problems on this earth. At Alanus University he is a lecturer for sustainability management.
As an ambassador for the Sea Shepherd organization, he is committed to protecting our oceans.
