The Global Impact of Social Innovation

Social Innovation is not just a buzzword, it’s a global opportunity. However, it is also a very wide and heterogeneous field. The aim of this book is to give the reader different perspectives, concepts and experiences to understand the challenging tasks of the future while also showcasing some existing best-practice examples, impact-investing and social innovation strategies that successfully empower communities and individuals to shape a better life.

Alexander Ruthemeier held different positions in fast-pace start-ups with a particular focus on the financial service industry (wefox, ONE Insurance, Element Insurance, Lendico) as well as with incubators (Rocket Internet) and Accelerators (Startupbootcamp). He also gained relevant corporate experience as internal staff (Allianz) and external consultant (Volkswagen, zeb). Driven by his own migration and work experience in Singapore as well as the strong track record in Europe's start-up capitals Berlin & London, Alexander became curious about the topic of Migrant Entrepreneurship. Henceforth he dedicated his entrepreneurial (Expatrio) and academic efforts (PhD thesis, Founding Director Steinbeis Institute for Global Entrepreneurship & Innovation) on the topic of Migrant Entrepreneurship with a special focus on highly qualified entrepreneurs with voluntary migration background starting a business in the knowledge-intense digital economy in Germany.

Seda Röder, formerly known as “the piano hacker”, is an unorthodox musician, author and entrepreneur devoted to cultivating creativity in society and organisations. She is a sought-after speaker, consultant to DAX listed companies (The Mindshift®) and the founder of the Sonophilia® Foundation; a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the scientific research of creativity and critical thinking. Furthermore, Seda is a Fellow and a member of the Salzburg Global Seminar Corporate Governance Forum, angel investor and network partner at the European startup accelerator Silicon Castles. In 2018 Seda received the Game Changer Award at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce for her business merits in Salzburg County. Before relocating to Europe, Seda taught Music Performance, Theory and History at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as an Associate and Affiliated Artist.

Kathleen Schröter has a background in Business Administration and focused 11 years in Marketing & Business Development for applied sciences working at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. In 2018, Kathleen was named as one of 13 impactful women in tech honored by the Advanced Imaging Society with their Distinguished Leadership Awards. As a public speaker her insights into Deep and High Tech allow audiences to contextualize tech trends, deepen their understanding of R&D processes, and explore sci-fi scenarios that could soon become a reality. Immersive Technologies makes her heart beat faster but over the years she investigated into mother earth’s techniques and became a permaculture designer and a yoga teacher to balance her technology driven life and so developed a very holistic knowledge base. Her research starts with the question what humans are capable of and what AI can’t replace. She joined J2C GmbH in April 2020 to become their Technologist & Alchemist. In November 2021 she co-founded ootiboo GmbH where she serves as the Managing Director and focuses on that role full time since February 2022.

Philipp Plugmann has been doing multidisciplinary work for the last 22 years in parallel to practicing as a dentist in his own clinic in Leverkusen (Germany). He is also a Full Professor for Interdisciplinary Periodontology and Prevention at SRH University of Applied Health Sciences and Research Fellow at the Department of Periodontology at the University Clinics Marburg (Germany). Plugmann has given research talks in the field of innovation at conferences at Harvard Business School, Berkeley Haas School of Business, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, and Nanyang Tech University, Singapore. Plugmann is a serial entrepreneur and advisor to several companies, including a global technology consultancy.