All the time, we blog and report from the kraftwerk – about our start-ups, various activities, diverse guests, numerous events, and a thousand other things. The head of it all, general manager Heinrich Schröder, has also had a chance to put a word in. As one or the other of our readers may already have guessed, behind all of this is an industrious and well synchronised team. So today, before we go on with our usual daily chores, we’ll just take one moment and put the people who work behind the scenes on centre stage. We proudly present: Sabine Fahrenholz, Oliver Benkel, and Jens Warncke. Now, are you wondering what these three people are doing?
At first, there is Sabine Fahrenholz. Being the event & and community manager at kraftwerk, she is the one who pulls the strings. Apart from being responsible for event organisation, further training, marketing, public relations, and internal communications, Sabine is no less than THE contact person for everything and everyone.
By her side is Oliver Benkel, office manager. “That simply explains it”, he says. Nonetheless, let’s rephrase that: The 26 year-old is actually the city accelerator Bremen control centre. His main job is to assist general manager Heinrich Schröder. Oliver scans and prepares incoming correspondence, and he hones the output. There is an endless list of things besides that – “Oliver proactively furthers the advancement of our kraftwerk”, Sabine emphasises the importance of his work.
Jens Warncke completes the trio. He is in charge of every unexpected thing that comes up or falls off – and that is quite a lot, looking at the daily kraftwerk routine. The office & community assistant looks after the start-ups concerning their ailments, he revises texts and presentations, he lends an indispensable hand at events, and Jens also helps with everyday work and challenges. This means: He ensures that Sabine, Olive, and Heinrich Schröder are not troubled with most of the things that come up or fall off, taking as much weight off their shoulders as he can.
What a workload – and what fun! “We don’t take everything deadly serious”, they say, dissolving any tension between the generations with a smile. The cultural scientist, the specialist for logistics and entrepreneurship, the industrial engineer – all of them act as agents between pluralities of worlds, they create a surplus of perspective and content, and they exhibit mutual understanding and appreciation.
Of course, it is always challenging. “Just as soon as you start working in one corner, it will start to burn in the other”, Oliver knows, and Jens laconically explains: “Exactly. Like, I come here to work for three hours, but I will stay for seven.” Sabine nods agreement. “You have the feeling never to bring things to termination.” This is, actually, not bad. There is never a dull moment. „It is us who accelerate everything.” Exactly. And now get moving: Else, there might be another fire to extinguish!
