Christina Gradl

Director

Expertise

Business models that work in the the slums and villages of the developing world are my area of research and expertise. My approach to developing sustainable models of this kind is a systemic one: looking at the existing ‘ecosystem’, its environment and players, to understand how the new model can build on and complement what already exists. This approach is based on insights from rational choice theory and new institutonal economics.

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility have been the focus of my work for long. This includes topics such as cross-sectoral partnerships, corporate volunteering and sustainability strategy.

Joy at Work

• Creating ideas in the wide open space of sustainable business in development
• Stimulating positive change in people, organizations and on the ground where the impact hits
• Learning something new on every project

Previous Experience

• With McKinsey & Company, I worked as a consultant on projects ranging from sales force redesign in a medium sized insurance company to organizational change for Berlin kindergardens to efficiency programs for a logistics incumbent and more.
• For the UN SEED Initiative and the SRI Rice Marketig Initiative, I developed a marketing strategy for rice farmers in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Madagascar and started ots implementation.
• As a student, I worked mainly in communications and media companies, including Bertelsmann Barcelona and two new economy ventures in Munich and New York.

Education

• PhD candidate in economics at the University of Halle-Wittenberg
• Kofi Annan Fellow on Global Governance 2007/08 (including research at Harvard Kennedy School, collaboration with the UN Global Compact and a case study in medical technology in India)
• MSc Philosophy of Public Policy, London School of Economics
• Diploma in International Business and Regional Studies, University of Passau (including studies at Columbia University, New York, and USAL, Buenos Aires)

Languages

German, English, French, Spanish