MARKUS HIPP
MEMBER OF THE BOARD, BMW FOUNDATION
Markus Hipp has been director of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt since 2006. In this position, he is devoting his energy and passion, as well as many air miles, to helping build the Responsible Leadership programs and the global network of the Foundation.

Even before, he had travelled the world, mostly its eastern parts: After studying philosophy with the Jesuits in Munich, he taught for two years at the Universities of Budweis and Brno in the Czech Republic as a lecturer funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation. Fascinated by the people and their desire for social change, he and some friends in 1996 founded the association MitOst to foster cultural exchange, active citizenship, and sustainable urban development in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe – beyond cultural, linguistic or sectoral borders.

After gaining professional experiences in marketing and publishing, Markus Hipp in 1998 became assistant to the executive director of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. He helped develop the foundation’s Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe program area from 2000 until 2006 and established the foundation’s Berlin office from 2002.

Originally from the Swabian Jura, Markus Hipp and his six-member family realized their very own version of the “Think global, act local” principle in Paretz in the Havelland, the former summer residence of Frederick William III, King of Prussia, and Queen Luise: at the Storchenhof (storks’ farm), the family has created a unique place for humans and animals. Together with donor Helga Breuninger, he developed the nationally and internationally known “Campus Paretz” for social innovation.

In addition to his professional activities, Markus Hipp serves pro bono in numerous organizations and social businesses, for example as a member of the board of the European Venture Philanthropy Association, a member of the Advisory Council of the Association of German Foundations, a member of the Advisory Board of the Impact Hub Global network, and at Germany’s largest donation platform, betterplace.org. A member of the City Council of Ketzin, Brandenburg, he also knows political grassroots work first-hand.