Inside PIABO: Andreas Krönke about personal career development, diverse clients and his love for sustainability
Do you wonder what it is like to work at PIABO and grow with the company? In our new monthly series we will introduce you to our twelve longest serving employees. Firstly, we want to introduce Andreas Krönke, our Unit Director Technology, office-sustainability ambassador and founder of our recently installed Greentech & Sustainability Practice.
Andreas & PIABO: Love at first sight
I have been accompanying PIABO for almost six years. I like the agency world, and especially working for many different clients. Here at PIABO I am particularly fascinated by the variety of projects in the technology sector. After studying media management at the Technical University of Ilmenau, I started my career in the Berlin start-up scene and worked in various technology companies in communication and marketing. During a presentation about the start-up industry, back then, I met our CEO and founder Tilo Bonow and thus became aware of PIABO. PIABO's mission is to anchor technological progress in society through exciting stories - I could immediately relate with it and applied.
Technology trends and team development
I have been a permanent member of the B2B team for over five years now. Thanks to the fast learning curves and flat hierarchies, I had the opportunity to reach the position of Unit Director Technology in a relatively short time. To this day, I look after a team of consultants and numerous B2B clients, including, for example, an US SaaS start-up or a Corporate Accelerator. Team development is particularly close to my heart, because I am fascinated by finding the right talents and developing them according to their strengths. The opportunities at PIABO are great. Due to our flexible and open corporate culture there are often individual growth opportunities. I also enjoy creating perspectives for PIABO: As a true early adopter, I like to work with new tech tools, but I also enjoy taking care of new customer business. The main idea is not to stop on the spot!
A heart for sustainability
Personally, climate and environmental issues play a central role. I try to avoid flying as much as I can (also in a professional context), and only get on a plane in absolutely exceptional cases. For me, the train is a sustainable alternative for business trips - no matter if a digital conference in London or a meeting in Paris or Amsterdam. I am pursuing the ambition to integrate sustainable lifestyles more and more into everyday office life. When we planned our new office at Gendarmenmarkt, it was very important for me to set up a small sustainability working group. Since 2020, for example, we have been compensating together with our customers for all unavoidable flights. We are also working on making the rest of PIABO's everyday life greener. Successfully implemented projects include switching to green electricity and recycled paper - if necessary at all. There is also a new guideline for business trips, according to which train connections are generally preferable. In the long term, PIABO aims to operate completely CO2-neutral.
The two heads of the Greentech Practice Andreas Krönke and Lara Schermer together with PIABO CEO Tilo Bonow
The future is green
One thing should also be clear: Just with reusable glass bottles and recycled paper towels no real social change can take place. Innovative companies, on the other hand, have the power to change our economy and thus our society. That's why my Technology Unit established a Greentech and Sustainability Practice in the beginning of 2020 to give these same innovators a voice. I firmly believe that technology will be an important element in solving the climate crisis. Our mission is to give greentechs and companies with sustainable business models the attention they deserve and to support their growth through successful PR.
