Martin Kleene started his career at Caritas international, where he set up and headed the communications department. After working in the non-profit sector for more than eight years, he changed to Kohtes Klewes (now Pleon) and worked as managing partner in Düsseldorf and Munich, before founding Kleene Communications Consulting. He now puts his experience with NGOs and his know-how as a consultant to use solely for sustainability projects.

He is a co-founder of Utopia and trustee of the Utopia Foundation. Martin Kleene lives in Munich/Germany, where he works as an assistant lecturer at the Institute of Communications Sciences at the Ludwig Maximilian University.

2009: Co-founder and managing director of the consulting company KLEENEWOELTJE, focusing on sustainability, strategy, marketing and corporate communications (www.kleenewoeltje.com).

2007: Co-founder of Utopia, the online platform for strategic consumption and sustainable lifestyle (www.utopia.de) and trustee of the Utopia Foundation (www.utopia-stiftung.de).

2002: Founded the consulting company Kleene Communications Consulting (www.kleene.com), specializing in strategies and concepts. Customers included: Deutsche Bahn AG, Volkswagen AG, T-Systems, Foundation Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft, E-Plus Group.

1995 – 2001: Managing partner at Kohtes Klewes (now Pleon), first in Düsseldorf and from 1999 onwards as founding partner of Kohtes Klewes in Munich (www.pleon.com). Customers included: Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband, ERGO Insurance Group, Mercedes-Benz AG, DaimlerChrysler Services AG, Siemens AG , StartUp Founders Competition.

1986 – 1994: Head of communications at Caritas international, one of the largest German relief organizations for global humanitarian aid and social projects (www.caritas-international.de).

1959 – 1985: Raised in the Emsland region (Germany), opens up a “third world shop” as a student, obtains his higher education entrance qualification (“Abitur”) at the Ludwig Windthorst secondary school in Meppen. During his studies he founds the project group “Ecological Housekeeping” together with friends and publishes the brochure “What each of us can do”. He completes his degree in sociology and economic anthropology in Bielefeld/Germany and at the Sorbonne in Paris as a certified sociologist.

Martin Kleene can be contacted at +49-(0)89/2737401-10 and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


link to Gregor Wöltje’s curriculum vitae