Since the beginning of June, Robert Richter has been managing director of Werk1. He succeeds Florian Mann, who headed the Munich startup center for five years. Florian Mann is leaving the company at his own request and will devote himself to his own business idea in the future: Together with his wife Dr. Mann, they are building a fertility clinic with an online platform. In his farewell remarks, Florian Mann:
"These five years at Werk1 were a fantastic time: I was able to meet inspiring personalities, and Werk1 developed into a melting pot for digital startups. However, having Robert Richter as my successor makes the farewell easier, and I'm delighted to hand over Werk1 to him at such an exciting time, with the prospect of the upcoming Werk1.4."
Currently, founders and coworkers find the necessary infrastructure and an active community in the incubator to successfully implement projects and ideas. With the planned opening of the Plant1.4 Next year, the Werksviertel's offerings for startups will be expanded to include a coliving area. In addition to additional office space, boarding house apartments and a recreation area will be created here – a sensible option for startups in Munich's notoriously tight housing market.
“Internationally renowned startup hub”
As part of the management team Robert Richter has been heavily involved in the development of Werk1 in recent years and is pleased to be able to continue pursuing his goals for the incubator in his new position:
"My vision is to develop Werk1 into an internationally renowned startup and tech hub. Werk1.4 offers completely new opportunities for this by enabling us to foster exchange with national and international incubators. I am therefore delighted to be able to support Werk1 and, above all, our great startups and scaleups even better on their paths to success, together with my fantastic Werk1 team. However, none of this would have been possible without Florian Mann's groundwork over the past few years, which is why we, and I, will always remain grateful and friendly to him."
“Continue the success story of Werk1”
And Bavaria's Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger says about the current leadership change:
"With great thanks, we bid farewell to Florian Mann on behalf of all shareholders of Werk1.Bayern GmbH. He played a key role in turning good business ideas into innovative and successful startups. His commitment has taken Munich to a new level as a tech hub. We wish him much success in his personal entrepreneurial endeavors. At the same time, we have found the perfect successor in Robert Richter. I am convinced that he will continue the success story of our Werk1."
