Markus currently holds the positions of the Vice Director at Regionalverband Ruhr and CEO of the Business Metropole Ruhr. The Regionalverband Ruhr (Ruhr Regional Association) is the regional hub of eleven cities and four districts of the Ruhr area, with its five million inhabitants. We are experts in structural change. Since 1920, the RVR has been supporting the development of the Ruhr area from a state in the midst of an unregulated industrial boom to a modern green industrial location with quality of life. We are actively shaping the transformation: today, former sites of the steel and mining industries become locations for new companies, cultural events and leisure experiences. The Industrial Heritage Trail is internationally renowned and networked, with 25 anchor points, including the Zollverein World Heritage Site in Essen. The trail, which attracts over eight million visitors to the region each year, was started in 1999 and is a project of the RVR. Structural change has shaped the Ruhr Metropolis to this day. In order to further strengthen the business location, the RVR founded the subsidiary Business Metropole Ruhr. It pools the business interests of the region, promotes the competitiveness of the region and develops the high-performance and innovative image of the New Ruhr area both nationally and internationally.
Markus holds a Master degree in Economics at TU Dortmund University. He is Vice Director and CEO since 2017, prior to that, he held various positions at the city of Gelsenkirchen, at the Stadtwerke Bochum GmbH and the Schleupen AG.