At the age of 18, Thorsten had to make a decision: Journalism or professional football? The then goalkeeper cancelled his contract with the Bundesliga club and applied to study journalism at the University of Dortmund. By then, he had already gained plenty of experience in the profession, which is more varied than almost any other: at the age of 14, he began writing articles for his local newspaper.

With his first money, the Westphalian bought a professional camera to take useful pictures at sporting events and shooting festivals. This was also useful for the football club and school newspapers that he founded and of which he became editor-in-chief – as well as later at the university radio station. Thorsten also gained his first moderation experience there at the age of 20, and has since racked up over 1500 hours on practically all channels and stages: from smart fireside chats with CEOs to thousands of listeners at major events such as Digital X or trade fairs.

While studying journalism with a second subject in economics, the Westphalian worked for the radio and was a trainee at n-tv, where he remained for six years as a stock market reporter and head of film. The great advantage of working for the news channel was that interviews with the most important figures in the business world were scheduled practically every week: Thorsten got most of the DAX companies in front of the microphone as well as ECB presidents.

In 2008, the book lover moved to Handelsblatt – first as head of the business section, then as deputy editor-in-chief of the online editorial team. It was there that his love of business books was awakened, a love that has stayed with him to this day: He has written over 1000 reviews as well as various interviews with internationally renowned figures.

Supported by Gabor Steingart, to whom he also reported directly for several years, Thorsten immersed himself in publishing life from 2013. As Editor-in-Chief Business of the Handelsblatt Media Group, he had several tasks in the interface between the editors-in-chief and the management and played a significant role in guiding Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche through the transformation. This also included the integration of events and moderation. The 44-year-old was also co-managing director of a publishing subsidiary.

This phase of his career full of 70-hour weeks ended with the birth of his daughter in 2020. Thorsten has not only been writing about diversity for many years, but also lives the topic: he shares the ‘family work’ 50/50 with his wife, who works for a large US company. He has been working part-time ever since.

Thorsten expanded his management experience and expertise in the field of HR after a period of parental leave in the C-Office of the consultancy Kienbaum. As planned, he returned to journalism in the summer of 2022 and has since been Editor-in-Chief at Markt und Mittelstand, Germany’s third-largest business magazine (measured by decision-maker reach through the LAE survey).

Thorsten is the host of several podcasts and moderates at major events such as the Ludwig Erhard Summit as well as for Messe Frankfurt, Dortmund and Cologne and various companies. As a long-time editor in decision-maker media, he is not only deeply involved in the topics of economic players and politicians, but as a former co-managing director, he also knows what makes up their everyday lives.