We are some more or less young men, good friends for countless years and have experienced great times together. Tommy, Shiraz and Wanja started this project in January 2015 and then composed the following lines. In 2023 Torben, Shahni, Philipp, Stefan, Krischan, Chris and Niki joined the team.
All of us were blessed in our lives with great people around us, great opportunities that came up and fantastic families and friends. We always have lived in an environment of security, peace and harmony. We are very well aware that we are part of a very, very, very small percentage of the worlds` population when it comes down to this standard of life. That is why we want to take advantage of our environment and do something good. There are countless opportunities of doing good things, indeed all of us can and should do it every day in the interaction with others. We try hard to do so, but we want to do more. So we decided to found our own charity project. We raise money within our network of friends, families and others. And with this money we are going to realize charity projects abroad – to give just a little, tiny bit back of our luck we have.
Wanja Greuel (born on 28.09.1977 / Citizenship: German and Swiss) – Charity Circle since 2015
I was born in Bonn, Germany and grew up in Kaiserslautern. Since my mother is Swiss and my father German I have both citizenships. I have four siblings and by this date am a 14-times uncle. That means I grew up in a very lively and rapid environment. Having that many siblings might have a few disadvantages, but after all I think it is the best whatever could happen to me – I had the best childhood someone can imagine. After studying in Mannheim, Germany and one year in Athens, Greece, since 2005 I am now living in Switzerland – one of the most beautiful countries on this planet. I love sports – mainly doing it on my own but also of an enthusiastic fan of all events and athletes worldwide, especially soccer. Moreover I am working in the sports marketing industry, so my passion became profession. So, that’s me. Blessed by great people and lots of luck in my life. I have two idols: My mother and my father. Both taught me the most important things in life. Of my father I probably got most of my ambitions and persistence, while my social skills and respect for others are probably a little more based on my mother´s nature. So, that also leads to my main values in life: respect, tolerance, peace, friendship and passion – in whatever you do.
So the idea of the Charity Circle was born. I want to do something good for others. Although knowing that is just a little something we are going to do, I think it is worth to try to improve the life for others – even if it is just a few.
Shiraz Naeem (born on 17.07.1977 / Citizenship: German) – Charity Circle since 2015
I was born in Gujranwala / Pakistan. When I was two years old me and my parents moved to Germany. I could grow up in a safe and nice environment with my family. The financial situation for my parents was not easy, because as immigrants with three children it is not so easy to build up very solid conditions. But this is also the point where I feel lots of respect for my parents, because there came three more children and my father developed from a usual worker in a factory to a successful businessman. My parents took care that all of the children could enjoy great education and became all self-responsible to make their way in life. All my life our situation improved from year to year and we all have a fantastic life. I am aware that my parents put lots of efforts in this; one of the results was that we could only see our parents in the evenings and were on our own for quite some time. But this was not a problem at all – we had to take over responsibility quite early in life and this was an important thing to learn in my opinion. After school I went to the army and then studied in Mannheim. Already at that time I was involved in the business I am doing today. The consequence was that I did not finish my studies. I knew already at this point that I want to pursue my way with my own company. Since 2003 I won and lead a company that deals with recycling the physical assets of industrial companies.
I love to travel and of course did so to Pakistan many times already. Every time I travel to the country of my birth I realise how lucky I was in life. If you see the conditions people living there it is almost impossible to set that into any relation to the life I had in Germany, always being safe and not lacking anything at all. Also my other travel experiences all over the world always remind me, how blessed we are to live in such conditions. I would like to share only a little part of my luck and want to help with our Charity Circle to improve life for some others, even if it is only a few.
Torben Maempel (born on 12.07.1981 / Citizenship: German)) – Charity Circle since 2023
Born on 12.07.1981 in Hamburg I spent my childhood in Hamburg and temporarily in Baden-Württemberg. I grew up in a classical family consisting of my parents and my younger sister. Immediately after school I completed an apprenticeship as a shipping clerk. Afterwards I went through the two-year training as a reserve officer in the German Navy.
After studying business administration in Germany and the United Kingdom, I joined the logistics department of a large German automotive group. After many stations within the company and after a stopover for an MBA in South Africa, I currently live in Poland. Secretly, however,
I still dream of returning to my native city of Hamburg. I prefer to spend my free time with friends or family. Until a few years ago I played rugby very intensively and today I am a passionate spectator and fan. I also enjoy spending time in nature.
Since I am quite aware of my very comfortable living situation, I would like to make a contribution through the Charity Circle with my good friends that others are also at least a little better off.
Shahni Naeem (born on 21.11.1986 / Citizenship: German) – Charity Circle since 2023
I am the youngest of 6 siblings and insanely proud that our family relationship is so close and strong. We always support each other and are there for each other. Family helps. After graduating from high school, I moved to Cologne and did my apprenticeship in a hotel. Afterwards I joined my brother Shiraz’s dismantling company and took care of various projects as well as sales. In the meantime, our group of companies is active throughout Europe and is growing daily. In 2018, I completed training as a private pilot and fly to various projects almost every week. Since 2020, I am a proud father of my daughter Marilou and since then I have an even bigger heart for children.
I try to spend a lot of time with her and enjoy watching her develop. I am very grateful and happy about my life situation and would like to do more for people. I am happy to be a part of the Charity Circle and to be involved in helping children and people in need outside of my family.
Stefan Vos (born 1979 / citizenship: German) – Charity Circle since 2023
I was born in Mönchengladbach in 1979 and studied business administration in Münster, Barcelona, Lund, San Diego and Sydney.
After gaining professional experience at VW and Henkel, I joined our family business in 2015.
We produce sewing thread in Germany in the third generation. Today I am a happily married father of three boys. In my free time, I play field hockey or travel with family and friends.
Philipp Obenland (born 05.01.1978 / nationality: German) – Charity Circle since 2023
I was born and raised in Esslingen am Neckar. Like other friends from the Charity Circle, I also had the privilege of growing up in a safe and sound parental home and in a large family with a close cohesion. I have three siblings and 8 cousins. Family was and still is very much in the center of our lives and we live a close family bond. This has shaped and influenced me, and I have always found it valuable and beautiful. Today, my parents are pleased with being grandma & grandpa 13 times (my wife and I have 3 boys). So, it seems that the sense and importance of family has been passed on to the next generation.
After school, I studied industrial engineering at the University of Karlsruhe and then joined a large management consulting firm. I am still active in this environment today and focus on issues along the core value chain / supply chain management (in and outside of M&A situations) in the automotive and chemical industries.
My youth and my studies were characterized by a lot of sports (gymnastics, mountain biking, skiing, hiking, diving, soccer, etc.). In addition, I love traveling and was lucky enough to see many places in the world, both privately and professionally. Besides Germany, I also lived in Denmark for a while.
Even though I have built up our current life through diligence, perseverance, and a lot of work – together with my wife – I am well aware that I had very good starting conditions due to my parental home. This cannot be taken for granted and I am very grateful for it. It is my firm conviction that the foundation for a later (adequate) life is laid as a child/ teenager/ adolescent. This motivates me for the commitment in the Charity Circle, because we try to give something to children who were not as lucky as we / I through birth.
Chris Pfeiffer (born on 17.12.1986 / Citizenship: German) – Charity Circle since 2023
Hi – I’m Chris and I live happily in Cologne with my wife and our son. Born in 1986 in Eisenach, we moved near Mönchengladbach after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here I completed my first years of school. At the age of 12 we moved to Alicante/Spain for five years. During this time I learned not only another language, but also how to build bridges between people in a foreign environment. Qualities which will help me throughout my life. After our southern intermezzo,
I finished the specialized baccalaureate in my former school. This was followed by civilian service at the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Workers’ Welfare Association) and training as a businessman for insurance and finance.
In the years that followed, I continued to develop professionally and today I work as an independent regional director for HanseMerkur and am responsible for the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. In my private life I like to travel beyond the European borders and to move self-sufficiently with my backpack through distant countries. Far away from home, it often becomes clear how much other people need all the support they can get. With the Charity Circle we can support exciting projects to help others! I am very happy to contribute my part!
Krischan Hertle (born on 22.07.1978 / Citizenship: German/French) – Charity Circle since 2023
German-French entrepreneur and investor in the B2B information and sports industry. I grew up in Freiburg, lived for 1 year in Bamako/ Mali when I was 8 years old.
Now co-owner and managing Director of EDM Publications a B2B media and intelligence provider in the sporting goods and outdoor industry and mentor for sports startups at the LeAD Sports Accelerator. Father of two lovely children (Mathilda and Maximilian).
Nikolas Botz (born on 05.04.1981 / Citizenship: German) – Charity Circle since 2023
Hi, my name is Nikolas and together with my wife and our little daughter I live in Cologne. I am a self-employed entrepreneur and with our employees we run companies in Hamburg, Kempen and of course in Cologne.
If you were lucky enough to look back on a loving and protected childhood, it goes without saying that you want your children to experience this happiness as well. In the circle of my own family I can do this every day and experience the challenges of being a father. The circumstances under which some children, especially in developing countries, have to grow up are often hard to imagine and call for help. I am therefore very happy to be part of the Charity Circle to support children in particular with our projects.
Children are the future of all of us. Protecting them and creating better conditions for them, even if only to a
certain extent, on their paths through life is a great contribution that we can all take part in.
Tommy Köhler (born on 01.12.1978 / Citizenship: German) – Charity Circle 2015 – 2022
Hey, my name is Tommy. I was born 1978 in Mönchengladbach, a small City in the western part of Germany. I am the youngest of three. My parents raised me and my two older sisters in a very secure and protected environment. When we were young we had all we could possibly ask for. My family wasn’t rich at the time but we made a well living. When my father, who founded Cinque a well known fashion brand, led our family business to huge success during the late 90s, he made sure that our family would not have to worry about our financial independence anymore. Even though I grew up in this secure stability, I have to confess that my life wasn’t a very straight one in terms of figuring out what to do with it after all. I struggled a lot along the way until the point where I am today…. After graduating from high school I served my mandatory military service and then started higher education at the university in Bonn. Still being quite uncertain about where my live should lead me I soon realized university did not work for me much at that time in my life. Since my mom and dad had encouraged me and my siblings to travel from an early age so we would see the world and broaden our horizons traveling seemed to me a good way to explore life. During my further education I spent quite some time overseas traveling with friends and getting to know knew ones. My journeys took me to North and South America, Australia, Africa, Asia and pretty much all over Europe. Hard to believe that beside all that traveling and my despite for university I was still able to finish my education and became a helicopter pilot along the way.
Nowadays I’m running an aspiring fashion brand which is quite funny considering that I never wanted to continue the family tradition. But looking backwards I think traveling the world by myself and with my friends had a huge impact on understanding life and in deciding how I want to lead my own. It certainly shaped my picture of the world and how things work. I experienced a variety of other cultures and countries – most of them not even close to our standards. I learned that the values I strongly believe in and take for granted are not the reality for most men in the world. I think it is important to always remember that the majority of people is not quite as fortunate as we are. Not even close. I think everybody who is in that lucky position to live like we do has the obligation to give something back – also to those that might not be relatives or friends. It makes me happy that this project comes to life now after thinking about it for quite some time. It comes from the heart and I really hope we can do something valuable and improve some people’s life that is not as fortunate as ours. I am entirely grateful for life and the happiness I am surrounded with and if there are ways in how I can support others, financially or morally, I am more than willing to take them. So let’s get it on!