Klaus Mager
principAL CONSULTANT
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A Bit About Me
I retired from corporate life in 2013 and returned to the US from my last engagement working out of Germany. It seemed prudent to update my skills to work as a consultant going forward, so I started taking courses at MIT, Columbia, John Hopkins, Duke and other universities offering online education. It was shocking to learn about the degradation of natural resources that was common knowledge in academia, but had not reached the business world. That was 10 years ago, and not much has changed, certainly not at the scale required to meet such an existential challenge. It inspired me to join NGOs like Citizen Climate Lobby, Business Climate Leaders, the Sierra Club Grassroots Network to share my experience and in turn learn about the socioeconomic issues these groups are focused on.
For the last 3 years I have been working on several advisory committees for Federal Policy, in particular focused on the Farm Bill 2023. In that context I have developed and hosted panel discussions and webinars to bring together experts from different parts of the industry to review existing policies, and help develop marker bills to shift the direction of public investments into the food and agriculture markets.
Work Experience
I have a rich and diverse background in the food service business. My journey began with a classic, 3-year culinary training program in Germany, where I honed my skills as a Chef, building on years of experience in the kitchen.
After graduating from the Heidelberg School of Hospitality Management in 1974, I furthered my education in Industrial Management at the University of Wiesbaden, Germany.
My management career kicked off in the US in 1976, where I worked for my cousin Horst Mager, a renowned Chef who had his own TV show at the time (KOIN Kitchen, Portland, Oregon). Over the years, I've taken on various roles including hotel General Manager, Operations Analyst, and eventually, I spent 21 years at the Walt Disney company. There, we focused on developing food concepts for theme parks, hotels, and entertainment centers, with a responsibility that encompassed organizational and operational development.
I was leading teams to develop the food systems of Disney's California Adventure and Hong Kong Disneyland. This included supply chain development and operational start-up.
In 2008, I joined the Corporate Marketing team of METRO C&C, one of the world's largest food wholesale organizations, operating in 30 countries across Europe and Asia. My role involved leading the target group marketing to the Hospitality industry and setting up an international key account organization. In this capacity, I led product development and marketing efforts in various countries with strategic guidelines, operational audits, and regular training seminars.
I retired from corporate life in 2013 and that is when I started down this path into the world of climate change and sustainability. Click the button below to take a look at my work in thus far.
Licenses & certifications
