10 Things You Didn’t Know about FlixBus CEO Jochen Engert
Buses are vital in any city as they help you commute from place to place at an affordable cost. Besides, due to the traffic jam factor, most countries prefer that their citizens use public buses in busy cities since they take on more people, and help reduce the number of private cars on roads. Some people also prefer using buses to avoid costly parking tickets within cities. For these reasons, bus operating companies never run out of business. Investors continue to reap leaps and bounds from them. One good example of an investor who has done well for himself in this sector is Jochen Engert – Co-Founder and CEO of FlixBus. Back in 2011, Jochen Engert, Daniel Krauss, and Andre Schwammlein teamed up to form FlixBus, a German brand that provides intercity bus service in the US and Europe. Under Jochen’s brilliant leadership, the brand has since grown to be a reputable business venture. Apart from being CEO of FlixBus, here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Jochen Engert.
1. Background and Education
Jochen Engert was born in 1981 in Wurzburg Area, Germany, hence he is presently 27 years of age. He is well educated considering that he was undertaking his PhD, at WHU- Otto Beisheim school of management, when the idea to start FlixBus came knocking. The PhD was based on research on Industrial service pricing. According to his Facebook profile before that, he had attended the Gymnasium Markbreit high school and later the University of Stuttgart where he undertook a diploma in business administration with technical orientation. He then proceeded to study at the University of Ottawa where he pursued a course in finance. The knowledge he gathered from these learning institutions has greatly contributed to his success in running FlixBus.
2. Current Location
According to Rocket Reach, Jochen currently resides in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Most of FlixBus’ operations are carried out in Germany, and being the man who makes the most crucial decisions about the company, it only makes sense why he chose to reside there.
3. He Left a Good Job for Flixbus
Apparently, before deciding to try out FlixBus, Jochen was in a good job and was also pursuing a PhD degree. He has been working at The Boston Consulting Group from 2008 right to the time he co-founded FlixBus. According to an interview he did with CLEVERISM, it was a tough call to abandon his job and PhD degree for FlixBus. However, in the end, it was worth it. Jochen had also previously worked at Porsche consulting and as a student consultant in Hovarth & Partners Management Consultants.
4. Stake at Flixbus
Jochen and the other Cofounders own 29 percent shares of the company via their company SEK Ventures. The other percentage mostly goes to private investors. Flixbus finds this arrangement more profitable hence plans to keep it that way – the company does not plan to raise an IPO any time soon.
5. He Works as a Volunteer at Business@School
Most accomplished business people love to give back to society in one way or the other. Giving back usually involves something that adds value to society and empowers people. Jochen prefers to give back to society through empowering students with practical business knowledge and key qualifications to assist them to wade through their future professional lives. He achieves this by being a member of the board of advisors at business@school. He and other members work towards developing the school and also the video competition b@s video challenge.
6. He is a Business Motivational Speaker
Jochen occasionally speaks at various events where he is called upon to give business advice and motivational speeches. He usually updates his followers about events he will be speaking in through his social media pages. If interested to have him speak at your event you can either get in touch with him through his social media pages or contact FlixBus customer care.
7. Relationship Status
Jochen is married to Tina En. The two got married on the 18th of June 2016. However, since Jochen does not reveal too much of his personal information to the public, it is not clear yet whether they have had kids or not.
8. His Interests
Away from work, Jochen is quite adventurous as he loves traveling to exotic places. Once in a while, he shares photos capturing the beautiful places he’s been to and himself having fun. He also loves ice boarding and does not mind watching a good movie once in a while. His favorite so far is the Art of Flight.
9. He is Bilingual
Jochen can fluently converse in English and French. According to Fluent in 3 Months, These two are considered among the world’s most spoken languages. Being bilingual is good for him as It is considered essential for any business person to know more than one language. Bilingual speakers, in any workplace, help capture a larger market of clients and customers.
10. Social Media
Jochen Utilizes social media platforms such as Linked-in, Twitter and Facebook to keep in touch with his friends, family, and people who look up to him. However, considering that most people like to use social media to share their personal lives and what they are up to, Jochen is somehow an exception to this rule. Most of his social media posts are inclined towards business. He often useful business insights and constant updates about the Flixbus Company.
Conclusion;
Surprisingly, FlixBus only owns one bus and does not employ drivers. They use almost the same model as Uber whereby they have created a brand and invited local partners to provide day to day services to travelers. FlixBus’ main role involves marketing its services, acquiring permits, pricing, customer service, network planning, and quality management. The company and local partners split each ticket price using a 3:7 ratio. Jochen Engert is one of the men behind this brilliant business arrangement. Apart from the above 10 lesser know facts about him, you can find out more by keeping up with him through his social media pages.
