management team

The management team is engaged on a pro bono, volunteer basis.

An Israeli, born in Haifa, Heskel has lived in Germany for the last 15 years and is currently a Managing Director of a real estate investment and development company. Born to immigrant parents from Iraq, Heskel served in the Israeli Defence Forces for over 10 years.

For the first two events, he signed responsible for concept and project management from inception until the final film product.

Torsten started working with Breaking the Ice in April 2003 – initially as a consultant, pro-bono from August 2003 onwards. From 2004 – 2008, he completed a Master of Arts in Coexistence and Conflict program at Brandeis University. He works as a consultant in Public Relations with focus on CSR as well as Industry Analyst Relations.

For the expedition to Antarctica in 2003/4, his responsibilities included media communications, fundraising and positioning of Breaking the Ice within the frame of CSR and corporate citizenship.

Karsten has been working with KPMG since 2001 as a restructuring advisor and is currently on secondment to assist the Restructuring Practice in Russia and the CIS.

Karsten started working with Breaking the Ice in 2003 – initially as a volunteer, joining the organization as CFO in 2004. For the Flagship Events Expedition to Antarctica in 2003/4 and the Sahara Journey in 2006, his responsibilities included general advice (strategic, financial, organizational) and communications.

Tobias started working with Breaking the Ice in 2009 as a consultant for IT, Internet and Social Media.  Tobias Hanika works as a Corporate Internet Manager for a real estate company in Berlin, Germany.

Furthermore, he is working on his B.S. in Business Management and Administration.

Anne joined Breaking the Ice in 2006 as an intern in the Special Operations Department. For the Sahara Expedition, her responsibilities included support of the expedition team, brand building, and the approach of potential supporters.

Anne is currently a student at Freie Universität, Berlin.

Along with Heskel, Oren participated in co-inspiring Breaking the Ice at the early stages of the idea. In 2003, he was consulting and backing up the birth of the first journey to Antarctica, in 2004 he became the head of business development for the organization, dealing with networking, fundraising, coaching, and planning of the 2006 Sahara journey and future activities.

His background is rooted in international business networks and corporations, trade, and real estate. Oren is an auto didactic self-help and life coach with dedication to make the world a better place by spreading peace, love and understanding among the human race.

Cornelia joined Breaking the Ice in 2010.

Cornelia is an international lawyer. She studied in Germany, San Francisco and Bangkok and has been practicing international and corporate law in Germany and the US. Cornelia spent many years in California supporting several NGOs with different peace and community projects. She is currently working with a law firm in Berlin.

Ofer joined Breaking the Ice in 2010.

Ofer is an experienced leader, a software visionary and general manager with exceptional strategy, marketing, product development, and public speaking experience. He provides consultations regarding issues of national defence for various organisations and authorities in Japan, Germany, New York, London and Latin America.  Ofer holds a master degree of national security and diplomacy from the university of Tel-Aviv and is an active member of leading strategy forums.

In 1998, Marc obtained the Bavarian Film Prize as best young director for his first feature film ‘Das merkwürdige Verhalten geschlechtsreifer Großstädter zur Paarungszeit’ (‘Love Scenes from Planet Earth’). In 2002, his TV movie ‘Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt’ obtained many awards, including the Golden Camera and the Grimme Prize in gold. ‘Sophie Scholl – The Final Days’ was Marc’s final international breakthrough. The film received an academy award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and collected numerous awards.

Marc joined Breaking the Ice in 2006 as a producer of “Journey of an Olive Tree”, the documentary about the 2006 Sahara expedition.

George is currently a Managing Director of an international real estate investment and development company. George has been working in a variety of financing fields.

George joined Breaking the Ice in 2006, taking the seat of the CEO for the Sahara Journey. His responsibilities ranged from operations, strategy, and financing to human resources and PR.