GABA Team Spotlight: Dr. Christoph Kirchner
Meet Dr. Christoph Kirchner, Vice Chair and Treasurer of GABA Southern California. Learn about his journey, passion for networking, and dedication to fostering connections within the GABA community.
Please tell us something about yourself and what you do at GABA.
My name is Dr. Christoph Kirchner and I am the Vice Chair and Treasurer of GABA Southern California
I am a Financial Executive and Consultant with focus on international business development. Following a path in the Controlling and subsidiary management of the Schwarzkopf GmbH and the Henkel Group, I came to California in 2000 as a CFO, when the Henkel Group acquired Dep Corporation. Later, I served as the CFO of BI Nutraceuticals, Inc. and the Martin Bauer Group, North America.
Question 1: What’s a fun fact about you?
As a professor at the University of Southern Indiana in the 80’s, I taught accounting and finance courses to students, including the university’s basketball players.
Question 2: What’s your most memorable experience with GABA so far?
When I was looking for networking opportunities, my friend Bob Wittenburg introduced me to GABA, which at that time had just started in Southern California, and I fell in love with the vibrant community and the exciting events. When the organization needed a Treasurer 12 years ago, I gladly accepted and joined the Board. It is wonderful working with the team of GABA and supporting the organization from a financial and administrative perspective. The team is continuously evolving, as new members are joining and contributing their experience, and I find it very exciting and inspiring to learn from my colleagues. It is fascinating to see the idea for an event emerge from a discussion or a new contact, to see it develop into a concept, to see the format of the event, announcement, support and logistics come together, and to see the registrations building, until the event is actually happening.
Question 3: What are you passionate about?
Creating business opportunities by connecting people, ideas and resources is a passion of mine. GABA is providing the perfect network for like-minded professionals. Sometimes, you may not see the result of networking immediately, but I believe, that when you help others by connecting them, good things will start happening.