Our staff

As of January 2023, Wolfgang Backhaus, together with Jana Spille, leads Rupprecht Consult as managing director. He worked already for Rupprecht since 2009 and was responsible for the team Collective and Intelligent Mobility for many years. He has a broad experience in coordinating and managing research projects as well as in strategy development and change management for municipalities, public transport companies and industry in the focus fields of sustainable transport concepts, urban mobility, and transport innovations.

Wolfgang is a social scientist (PhD and diploma from RWTH Aachen University). Before joining Rupprecht Consult, he worked as a consultant at the EU office and led the knowledge management department at the Centre for Learning and Knowledge Management of RWTH Aachen University. He is also President of the international association trolley:motion – to promote zero-emission bus systems for carbon-neutral public transport systems.

As of January 2023, Jana Spille, together with Wolfgang Backhaus, leads Rupprecht Consult as managing director. Jana studied business management at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Maryland. 

She successfully managed research and consulting projects on business organisation at the Institute for Industrial Management (non-profit, intersectoral research and educational institution at RWTH Aachen University) and earned a PhD in business sciences at RWTH Aachen University. She then headed the Strategic Projects Division for the Central Logistics Department of the Wind Energy Business Unit at Bosch Rexroth. 

From 2013 to 2022, Jana worked as a self-employed consultant, trainer and coach,  specialising in organisational development and agility, most recently with a special focus on municipalities.

Susanne Böhler-Baedeker graduated from the University of Dortmund with a diploma in Planning Sciences and a PhD in Engineering (Urban Planning).

She joined the Wuppertal Institute for Climate Environment and Energy in 1996, where she was involved in several national and international projects on sustainable and low carbon transportation.

She has an extensive, wide-range experience in analyses and evaluation of transport policies and measures, project management of international and European projects on sustainable urban transport and impact analyses of policies.

At Rupprecht Consult, she is leading the Integrated Planning team.

Ralf Brand is a geographer by training (University of Eichstätt) and holds a PhD in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Austin (Texas, USA). He worked as a consultant for the Sustainable Performance Group and advised a number of municipalities on their Local Agenda 21 processes. Aside from this, he worked as a lecturer in an action-research project at Queen's University Belfast (UK) and as an associate professor at the University of Manchester's Architecture Research Centre (UK). At Rupprecht Consult, he leads the team on People-Focused Mobility Solutions.

Henning Holdinghausen has a background in sociology, geography and urban planning and specialised in transportation planning at Tufts University (USA). He gained first work experiences in sustainable transport and city planning working for the Cities of Tubingen and Somerville (Massachusetts, USA). Henning joined Rupprecht Consult in 2014 as trainee and has since been managing projects related to public transport innovation and electric mobility.

As of January 2023 Henning is leading on the Collective and Intelligent Mobility team. As such, Henning and his team support public transport operators & authorities in transitioning towards clean fleets and deploying new services and concepts such as on-demand and data-based services.

Marcel Braun studied sociology, anthropology and pedagogy at the Universities of Heidelberg, Bonn and London (UK). After graduation, Marcel was a research fellow for two years at the Institute for the Research on Social Opportunities. Prior to joining Rupprecht Consult he worked for four years at the Research Group “Energy, Transport and Climate Policy” of the Wuppertal Institute where he was involved in interdisciplinary research projects on European and international climate policy, taking up a variety of research and project management tasks. In our team, Marcel is a senior consultant and member of the People-Focussed Mobility Solutions team.

Ana-Maria Baston holds a degree in architecture and a master in integrated urban development from the University of Architecture in Bucharest (ROU). She has professional experience in architectural design, urban development and sustainable urban mobility. After several years of working in the field of architecture planning, she started a career in a European project consultancy. As a freelance consultant in Romania, she has been involved in a wide range of projects related to sustainable urban mobility. At Rupprecht Consult, she is a member of the Integrated planning | Rupprecht Consult (rupprecht-consult.eu).

Bonnie Fenton is a researcher and educator specialising in sustainable urban mobility and cycling as a means of transportation. She has a Master of Education from the University of British Columbia (CAN). Her work experience includes initiating a cycling programme to teach adults to cycle safely and confidently for transportation, researching and reporting on good practices in cycling education and promotion in Europe and North America, and coordinating a public consultation process on the future of cycling in Metro Vancouver. At Rupprecht Consult, she is a member of the People-Focused Mobility Solutions team.

Niklas Fischer holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering (FH Köln) and a master’s degree in traffic engineering (TU Darmstadt). Besides working as a freelance consultant in the field of mobility since several years, he has experience as a product manager in software development and as a project manager in European mobility projects. At Rupprecht Consult, he is part of the INNOVATION team. 

Daniel Franco Trujillo holds a Master Infrastructure Planning (MIP) at the University Stuttgart and a Bachelor in Civil Engineering and Physics from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá (COL). At Rupprecht Consult, he is a member of the Collective and Intelligent Mobility team.

Stefan Gabi is a spatial and environmental planner with more than 20 years of experience in Integrated Urban Development Planning. He has also worked as a consultant and facilitator/moderator in intercultural environments, with a focus on Eastern Europe. Stefan has held various positions such as head of division in Leipzig City Council’s office for urban regeneration (2000 to 2013), an expert in urban planning at Timisoara City Council (2007 to 2009), and at Lviv’s Municipal City Institute (2013 to 2019) in the framework of German development cooperation. Before joining Rupprecht Consult in October 2023 as a senior consultant and member of the People-Focused Mobility Solutions team, he was Project Leader of Mobility Planning at Vectos GmbH (now part of SLR-Consulting).

Sara Abu Henedy holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture and Urban planning, a Master's degree in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design with a focus on urban mobility. She has professional experience in mobility consulting and urban research projects and has worked in African and European contexts. Her expertise is in the fields of urban mobility, urban design and planning, geospatial data visualization and passenger information design.

She joined our Integrated Planning team in January 2023.

Katy Huaylla is a city planner with experience in public transport. She has a Master in Transport and City Planning from University College London (UK). Before joining Rupprecht Consult, she gained a variety of experiences, among other things working with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) based in Addis Ababa (ETH), the Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) and the Ministry of Transport of Lima (PER). At Rupprecht Consult, she is a member of the Integrated Planning team.

Jacqueline Hubicki finished her training as an office manager in 2013. Later, she completed additional training as a certified project manager and agile worker. Currently, she works at Rupprecht Consult where she is responsible for financial project management and leading the company's digitalization efforts.

Hassan is a multidisciplinary mobility consultant, urban researcher, planner, and architect. Currently, he is part of the Integrated Planning team at Rupprecht Consult, and in parallel, he is a PhD candidate at the Technical University of Berlin (TUB).

Hassan holds a bachelor's degree in Architecture and Urban Design, a master's degree in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design, and professional experience in mobility consulting, teaching, lecturing, urban research, project management, and architectural and urban design. With experience gained from studying and working in diverse contexts, Hassan has developed a comprehensive understanding of urban challenges and a versatile approach to addressing them.

Morgane Juliat holds a Bachelor in Political Science, International Development Studies and Environmental Studies from McGill University (Montreal, CAN). She also completed a dual Master in Urban Policy at Sciences Po (FRA) and LSE (UK). During her studies, she carried out internships in various structures, ranging from NGOs to a national railway company, to broader her views on sustainable development and urban planning. After graduating with distinction, she joined Rupprecht in 2020 as a trainee and since September 2021 she is junior consultant in the Integrated Planning Team.

Laura López holds a master’s in urban Management from Technical University Berlin. She has professional experience in developing sustainable urban development and mobility projects, including a TOD proposal for the influence area of Bogota’s first metro line and the renovation of urban parks and road sections, and intersections in Medellin. Prior to joining Ruprecht Consult, she worked for ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) as a Project Manager of a capacity-building program aiming to accelerate the transition to electric buses in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. At Ruprecht Consult, she is a member of the Collective and Intelligent Mobility team.

Rhyan McCauley holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Clemson University (South Carolina, USA). She joined the Office Management Team in September 2023.

Otar holds a Master of Science (Ms.C) degree in Urban Management and Development from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and also a Master of Architecture (M.Arch) from Georgian Technical University. During his professional career, Otar has worked with the Public and Private sectors and has led the Urban Planning Department of Tbilisi within the Tbilisi City Hall.

His earlier career includes extensive work for the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia under the Ministry of Infrastructure where he was tasked to lead and manage complex infrastructure projects financed through different international financial institutions and donors.

Apart from his professional career, Otar started to work on a Ph.D. focusing on land ownership, land conflicts, and the effect of property ownership on the development of the Capital City of Georgia, Tbilisi.

Lakshya Pandit is an urban mobility researcher and holds a Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning from the Technische Universität Darmstadt. His research focused on measuring multimodal accessibility through urban spatial configurations in the Rhein-Main area.

Previously he was associated with the LOEWE research cluster “Infrastructure-Design-Society” / project-mo.de, where he carried forward research and publications within the domains of urban mobility and accessibility. He has collaborated on projects with the national and city authorities including the City of Frankfurt focusing on the Mainkai riverfront, where the results supported the application of new cycle lanes. Under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in India, he and his team contributed to the first on-site audit reports for barrier-free accessibility in New Delhi Airport, Railway Station, and other public infrastructure buildings through the Accessible India Campaign. At Rupprecht Consult, he is a Collective and Intelligent Mobility team member.

Hana Peters holds a Bachelor in Psychology from Haverford College (Pennsylvania, USA) and a Master in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University (SWE), where her research was focused on urban transport and travel behaviour. Prior to joining Rupprecht Consult, Hana applied her international and interdisciplinary background working at ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability). At Rupprecht Consult, she is now a member of the People-focussed Mobility Solutions team. 

Cristina Redinger started her career working in sales & marketing for the hotel industry in Spain, after completing her vocational training in Hotel Business in Germany. She has worked as an Office Manager in Spain as well as the USA. After managing the office of a commercial photography studio in Köln, she joined Rupprecht Consult as part of the Office Management Team in September 2023. In her free time, Cristina is studying for a B.A. in Sustainability Management.

After his studies of history and philosophy in Cologne and Bonn Thomas was drawn in to the practical side of change management processes and sustainable urban development. Thomas brings along ten years of professional experience in project management, project development, political and real estate consultancy.

Clara Schneider holds a Bachelor's in Urban Planning from HCU Hamburg and a Master's in Engineering Sustainable Cities from AAU Copenhagen. During her academic journey, she gained work experience in the realms of municipal climate action research and international project management. At Rupprecht Consult, she is a Junior Consultant and member of the Collective and Intelligent Mobility team. 

Vladislav Sidorov is a consultant and researcher who specializes in urban mobility, cities, and infrastructure. He earned his Master’s degree in Transport Planning from the University of Leeds (UK) and holds Bachelor’s and Master's degrees in Engineering from Ural Federal University.

His professional background includes working in strategic consulting, logistics, and research institutions. Before joining Rupprecht Consult, Vladislav worked with an urban planning consultancy, focusing on sustainable urban mobility, spatial planning, and master planning. He contributed to various significant projects, including the Spatial development strategy for a large metropolitan area and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) implementation strategy for a city with over 1 million people.

At Rupprecht Consult, Vladislav is a valued member of the Collective and Intelligent Mobility team.

Apart from a background in the automotive sector through a master's degree in Business Administration & Engineering (MBA&E) from HTW Berlin University and a project management experience at Bosch working with inter-cultural teams across the globe, Shreesha would like to introduce himself as a sustainability proponent.

After his traineeship with us, he is now a junior in our Collective and Intelligent Mobility team, where he intends to apply his project management abilities coupling them with his passion for sustainable mobility to continue learning and contributing for European Research projects.

Leventcan Er studied Civil Engineering (B.Sc.) at Middle East Technical University in Turkey. He holds a master's degree in Transportation Systems from the Technical University of Munich. Before joining Rupprecht Consult, Leventcan gained insights into ITS, public transport, and sustainable urban mobility. He started at Rupprecht Consult as a student assistant in August 2023 and is currently a trainee in the Consulting Team.

Hannah Walther holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural and Social Sciences and a Master of Science in Natural Resources Management and Development. Her semester abroad at the Barcelona School of Civil Engineering has sharpened her profile in urban mobility. Through her thesis research, she investigated sustainable mobility solutions in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Barcelona. Her work experience includes international development cooperation, project coordination, citizen participation, and conference organization in the field of sustainable urban mobility. She joined Rupprecht Consult in January 2024.