The founders

An exciting combination of creativity, clarity and structure

The founders

Like Verrocchio himself, who not only worked as a sculptor, but also did amazing work in many areas, the founders of the verrocchio Institute are also active: Benno van Aerssen and Christian Buchholz have many years of experience in a variety of different industries and work together with large corporations as well as medium-sized companies. Customers describe this combination of creativity, clarity and structure as unique.

Benno van Aerssen

Christian Buchholz on Benno van Aerssen

I got to know Benno more than 10 years ago and we quickly realized that we were swimming on one level: Thinking differently, finding ideas, being creative. Of the two of us, Benno is the innovation artist who – and I am using these words to reflect his words – “develops the creative intelligence of change-ready people and companies for a life full of boundless imagination, inventiveness and passion”. That hits the nail on the head.

Benno is the 7th German generation of an old Ticino church painter dynasty and therefore has creativity and inventiveness in his blood. He calls it his artist DNA. It is not the only one that flows into everything he does. Also his time in the IT-business, where he was an entrepreneur for a long time, shapes his work today.

Through his artistic and emphatic gift, Benno succeeds in making complex challenges comprehensible. He lets pictures speak. When customers give the feedback that they have finally understood the complex interrelationships, the way is clear to create something truly new.

For more than 10 years, he has been working in the international innovation business throughout Europe, North and South America, has given more than 1,000 workshops and combines the knowledge of many hundreds of methods. 

Christian Buchholz

Benno van Aerssen about Christian Buchholz

“You are somehow the Business Hardy Krüger for me”, I once said to Christian. With him, it is indeed the case that he can look at people’s challenges from the most diverse perspectives, not least because he has already worked in many countries and cultures. Within more than ten years, he alone has given more than 1,000 workshops worldwide. This is also the big issue in his trainings: “When people’s attitudes change, many things become easier for them,” he recognizes time and again. Christian is a dissident. If you allow this to happen, you also change your effect and your behavior. 

For more than ten years, Christian has been helping his clients to take on new perspectives and develop good ideas. He is very good at communicating with people at eye level. He gives new impulses that create something new in people’s minds. He is joined by people who like to think ahead, move forward and do things differently.