proud@work GmbH

proud@work GmbH is a German independent brand and strategy company and the brand owner of the proud@work equity fund (Aktienfonds). The company was founded by Reinhard Springer and Konstantin Jacoby, the creators behind Springer & Jacoby, for many years Germany's leading creative agency. The idea for proud@work emerged in 2016 when Springer and Jacoby asked what would happen if the quality of a company's human structures became an investment criterion—not as an ethical add-on, but as a central selection feature. They gathered a circle of former Springer & Jacoby employees and people from the financial industry, including Jörg Stotz, to develop the concept and assemble the team that carries proud@work to this day. The proud@work equity fund invests in companies with strong human structures, measured by the Great Place to Work Trust Index. The investment universe is built from Great Place to Work's annual assessment of over 21,000 companies worldwide. Of these, around 10,000 hold the Great Place to Work seal, and roughly 500 are listed with a market capitalization of at least USD 5 billion. After applying an ESG filter, about 400 companies remain, and the fund holds 30–40 of them. The company argues that what makes companies valuable today is not on the balance sheet: brand, intellectual property, and innovative strength are known and priced in, but the human structures that enable intellectual property to emerge, the brand to be lived, and innovations to happen are systematically overlooked. Employee trust, communication structures, and management quality are measurable through the Great Place to Work Trust Index, which has been collected since 1991 in 180 countries, and this is the starting point for every investment decision. The founders' conviction stems from more than twenty years of shared experience at Springer & Jacoby, which was Germany's number one creative agency for years with the highest revenue in its industry—not because of the largest budgets, but because people there were proud of what they did. Satisfied employees who enjoyed going to work delivered the greatest long-term success. This lived reality, rather than a management theory, sought a new form. The founders had it examined whether what they experienced could also be measured in the capital market, and the answer was clear: companies with stronger employee culture developed better over the long term. This was not coincidence but systematic. The measurement instrument became Great Place to Work. Andreas Schubert, managing director of the German institute since 2002, was involved early on. The GPTW certification, based on anonymous employee surveys in 180 countries, became the foundation. proud@work positions itself as an independent brand and strategy company, with the fund as its central product. The company operates primarily in Germany and is privately held.

proud@work GmbH was founded by Reinhard Springer and Konstantin Jacoby, the creators behind Springer & Jacoby, for many years Germany's leading creative agency. The idea for proud@work emerged in 2016 when Springer and Jacoby asked an unusual question: What would happen if the quality of a company's human structures became an investment criterion? Not as an ethical add-on, but as a central selection feature. They gathered a circle of former Springer & Jacoby employees and people from the financial industry, including Jörg Stotz. Together they developed the idea further and assembled the team that carries proud@work to this day. The founders brought a crossover from Springer & Jacoby. Reinhard Springer and Konstantin Jacoby had already lived part of the answer. Springer & Jacoby was Germany's number one creative agency for years, with the highest revenue in its industry—not because of the largest budgets, but because people there were proud of what they did. This was not a management theory but lived reality over more than twenty years. Satisfied employees who enjoyed going to work delivered the greatest long-term success. This experience sought a new form. They had it examined whether what they had experienced could also be measured in the capital market. The answer was clear: companies with stronger employee culture developed better over the long term. This was not coincidence but systematic. The next question was how to measure this reliably and independently. The answer was Great Place to Work. Andreas Schubert, managing director of the German institute since 2002, was involved early on. The GPTW certification, based on anonymous employee surveys in 180 countries, became the foundation. The proud@work equity fund invests in companies with strong human structures, measured by the Great Place to Work Trust Index. The investment universe is built from Great Place to Work's annual assessment of over 21,000 companies worldwide. Of these, around 10,000 hold the Great Place to Work seal, and roughly 500 are listed with a market capitalization of at least USD 5 billion. After applying an ESG filter, about 400 companies remain, and the fund holds 30–40 of them. The company argues that what makes companies valuable today is not on the balance sheet: brand, intellectual property, and innovative strength are known and priced in, but the human structures that enable intellectual property to emerge, the brand to be lived, and innovations to happen are systematically overlooked. Employee trust, communication structures, and management quality are measurable through the Great Place to Work Trust Index, which has been collected since 1991 in 180 countries, and this is the starting point for every investment decision.

• 2016

  Reinhard Springer and Konstantin Jacoby ask what would happen if human structures became an investment criterion; they gather a circle of former Springer & Jacoby employees and finance people, including Jörg Stotz, to develop the idea.

• proud@work GmbH is founded as an independent brand and strategy company and brand owner of the proud@work equity fund.

• Andreas Schubert, managing director of Great Place to Work Germany since 2002, joins early as partner; the GPTW certification becomes the measurement foundation.

Independent brand and strategy company investing in companies with strong human structures, measured by the Great Place to Work Trust Index.

• proud@work Aktienfonds

  Equity fund investing in listed companies with strong human structures, measured by the Great Place to Work Trust Index; universe of ~500 listed GPTW-certified companies with market cap ≥ USD 5bn, filtered to ~400 by ESG, holding 30–40.

1. 1proud@work – Investieren in Unternehmenskulturproudatwork.net
2. 2proud@work Geschichte & Vision: Springer & Jacobys Ideeproudatwork.net
3. 3proud@work GmbH – Wikidatawikidata.org