Hi, I'm Martina Skender 〰️ Innovation manager with a designer heart ♥️.


TL/DR I am a researcher and designer working in early stage innovation. I design and lead innovation programs, and teach innovation courses. Contact me, I’d love to hear from you.

My Innovation Journey 〰️ I’ve always been obsessed with making things better. The first thing I begged my parents for? A sewing machine. Barbie’s clothes didn’t cut it—so I made new ones.

Studying design felt inevitable. It was the only path broad enough to hold all my contradictions: a love for beautiful objects, deep interest in science, and an insatiable curiosity about the human mind.

Since getting my degree in 2007, I’ve cultivated this passion across a wide range of roles and industries. I worked as a Innovation expert for McKinsey & Company and monday.com. I led strategic research teams at Mercedes-Benz’s Innovation Lab and Formo, a Berlin-based alternative protein startup. My work has taken me from designing electricity tracking apps and industrial operational interfaces to EV charging stations, racing communities, vegan cheese, and even reimagining how flowers are sold globally.
Mokoš 〰️ a space where I explore and test ideas with a diverse range of clients. I work with founders, innovation teams and accelerators to craft founder-first experiences—through research, facilitation, and thoughtful program design. I ask teams to slow down, go deeper, and listen better.


Teaching 〰️ Product Strategy and Innovation courses at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, in Berlin allows me to reconsider, question, and constantly learn.


Innovator’s Toolbox 〰️ a project I created as part of my mission (impossible) to organize the world of innovation.


Personal 〰️ I am a mother and partner who is passionate about play and exploration. I call many places home and cherish friendships across the globe. My mission is to leave every place better than I found it.
   



      
Summary 〰️ I am a researcher and a designer. I do not design how things look; I design how they function within a system, and sometimes I design the system itself. I see my work as serious play and believe that only by working collaboratively we can bring about positive change.
    
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