Rolf Zimmermann
Born in Frankfurt am Main in 1952, he followed in the footsteps of his ancestors, influenced by his great-grandfather, who was a district administrator; his grandfather was a tax auditor, and his father, a lifelong loyal civil servant working for the postal service. During his school years, he founded a rock band with a long beard and a washed-out parka. This phase would significantly influence his later life. After school and his basic military service, during which he achieved the rank of corporal, he completed a commercial apprenticeship, which, however, proved to be a mistake.
At 27, he was drawn into advertising, which he also pursued. In a two-year trainee program, he learned everything a good creative should know (Great-grandfather and grandfather would have turned in their graves; his father was still alive and kept silent, except for: "You'll see where that leads!").
He was led, as he says today, into one of the most beautiful fields of activity he can imagine: into the cleanroom.
After several positions at renowned advertising agencies as a creative director, he became self-employed. One of his clients was a man named Frank Duvernell, who commissioned him to design a brochure. Content: cleanroom cleaning. Cleanroom has always been what he wanted to do... Clean... what? Never heard of it before. They sat down together, and Frank Duvernell explained to him what a cleanroom and cleanroom cleaning are.
The start was initially a bit rough. There are classes whose arrangement is anything but logical to a layperson: 1 is the highest, 100,000 the lowest. And technical terms that were probably invented solely to confuse creative people completely.
But over time, a real "love affair" developed between him and the cleanroom. He attended seminars and trade fairs, cleaned himself, and thus grew ever more deeply into Frank Duvernell's company profi-con, which he joined in 1998 and helped develop. After several years responsible for marketing and advertising, he moved into the training sector once the company had already reached a considerable size, and was co-founder of today's Cleanroom Academy, where he is currently responsible as head of seminars, employee qualification, and coaching. His professional motto: A pure space is created in the mind.
What did you want to be as a child?
Football player at Eintracht Frankfurt
What was your first car?
Fiat 600 Jagst, light blue
What do you look forward to?
Coming home after business trips
What achievement are you particularly proud of?
The successful marriage proposal to my wife
Which technical achievement do you admire the most?
Everything that flies
Who would you like to swap lives with for a month?
With a cattle herder in the Basque Country or with Joachim Löw
In which country would you like to have a second residence?
Spain, Mallorca
Who would you like to meet?
Sir Peter Ustinov, Leonardo da Vinci
Which book would you currently recommend?
"Veronika Decides to Die" by Paulo Coelho, a book that, especially in today's times, makes one think deeply
What is your favorite food?
Creamed kohlrabi soup with curry, Leipzig meringues, beef goulash with potato dumplings
What is your favorite music?
From classical to jazz. Everything that moves me
What was the best advice you've ever received?
Love your customers, there are no others
Do you have a motto?
Always be authentic in every situation
Rolf Zimmermann
Cleanroom Academy GmbH
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 12-14, D 04103 Leipzig
Tel. +49 341 98989303, Fax +49 341 989893303
zimmermann@reinraum-akademie.de www.reinraum-akademie.de
