CEO, Alterra Impact Finance GmbH. Former Managing Director, Mind & Life Europe. Executive Board and CFO at the Goetheanum, Switzerland. 30 years of leading roles in social impact enterprises, educational organizations, financial management, investments, and philanthropy. 

Cornelius is a seasoned executive in a diverse range of international civil sector organizations. For the last 30 years, he has been engaged in the fields of philanthropy, finance management, impact investment, fundraising, foundation management, and leadership. 

He is CEO of Alterra Impact Finance GmbH, an impact investment, management, and advisory firm in Switzerland with private equity investments in several European companies. Cornelius served as Managing Director and was on the Board of Mind & Life Europe as Vice Chairman and Treasurer until 2021. Mind & Life was founded by the Dalai Lama and neuroscientist Francisco Varela and is active throughout Europe in multiple sectors.

Cornelius also served as Chief Financial Officer on the Executive Board at the Goetheanum, General Anthroposophical Society, Switzerland (2002-2011) with affiliates in 90 countries and approximately 10,000 related institutions in agriculture, medicine and therapy, (Waldorf) education, ethical banking and business, and the arts. He was the President of Camphill (life-sharing) Communities in North America. 

He serves as Trustee/Advisory Board and Senior Advisor for a number of not-for-profit organizations in the USA and Europe, as well as privately held European companies. He also served on the Advisory Board of the Gross National Happiness Center in Bhutan, B Corps Europe, Partnering for Global Impact and OOOM World GmbH. Cornelius presents on various topics in conferences internationally. 

Cornelius has long been involved in the philanthropic sector with a focus directed at improving the welfare of the planet and financial initiatives that support a human-centered economy.  

He received his degree (Highest Honors) in Political Science from Williams College, Mass., and was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Cornelius lives near Basel, Switzerland, and Vienna, Austria.