After studying business administration, teaching and research work and a doctorate in the field of ecology-oriented marketing, Michael Trautmann started as a management consultant at Bossard Consultants. As Managing Partner at Springer & Jacoby, he was then responsible for the renowned Mercedes-Benz account and the establishment and expansion of international offices in London, Paris, Barcelona and Milan, among other places. As "Global CMO" at Audi, he was one of the youngest top managers in the Volkswagen Group and he was voted among the "Top 40 under 40" in European marketing. In 2004, together with André Kemper, he founded the advertising agency kempertrautmann, which was awarded "Global Newcomer Agency of the Year" 5 years later. After the reorganisation of the agency into thjnk AG, as a result of which the agency doubled in size from 250 to 500 employees, Michael reoriented himself professionally once again. Since then he has been active as a consultant, senior advisor and early-stage investor. He was the first business angel at the award-winning market research company Appinio and he also co-founded Hyrox, the world's first fitness competition for everyone.

Since 1.5.2017 (fun fact: Labour Day) he can be heard once a week as a co-host on the podcast “On The Way to New Work”. At the beginning of 2021, he founded NWMS GmbH (New Work Masterskills) together with Swantje Allmers.