About us
Principia Mentis builds ChangeMaker® – the program management platform that treats human motivation as an engineering discipline, not an afterthought. Based in Munich, in use at corporations, upper mid-market companies, private equity portfolios, and global consultancies.
The approach
Programs rarely fail at the plan – they fail in execution, when people are asked to carry change they didn't build. That is exactly where ChangeMaker® starts: every feature of the platform rests on a specific behavioral-science effect – mere exposure, the IKEA effect, self-efficacy, coopetition. We don't drape a change framework over a generic PM tool; the platform itself is the behavioral mechanism.
The standard behind it: you don't have to memorize any of this. The science lives in the product – in templates, behavioral design, and customizing that is included in the license. Your team starts with its program, not with a methodology course.
Founder
Alexander Ploghaus studied at the universities of Oxford and Harvard how the brain learns and decides under threat and uncertainty. His work on reinforcement learning – today a foundation of modern AI – was published in Science and profiled in the New York Times.
As a leadership member of McKinsey & Company's European automotive and organization sector, he designed transformations in high tech, automotive, and chemicals. ChangeMaker® grew out of that double practice: embedding the knowledge of what sets people in motion directly into the software that steers programs.
Explore the Knowledge Hub →Our story
The team
21 people working out of Munich – between the Eisbach and the Isar. Three disciplines, one product:
Translates effects from neuroscience and behavioral science into product mechanics – from reporting rhythms to task design.
Consultants who have steered restructurings, carve-outs, and growth programs themselves – and who guide client programs through customizing.
Builds the platform that carries both: PerformanceMap®, FocusReports, WorkBench – configured fast instead of implemented forever.
The team tells you what working here is really like – the stage advances on its own, and clicking a face jumps straight to that person.
Founder Managing Director
I love turning science into impact. Working with our clients on the topics that will define their future. Together with colleagues whose hearts are bigger than their egos. We use technology to grow business success through human connection.
Customer voices
Four more voices from live and completed programs – quoted verbatim.
“With ChangeMaker, we are reimagining portfolio management: intuitive, up-to-date and with 360-degree visualisation that combines all stakeholder perspectives – for maximum transparency, performance gains and sustainable success.”
“ChangeMaker supports us in managing a complex transformation programme transparently and has become an integral part of our daily work. […] The high setup speed is a real plus.”
“ChangeMaker is more than just a project management tool – it is a real game changer for companies that want to make their work processes efficient, creative and flexible. […] And best of all, it’s very easy to use.”
“In our large-scale, dynamic construction project, the most modern maintenance facility of DB, it is important to always keep track of all ongoing tasks. This is where ChangeMaker really makes a difference, and it has become indispensable for us in commercial project management.”
Location
We work for international corporations, leading mid-market companies, private equity firms, and global consultancies.
Principia Mentis GmbHParadiesstraße 9–1080538 Munich, Germany
A 21-person team in Munich: behavioral scientists, transformation practitioners, and software engineers. Founded by Dr. Alexander Ploghaus, neuroscientist (Oxford, Harvard) and McKinsey alumnus. More than 20,000 initiatives have been steered on the platform – with over €8 billion of EBITDA impact under management.
Every feature in ChangeMaker® rests on a specific behavioral-science effect – mere exposure, the IKEA effect, self-efficacy, coopetition. The platform is the behavioral mechanism, not a framework layered onto a generic PM tool.
From the Munich office (Paradiesstraße 9–10) for clients across the DACH region and internationally – corporations, upper mid-market companies, PE portfolio companies, and global consultancies.
We continuously review applications from behavioral scientists, software engineers, and management consultants. Write to [email protected].
Walk through your live initiatives with us and gain transparency into the completion level of every workstream.
