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.
Head of Consulting Industrial engineering
An exciting journey that fuels both personal and professional growth. Our team thrives on a culture of innovation, collaboration, and mutual respect – an ideal environment to learn, contribute, and improve.
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.
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.
