Christian Thorun is the founder and managing director of ConPolicy. He is a recognized expert in consumer policy and he advises the German Government, German State Ministries, the European Commission and the European Parliament on consumer issues.
In addition to his management activities, he is a member of the German CLUB OF ROME society and a member of the advisory board of the Association for Self-Regulation of the Information Economy (SRIW). He is also a member of the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) network of consumer research.
Before founding the institute, he was active at the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband eV) in Berlin. Furthermore, from 2013 to 2018 he worked as a Professor of Political Science, International Relations and Public Affairs at the Quadriga University of Applied Sciences Berlin. From early 2018 until the end of 2025 he was a member and from 2023 onwards he was co-chair of the independent ÖKOWORLD investment committee.
Christian Thorun studied and received his doctorate at Oxford University in the Department of International Relations. He has received several awards for his achievements. In 2001, he received a Cecil Rhodes scholarship for his studies at Oxford. He was also awarded scholarships for several years from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center.
Selected projects
-
Consulting project on Corporate Digital Responsibility: Project for the Otto Group
more -
Evaluation of the implementation of European energy consumer rights in Germany: Study for the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Food, Rural Areas and Consumer Protection
more -
Support for two Workstreams on Cybersecurity : Organizational and methodological guidance for the BSI within the dialogue for cybersecurity
more -
Provision of expertise on consumer policy: Framework contract with the European Parliamentary Research Service
more -
Supporting the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI): Project for the German International Cooperation Society (GIZ)
more
Selected publications
-
Hubert, T., Büning, F., El-Rifaai, M., Franke, F., Kern, M., Kettner, S. E., Lell, O., Meyer, M., Xie, R., Morschheuser, B., Thorun, C. & Wiebe, A. (2025). Privacy by Design: Protecting privacy in the metaverse through design practices using selected threats to data protection and personal rights as examples. In: Friedewald et. al. (Eds.), Freedom in digital infrastructures (pp. 285–318).
more -
Schoenheit, I., Mandler, M., Marken, G., Grothmann, T., Münsch, M. & Thorun, C. (2025). Umweltbewusstsein in Unternehmen. Eine Konzeptstudie zur Entwicklung eines Befragungskonzepts. Abschlussbericht. In: Texte | 90/2025. Umweltbundesamt, Dessau-Roßlau
more -
Thorun, C. (2025). Klartext, bitte! In: neue energie (Nr. 06/2025).
more -
Nobis, C. et al. (2025). Nachhaltiges Pendeln für die Region der Zukunft. Erkenntnisse aus dem Projekt MOBITAT 2050 – Wohnen und Arbeiten 2050
more -
Cerulli-Harms, A. et al. (2025). Wirkung von Informations- und Kommunikationsformaten auf die Risikowahrnehmung und das Risikoverständnis von Rezipient*innen in unterschiedlichen Strahlenschutzkontexten. In: Ressortforschungsberichte zum Strahlenschutz ; 245/25
more
Selected lectures and presentations
-
GDV Insurance Summit 2024: Panel discussion on the topic of financial education in Germany (Berlin, March 20, 2024)
-
Organisation Werbetreibende im Markenverband: Presentation of the results of the European good practice initiative on consent management for cookies (Virtual, May 02, 2023)
-
European Consumer Summit: Keynote – Plea for a more ambitious and pro-active consumer policy in light of significant challenges (Brussels, March 28, 2023)
-
European Consumer Summit: Workshop – Consumer vulnerability and how to reach specific consumer groups (Brussels, March 28, 2023)
-
Conference of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection: Keynote: Data power, digital asymmetry, digital vulnerability (Vienna, November 25, 2022)
Selected moderations
-
Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative: Stakeholder Meeting 2025 (Berlin, November 25 and 26, 2025)
-
Forum Waschen: 19th Stakeholder Workshop: Digitalization and sustainability in washing, cleaning, and dishwashing: potential, risks, and success factors (Berlin, November 20 and 21, 2025)
-
Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative: Geodata-based AI for smart implementation of due diligence obligation (Virtual, October 10, 2025)
-
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity: Multi-stakeholder workshop on 'Economics and Social Issues' as part of the MinKriSet research project (Brunswick, September 16, 2025)
-
Annual iff conference: Final panel: Customer involvement and consumer protection - complementary or contradictory? (Hamburg, June 06, 2025)