DR. GEORG NICKLAS is the founder of both the compass Foundation and Donic, the well-known table tennis brand, as well as founding ESN Tischtennis Technology Group GmbH, a rubber manufacturing company in Hofheim, Germany.
Dr. Nicklas was a professional table tennis player in the Bundesliga for Saarbrücken, Düsseldorf, Altena and Jülich. He studied chemical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe before completing his PhD in natural sciences (Physics and Mechanics) at the University of Saarbrücken. He excels in strategic, technical, mechanical, and logical thinking which has served him well ever since. He is one of the most innovative thinkers and influential people in table tennis globally.
Dr. Nicklas played a major role in developing and promoting professional table tennis, while being a great supporter of youth and talent development. He founded compass in 2016 with the vision of creating the next generation of world class table tennis players by offering talented young European players the best possible support to help them become world-class athletes.
DÁNIEL ZWICKL is a former international professional table tennis player from Hungary. He is a five-time European U15 champion who won the European Junior Top 12 and turned professional shortly after. As an adult, he became a multiple Hungarian champion, won the German Cup with TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and participated in the 2012 London Olympics.
He studied sports management (BSc) and sports economics (MA) in Budapest and at Leeds Metropolitan University. After his active career, he worked as a Team and Sports Manager in Liebherr Masters College and TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen for six years from 2012. From 2018 to 2021 he was Sport Operations Manager at the International Teqball Federation (FITEQ).
Dániel speaks 4 languages. He has been the Managing Director of the compass foundation since 1st November 2021.
JOCHEN LEISS is a 116-times international player and former German Champion. Jochen was a National Youth Coach and Elite Sports Coordinator for the DTTB.
In 1986 he moved to Norway and worked for seven years as General Secretary and National Coach for the Norwegian Table Tennis Association. He then served as Sports Coordinator and Sports Director for the foundation ‘Norwegian Elite Sport Gymnasium’, which has produced many Olympic and world champions in 25 different sports.
Jochen built the foundations of compass and created the general concept and strategy as well as serving as General Manager for 5 years constructing the base and framework for future growth and development.
RALF SCHREINER is a former professional/semi-professional table tennis player from Germany. He played in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd German league for 15 years and won the Bavarian Men’s Singles title in 1993.
He studied pharmacy and earned his doctorate at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. He held Production and Quality Assurance roles in several different pharmaceutical companies for 25 years. He joined the ESN company board in 2018 and the compass Foundation board in January 2022.
Ralf is married to an ex-Chinese National Women’s Team champion and has two children both of whom have won table tennis titles at the national and international level.
At compass, Ralf offers his experiences and skills in supporting young talents realising their ambitions and through promoting table tennis, the sport he is passionate about.
JENS FELLKE is the Communication Manager for compass. He was a member of the Swedish youth national team in the 70’s.
After completing his studies, he has made a name for himself as a freelance journalist in the table tennis world by publishing excellent TT books, and a documentary for Swedish television, which has since been dubbed to German, detailing how the Swedes snatched the supremacy in world table tennis from the Chinese from 1989 onwards.
Jens serves as the manager and representative of compass in Sweden, taking care of the Swedish talents and the strategy in Sweden.
ÉVA MURÁNYI-MOSKA has a background in international sports management. She spent ten years as the Development and Education Director at the International Weightlifting Federation where she assisted nearly 200 National Federations.
After that, she switched to the International Teqball Federation as a Project Manager. In that role, she undertook various projects, such as setting up the international referee program and playing a part in organising the World Championships.
Éva has been working for compass as Sport Manager since May 2022 where she helps the foundation with sports administration.