Welcome to our new interview series with the ELIA Board of Directors! In this series, we’ll get to know the personal and professional journeys of our board members, explore their roles within their companies, and learn more about how they contribute to their ELIA committees. 

Our next feature is Klaus Fleischmann, CEO at Kaleidoscope Group. Let’s dive into his career journey that began in an unexpected place, the story behind Kaleidoscope’s name, and his role in shaping ELIA’s Networking Days conference.

What was the most unexpected job or role you’ve had before joining the language services industry, and how did it shape your career?

I had a summer job as a high school student in the mid 80s which unexpectedly had a big impact on my later career: 

Since back then I knew English quite well, I was tasked with writing online help for a software application. But I was effectively writing the content twice: Once for a printed manual and once for an online help output (in Clipper, for whoever recalls that). I thought, there must be a way to produce both contents from one source. 

So I researched (no, I did not google back then) and found a tool called Ventura Publisher by Xerox (arguably the first DTP application), which could handle ASCII text input enriched with some weird markup language. I wrote a small transformation script that could convert text-based clipper online help into a layout which I could then print. And voilà: probably one of the first single source publishing tools!

What’s a little-known fun fact about your company that even industry insiders might be surprised to learn? How does this unique aspect reflect your company’s culture or mission?

I am often asked why I chose Kaleidoscope as a company name. The truth is that when I started the company, together with my wife back then, we did not really know where we were headed and what we would be doing. As a matter of fact, I was still doing a lot of DTP and output automation, my wife was translating. 

So we thought Kaleidoscope was a good name, because it could be anything, even a coffee shop or music festival (there are plenty of those!) And until today, this is how we approach our projects: We take a lot of different pieces, throw them all together, shake everything up well, and when you look at them, they are always beautiful 😉

Tell us about the ELIA committee or initiative you lead. What’s its main goal and why is it important for the industry?

I am in charge of organizing the Networking Days conference. ND is the first and flagship event, and we are constantly optimising it to be exactly what it stands for: Networking Days. 

So instead of a conference style setup, we have group discussions, a lot of room for personal networking, semi-formalised networking and social networking during the welcome dinner and other social events. This year, for example, we are looking forward to a Berlin treasure hunt.

We believe that every single one of us in the industry has so much to share and so much others can learn from. ND is a forum for an open, honest yet safe exchange of ideas and experiences. 

Check out the LinkedIn post on this article to share your thoughts and learn more about Networking Days 2024 here.

Name: Klaus Fleischmann
Company: Kaleidoscope Group
Company LinkedIn