Marie Christine Ostermann was born in Hamm in 1978, and has a younger sister. She initially had little contact with her father's company, but when she decided at age 16 to take over the family business, she made that goal the focus of her life. She studied business administration at the renowned University of St. Gallen in Switzerland; trained at a bank, and got more work experience at a discount supermarket chain. In 2006, she started working at her father's company, in anticipation of one day taking over the reins. The food wholesale company Rullko in the city of Hamm employs 150 people and has yearly sales of 70 million euros. Working alongside her father helped Marie-Christine Ostermann find her footing at the company, and even allows her to take up other responsibilities. Since 2009, she's been on the board of directors of the spectacles manufacturer Fielmann, and the chairwoman of the German Federation of Young Entrepreneurs. That work allows her to influence issues that are important to her, such as making it easier for women to combine motherhood and a career; or ensuring equitable pensions for coming generations. Marie-Christine Ostermann lines and works in Hamm.