Thilo Bode studied sociology and economics, and wrote his PhD dissertation on direct investments in developing countries. He subsequently supervised water and energy supply projects in a number of developing countries, worked for the reconstruction credit institute KfW, and advised companies on their involvement in developing countries. In the mid-1980s he switched from development aid to business. He served as a management assistant in a medium-sized metals group, responsible for strategy, control and the supervision of subsidiaries. Bode is known for his work for Greenpeace and their campaigns in the 1990s. From 1989 to 1995 he was head of Greenpeace Germany, and then Greenpeace International from 1995 to 2001.