The Speakers of the Masterclasses 2025
Discover the inspiring speakers who shared their knowledge and experience in this year's Masterclasses.
Katrin Gillett leads Digital Media Solutions Consulting at Adobe in Central Europe. With a career bridging computer science and business, she blends deep technological expertise with strategic vision. Recognised in 2021 with the Women in Sales Award as EMEA’s top Sales Engineer, Katrin empowers organisations to drive digital innovation responsibly and effectively. As a dynamic speaker, mentor and passionate advocate for wellbeing and diversity, she inspires audiences worldwide to explore the future of creativity and marketing – always with people at the heart of the journey.
Julian Leutgöb is the Managing Director of Plan.Net Austria, a role in which he contributes many years of experience in digital transformation and organisational development. Before joining Plan.Net, he held leadership positions at VML, Scholz & Friends and A1 Telekom Austria. With his expertise in strategy, innovation and technology, he helps companies to unlock the full potential of digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
Ingwer Nicolas Petersen is Head of Digital Sales and Daily Banking at Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien AG. He has extensive expertise in digital transformation, sales optimisation and customer experience within the banking sector. In his role, he drives innovative, data-driven solutions for customer-centric growth and actively contributes to the ongoing development of Raiffeisen’s digital business models.
As Commercial Director D-A-CH & FR-IT-ES at Samsung Ads, Christian Russ is responsible for business development and the strategic orientation of sales in German-speaking countries, as well as in France, Italy and Spain. With his teams, he is in charge of expanding the customer and partner network of the advertising platform, which specialises in advanced TV marketing solutions.
Julia Gröger is Senior Consultant Brand Management & Transformational Branding at Munich Airport, where she is responsible for design and brand strategy, internal branding, and leading the transformation team. Previously, she worked as Brand Manager at PLAYBOY Germany and FOCUS, as a Conceptioner at Burda Creative Group, and in Account Management at Young and Rubicam. She holds a diploma in Communication Design and a bachelor’s degree. In addition, she works as an Organizational Transformation Coach and Creativity Trainer.
Jörg Schmitt is Head of Design at Serviceplan Munich, where he manages an interdisciplinary team with a focus on corporate design, brand identity and strategic branding. Having previously worked at Interbrand, Martin et Karczinski and MetaDesign, he has gained extensive experience in designing striking brand identities. As the creative mastermind behind the rebranding of Munich Airport, he blends aesthetics and functionality to create corporate branding that is emotional and distinctive.
Simon Köpp is responsible for the strategic development of new customer relations in the D-A-CH region as General Manager Business Development. Originally from Hamburg, Simon is an expert in programmatic advertising and marketing science. Prior to joining The Trade Desk, he held leading positions in marketing and sales, including as Marketing Science Partner at Facebook and Sales Director at Adform. He has also worked as an Ad Technology Manager at media agencies, publishers and tech companies.
Sophie von dem Bussche is Business Development Manager at hmmh. In this role, she drives business development and account management, helping companies implement comprehensive digital and commerce strategies. She sees herself as a dedicated ambassador for digital experiences and e-commerce excellence – with a strong focus on customer value, end-to-end commerce solutions and sustainable growth.
Timo-Klaus Barthelmes is a passionate ambassador for marketing transformation and customer experience. As Director of Marketing Transformation Processes & Solutions at B. Braun, he drives the transformation of marketing processes and marketing technology standards, ensuring that marketing strategies are closely aligned with customer needs and based on insights and a value-based marketing approach.
Carsten Knop has been publisher of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper since 2020. He began his journalism career working on a freelance basis for daily newspaper Westfälische Rundschau for many years. After graduating with a degree in business from the University of Münster, in 1993, he completed a traineeship at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. His journalism training was followed by his first editorial position in 1995, when he was quickly transferred to Düsseldorf as a correspondent for the Börsen-Zeitung, a financial newspaper. In 1996, Carsten Knop returned to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s Düsseldorf office where he had completed his traineeship. After a stint in Düsseldorf, he moved to New York and then San Francisco to work as a business correspondent. He returned to Frankfurt in 2003, where he was responsible for corporate reporting for many years, and later also for the economic news. From the beginning of 2018 until March 2020, he was editor-in-chief of the newspaper’s digital products.
Martell Beck was appointed CMO of Deutsche Bahn AG (German Rail) in June 2024. From 2012 to 2020, he was Head of Marketing, Sales and Digitalisation at Berlin transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) from 2012 to 2020. It was in this role that he developed the campaign ‘Weil wir dich lieben’ (Because we love you) and orchestrated a fundamental realignment of the BVG’s communication with a focus on digital. Since 2020, he has been in charge of the marketing, corporate strategy and transport policy departments for DB Cargo. With campaigns including ‘Güter gehören auf die Schiene’ (Freight belongs on the rails), Beck has raised the profile of climate-friendly freight transportation, particularly on social media. For his work, he was named ‘Man of the Year Marketing’ by HORIZONT magazine in 2021 and ‘Client of the Year’ by the Art Directors Club (ADC) in 2018.
Ingo Müller has been Managing Director of REPUBLIC Marketing & Media Solutions GmbH – the joint venture for the marketing of both the Frankfurter Allgemeine and the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspapers – since 2021. The business administration graduate started his career in 1999 at Hubert Burda Media, where he worked for German news magazine Focus, holding various positions in marketing before being appointed Marketing Director of the Burda News Group in 2010. In 2014, Müller moved to the Frankfurt office and was responsible for the national and international marketing of F.A.Z., F.A.S. and FAZ.NET as the general manager of the Advertising Markets/Media Solutions division, as well as for the regional marketing as co-CEO of RheinMain.Media GmbH. He was also responsible for the marketing of the publishing house itself.
Will is a seasoned expert in advertising and behavioural economics. He began his career at the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising), where he helped pioneer the integration of behavioural economics into advertising before going on to lead Insight and Effectiveness at Blue449. He played a key role in developing Mediaplus UK’s distinctive behavioural planning approach and now heads up Behave, leading strategy, research, effectiveness. He is also responsible for marketing consultancy, driving innovative ideas and delivering effective solutions across a wide array of marketing challenges.
Shane is an agency poacher turned brand-side gamekeeper with experience across a wide spectrum of the marketing discipline. He began his career in JWT on the brand strategy side and moved across to Mindshare/GroupM to lead the Irish strategy team. Shane’s last role was building a Media & Performance consulting arm for Accenture Song UK/I into a $20m+ yearly business. He now leads pet owner marketing in Zoetis, a Fortune 500 and the world’s largest animal health company. His current role covers nine global markets and includes responsibility for advertising development, website, content, CRM and measurement, as well as providing the pet owner insight engine for the business. Shane is an avid marketing commentator and has written extensively for Marketing Week, WARC and local Irish publications. He lives in Dublin, where his family life revolves around a two-year-old Jack Russell called Skip, and a six-month-old baby boy called Jack!
Dr Marc Egger is Senior Vice President Data & AI at RTL Germany, where he is responsible for technological alignment and development in the field of data and artificial intelligence. Together with his teams, he is driving forward the AI transformation of RTL Germany along the entire value chain: from central data platforms to data science and generative AI for consumer products, and the use of AI in internal processes and systems to boost efficiency. With over 15 years of experience in technology-oriented research, start-ups and companies, he has built up and scaled international data and AI teams, and developed AI-based products and platforms – from innovative prototypes to AI components in consumer products with millions of users. Before joining RTL, Dr Egger founded and managed an AI start-up focusing on natural language processing and did post-doctoral research on machine learning and digital business models at Cologne University.
Dr Egger is the author of many peer-reviewed publications and co-publisher of the anthology ‘Computational Social Science in the Age of Big Data’. The speaker and expert regularly gives talks on the topics of AI, data strategy and digital transformation.
Meiko Reißmann, born in 1977, has been serving as General Director Ad + Concept Studio at Ad Alliance since February 2024. In this role, he is responsible for the divisions Creative Consultancy, TV Brands Concepts, B2C Solutions and Special Solutions.
Meiko began his professional career in 2008 at ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, where he held various positions and was notably involved in managing the cooperation and partnership business. In 2018, he joined the entertainment subsidiary Seven.One Entertainment Group. As Unit Director, his responsibilities included creative monetisation for Joyn, the development of innovative brand and advertising concepts, the commercialisation of TV competitions, as well as the creation of co-branded campaigns for the platforms and majority holdings of ProSiebenSat.1. Most recently, he held the position of Director Go To Market & Content Platforms at Seven.One Ad Factory.
He studied Business Administration at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and graduated in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration.
OCEAN is Managing Partner at Serviceplan AMP and co-founder of the agency. As a creative engineer, he works at the intersection of product, design, technology and business. With over 25 years of experience in digital creation, brand development and product design, he develops scalable, automated creative systems with measurable business impact – always with an in-depth understanding of digital culture and human perception.
Jens Steffen is Managing Partner at Serviceplan AMP and also co-founder of the agency. For over 20 years, the creative technologist has been working on digital innovations, modular design systems and AI-based real-time productions. His adaptive infrastructures turn strategy into scalable content that is relevant, efficient and business-driven.
Michael Fakesch is the founder of DESIGNING SOUNDS and an internationally sought-after music producer, sound designer and DJ. As the co-founder of the duo Funkstörung, he defined the IDM and glitch-hop genre with remixes for artists including Björk and the Wu-Tang Clan. These days you will find him developing award-winning sound designs for global brands like Nike, BMW, Samsung and Telekom and teaching sound design and film music at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz.
Robin Scharlau is Senior Director Business Development at The Trade Desk, a role in which he is responsible for strategic development and looking after agency partnerships in Germany. He combines data-driven insights, technological innovations and market-oriented strategies to support agencies in providing their clients with maximum impact and efficiency in the programmatic advertising market. Before that, Robin spent a decade working at agencies, most recently as Head of Media Consulting at Pilot Hamburg with a focus on digital media consultation. He studied Marketing and Technical Business Administration at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and has worked at The Trade Desk since November 2021.
Georg Klemm is the General Manager of Creation at Plan.Net Journey, where he has been shaping innovative customer experiences since 2018. As a specialist in customer experience design, cross-channel concepts and campaigns, as well as in the development of design systems, innovation strategies and agile processes, he combines creativity, strategy and technology to deliver impactful results. His expertise also includes design thinking methodologies and the management of Scrum projects. Another key focus is the strategic development and ideation of CRM campaigns and loyalty programmes, with an emphasis on relevant, personalised customer communication and a seamless, engaging experience across all touchpoints.
With more than ten years of experience in digital marketing, Sandra Unterreiner specialises in customer experience consulting and customer journey management. Since 2014, she has been part of the Serviceplan Group, driving strategies that enhance customer experiences and deliver measurable business results. With a background in philosophy, Sandra combines analytical thinking with creative problem-solving to develop innovative solutions across a wide range of industries. Her key projects include leading the initiative ‘The New Retail’ – transforming central direct-to-consumer sales within the BMW Group’s Customer Interaction Management – as well as overseeing all 1:1 dialogue communication for Lufthansa. In addition, Sandra supports a diverse portfolio of clients in both the B2C and B2B sectors.
Dr Emma Haddi is the General Manager of Data & Analytics at Plan.Net Journey, where she leads the data- and AI-driven optimisation of customer journeys. Since joining the Plan.Net Group in 2016, she has been responsible for developing data-led strategies to enhance marketing efficiency – with a strong focus on optimising personalised 1:1 communication, strategically allocating media budgets and identifying new growth opportunities for clients. With more than a decade of experience in data science, statistics and machine learning, she delivers solutions that seamlessly combine technological innovation with a strategic customer focus – creating measurable impact across every stage of the customer journey.
Gerrit Dietz is responsible for Adobe’s go-to-market strategy for measurement products in the EMEA region. Prior to this, he held senior sales and consulting positions at Google, Meta, RMS, as well as in consulting and the financial industry. With over ten years of experience in digital marketing, he has extensive expertise in analytics, customer experience and data-driven sales optimisation. In parallel, he is pursuing a PhD on the topic of AI-driven hyper-personalization at scale in financial services marketing. He is also actively involved in volunteer work with the Rotary Club Hamburg-Harvestehude and serves as a lay judge at Hamburg Administrative Court.
Part of the agency group for more than 19 years, Eva Sophie Vogelgesang is General Manager at Serviceplan PR & Content. As a passionate communicator and AI enthusiast, she understands companies, communities and the dynamics of modern communication. Her curiosity about change and her love of people make her an inspiring management personality in the PR sector.
Jörg Forthmann is Executive Board Member of the GPRA (an association of Germany’s leading communications agencies with PR backgrounds), and co-founder of Mummert Communications, which is now known as Faktenkontor GmbH. With a background in industrial engineering and journalism, he combines technological expertise with strategic communication skills. For more than 20 years, he has been developing data-driven communication solutions and shaping the industry as an entrepreneur and forward-thinker.
Benjamin Majeron is Head of Digital at Serviceplan PR & Content and an experienced digital strategist with over 12 years of agency experience. As a content creator and LinkedIn enabler, he knows exactly how to effectively connect brands with people. With punchy copy and a feel for relevant contents, he is helping to shape digital communication – including as the host of TWELVE Cast, Serviceplan’s corporate podcast.
Daniel Hoffmann is Managing Partner at TACSY and a pioneer in influencer marketing. He launched his first campaign back in 2011, before taking over the creative direction at Mediakraft in 2015. In his current role at TACSY, he works on LinkedIn projects for brands including Volkswagen, Williams Racing (Formula One) and Koelnmesse. His work blends innovative brand communication with digital appeal.
Manuel Kekeisen is Senior Agency Lead DACH at LinkedIn Germany and responsible for the company’s independent agency business in the region. After a few years in management consulting, he joined Google and has been at home in the digital and tech world for more than 11 years. His focus now is on B2B and luxury brands – and in particular their buying cycles, measurability and decision-making processes.
Anne von Loebbecke is an experienced marketer when it comes to digital transformation, building new business models and scaling consumer experiences. Since 2023, she has been the VP of Marketing and Strategy at SportScheck, one of Germany’s leading sports retailers. In this role, she oversees marketing, communication, media, membership, creation, strategy and PMO. Previously, she was responsible for strategy and planning in Nike Europe’s DTC division for over 10 years. She then led the brand consulting team at Sportfive before repositioning the brand at tech start-up OneFootball
With over 13 years of experience, Louisa Mayer is an expert in AI-based data strategies and loyalty innovations. She has developed and implemented scalable, data-driven solutions and led interdisciplinary teams from the fields of data science and business insights at companies such as PAYBACK, Metro and MediaMarkt Saturn. Her focus is on the strategic use of first-party data to generate business-relevant insights and long-term added value. She knows how to efficiently manage complex analytics initiatives and support companies along the entire data value chain in optimising their business models.
Nina Matzat connects brands and companies with new technologies. She is the Co-Founder and General Manager at Plan.Net Studios, the Plan.Net Group’s hub for innovation and new technologies. She develops strategies and advises clients on how to successfully implement and leverage technologies such as AI, blockchain and virtual reality/spatial computing. Nina is on a mission to accompany companies into the next era of digital transformation with curiosity – and sometimes give them the necessary nudge. Before joining Serviceplan, she spent many years at Google as a product suite specialist with a focus on storytelling and creative effectiveness in digital environments.
Katrin Krall has extensive experience in AI strategy development and organisational efficiency. At the Plan.Net Group, she focuses on aligning strategic AI initiatives with the company’s mission while fostering a culture of innovation and efficiency. Her goal is to leverage diverse perspectives and experiences to further strengthen the organisation’s position as a leader in AI-driven solutions.
Sven Holldorf is an experienced digital strategy expert and Unit Director at hmmh, where he leads interdisciplinary teams at the intersection of e-commerce, data-driven marketing and sales technologies. With over 10 years of experience in the development of customer-centric strategies, he enables leading brands like Porsche, KAESER and B. Braun to rethink connected customer experiences and drive sustainable growth.
Eva Simone Lihotzky is General Manager of the Serviceplan AI Lab in Munich. In this role, she is responsible for the AI strategy and manages its implementation at agency group level. Her task is to connect the AI competences of the Serviceplan Group’s agency brands – Serviceplan, Mediaplus and Plan.Net – to create cross-functional capabilities for both the agency group and its clients. In her previous position as Director Group Corporate Strategy, the 34-year-old was responsible for the strategy of the agency group within the Serviceplan Group Holding – with a particular focus on all topics relating to AI. She is active as a speaker and author in the field of artificial intelligence.
Benno Blumoser is co-founder and head of the Siemens AI Lab, a pioneering platform established in 2017 that drives industrial AI innovation for Siemens and within its ecosystem. Leading a ONE Tech Company hub for industrial AI in Munich that hosts a dozen other Siemens units, he and his multidisciplinary team orchestrate Siemens’ AI-driven transformation, partnering with customers to unlock new opportunities while identifying and evaluating emerging technologies for strategic competitive advantage.
His career journey began at Siemens Management Consulting, where he evolved into a catalyst for organisational innovation. He provided strategic advisory for transformative initiatives including the company-wide Open Innovation Program, architected a comprehensive trend-scouting portfolio and was instrumental in developing Siemens’ foundational AI strategy that continues to guide the company’s technological evolution.
Benno’s academic background in International Cultural and Business Studies (University of Passau) and his experience in Barcelona as a DAAD scholar, combined with extensive work experiences across the Americas, provides him with the global perspective essential for driving technological innovation in diverse markets. His additional Master's degree in Music Education – now applied very cautiously as a father of three – reflects his multifaceted approach to creativity and learning.
Alexander develops innovative products and solutions for his clients’ communication strategies. With a passion for digital media, he focuses on pop culture, communication and storytelling, especially with regard to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
His career started in digital market and advertising effectiveness research and following his studies at LMU Munich, he worked at SevenOne Media and Plan.Net. From 2018 to 2022, he headed an in-house consulting unit as Director Digital Accelerator at Mediaplus.
Acting as an interface between people and brands, Sarah connects brands with opinion leaders who tell emotional brand stories. Her aim is to demonstrate the impact of influencer marketing on overall marketing strategy and to show how closely creator content should be linked to media strategies. She is passionate about finding trends and connections to tell stories and maximise the impact of influencer campaigns.
In his role as Head of Creative, Maximilian provides creative and strategic support for global pitches and campaigns, with the aim of taking media to a new, innovative level and integrating it even more closely with the creative side. To achieve the desired impact, he believes that truly creative communication must not only be visually stunning, but also strategically sound.
This is why Maximilian has expanded and internationalised Mediaplus’ creative team, the BÄM Collective, with members from various areas of the media agency. Maximilian has been part of the Serviceplan Group since 2014. As Global Creative Strategist and member of the Serviceplan Group Creative Board, he has already won numerous awards.
Before joining Serviceplan, he worked for Kempertrautmann (now Thjink). He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Strategic Management, Business Statistics and International Business from Oxford and Grenoble.
Combining creative visions with excellent production for over 20 years, Timo Wolf is Managing Director of Serviceplan MAKE. As a producer, visual architect and innovator, he creates commercials, spatial concepts and content formats with a special focus on automation, CGI and AI-based processes. His passion lies at the intersection of technology and creativity – always with the aim of setting new standards in production.
Lukas Paschke is General Manager Consulting at Plan.Net Journey and has over two decades of experience in the strategic consultation of national and international brands. From a creative strategist turned digital strategist to a customer journey manager, he has always embraced change. His focus is on putting customers at the focus at the heart of everything he does and developing innovative approaches to brand management.
Alexander Nagel is Managing Partner and Creative Lead at Serviceplan MAKE. With over 30 years of experience in graphic design, CGI and advertising, he understands how to seamlessly combine creative ideas and production processes. As a passionate storyteller and visual enthusiast, he loves his craft and the details that turn good ideas into extraordinary experiences.
Karin is an experienced data strategist specialising in the development and implementation of innovative data solutions that help organisations make data-driven decisions and secure a competitive advantage. With extensive expertise in AI-powered analytics, she develops forward-looking approaches for personalised marketing and sustainable media planning.
As Chief Data Officer at RTL Germany, she was instrumental in shaping the digital transformation by successfully integrating data-driven processes and technologies into strategic business goals. She also held the role of Managing Director at Bertelsmann, where she was responsible for building the company’s central data platform, which served as the foundation for data-driven innovation and efficiency improvements. Prior to that, she was responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive data ecosystem at GroupM, where data-driven strategies were at the heart of the approach.
Her career began at Mediaplus, where she started out as a media researcher. Karin combines strategic vision with operational excellence, consistently driving data-driven innovation.
Enzo Ricciulli was one of the formative heads of Serviceplan Group Belux for over 11 years – as co-founder of Mediascale Benelux and later as Managing Partner of Mediaplus Belgium. At the age of 24, he founded the first fully digital music label and has demonstrated entrepreneurial vision and a pioneering spirit ever since. During his time in Brussels, he helped shape the House of Communication as a melting pot of cultures and worked with international teams on pioneering strategies for marketing and advertising.
With the step to Global Lead AI & Innovation at the Mediaplus Group, Enzo has expanded his field of activity from local to global. In this newly created leadership role, he is at the forefront of the company-wide transformation and driving the vision of transforming Mediaplus into an AI-driven innovation powerhouse. Together with international teams of experts, he is shaping the agency of the future, combining state-of-the-art AI technologies with human creativity and focusing on speed, courage and a constant flow of new ideas. His diverse background in music, philosophy and strategic management gives him a unique perspective that enables him to effectively combine creativity and cutting-edge technology.
Stephan Kopp is Managing Director at Mediaplus Performance. The digital transfer of knowledge and information via search engines had already piqued his curiosity before the term ‘SEO’ (search engine optimisation) even existed. For more than 20 years, he has been following the continuous development of Google & Co. to support Mediaplus clients in their long-term, targeted brand development in the area of owned media. Stephan Kopp pursues a multidisciplinary approach combining consulting, data analysis, content and design that can adapt to the profound changes brought about by AI response systems. In doing so, he follows his conviction that online search is always about people, even if the context is constantly evolving. After studying in Erlangen, Stephan Kopp began his career in the agency business in the field of SEO. His arrival at Plan.Net in 2010 marked the start of performance marketing at the Serviceplan Group and the beginning of a successful growth phase for this business unit. Stephan Kopp was Managing Director of Plan.Net Performance from 2016, before moving to the Mediaplus Group in 2024. Here, Kopp and his team provide Mediaplus clients with the full range of performance marketing services, from brand media, SEA, SEO, retail and affiliate marketing to data analysis and creation. With almost two decades of industry experience under his belt, the passionate hobby musician is certain that SEO is not dead, but more relevant than ever.
Volker Petzsch-Kunze is Director of Strategy at Mediaplus Performance. Although questions about the cognitive abilities of artificial intelligence sometimes keep him awake at night, his main focus is on linking human intuition with abstract algorithms. In his day-to-day work at the agency, he seeks answers to the question of how the right combination of technology, methods and strategy can enable Mediaplus’ clients to tailor their brand messages to the needs, desires and fears of their target groups. After all, in the digital space, a successful strategy always emerges individually from the interaction of all players, messages and media. Volker Petzsch-Kunze demonstrated his passion for communication during college as a freelance journalist and developed the first hardware and software solutions for the dawning mobile-first era. As an in-house SEO at Microsoft, he was able to closely follow the development of search engine technology toward the increasing integration of artificial intelligence. In 2014, he began his agency career as Head of SEO at Plan.Net, and since 2024, he has been responsible for product and strategy development in performance marketing at Mediaplus. However, when he discovers the world on his many travels, he still asks himself: Is this reality, or are we all still sitting in Plato’s cave? But now AI is sitting next to us in the glow of the torches.
