A CLASS OF CREATIVE LEADERS
STEP INTO THE EMBA CLASSROOM
Our Executive MBA participants don’t come from a specific mold. They are a unique group of professionals from over 60 countries and a wide variety of fields brought together by a passion to develop as leaders. Bringing diverse experiences to the table, they challenge each other to unlock industry-changing potential and engage with business challenges in a whole new way.
STEP INTO THE EMBA CLASSROOM
Our Executive MBA participants don’t come from a specific mold. They are a unique group of professionals from over 60 countries and a wide variety of fields brought together by a passion to develop as leaders. Bringing diverse experiences to the table, they challenge each other to unlock industry-changing potential and engage with business challenges in a whole new way.
THIS IS WHAT BERLINERS LOOK LIKE
THIS IS WHAT BERLINERS LOOK LIKE
Industries
Position
Industries
Position
Countries
Gender & Experience
Countries
Gender & Experience
MEET OUR PARTICIPANTS & ALUMNI
A Growing Community of Creative Leaders
At the Berlin School, we’re committed to celebrating business creativity by sharing knowledge and connecting creative business leaders around the globe. We have hosted participants from over 60 countries and from a wide range of professions, brought together by their drive to take transformational steps in their careers, businesses and industries. We enable these steps through our range of programs, our curriculum taught by academic and industry experts, and our online campus – which also serves as a content platform – the Home of Creative Business Leadership.
Our participants, with their diverse experiences, skills, and backgrounds, make up the heart of our growing global community. To us, community means creating a safe and immersive environment in which to learn, take risks, connect with others, and experiment. It is the living laboratory in which Creative Business Leadership can thrive and succeed.
MEET OUR PARTICIPANTS & ALUMNI
A Growing Community of Creative Leaders
At the Berlin School, we’re committed to celebrating business creativity by sharing knowledge and connecting creative business leaders around the globe. We have hosted participants from over 60 countries and from a wide range of professions, brought together by their drive to take transformational steps in their careers, businesses and industries. We enable these steps through our range of programs, our curriculum taught by academic and industry experts, and our online campus – which also serves as a content platform – the Home of Creative Business Leadership.
Our participants, with their diverse experiences, skills, and backgrounds, make up the heart of our growing global community. To us, community means creating a safe and immersive environment in which to learn, take risks, connect with others, and experiment. It is the living laboratory in which Creative Business Leadership can thrive and succeed.
MATTHEW WAKEMAN
Creative Director
MATTHEW WAKEMAN
Creative Director
Eleven Inc.
Matthew Wakeman is a Creative at Eleven, Inc. He is also an Instructor at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he instructs and inspires young students in the fundamentals of graphic design.
Preceding this role, Matthew was Senior Designer and Art Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC in San Francisco, where his responsibilities included managing client expectations, developing brand strategy across diverse platforms and geographies, design & art direction, concept and design creation for thought leadership and major campaign initiatives.
Prior to this, Matthew was a designer at Turner & Associates (San Franscico, 2005-2006) and Beth Kepler Studio (Oakland, 2004-2005). He has also won numerous awards for his design work.
JENNIFER HOFF
Journalist
JENNIFER HOFF
Journalist
Self Employed
Jenny is modern-day multi-media journalist, editor and story-teller. From in-depth television reports to radio features and interactive online stories, Jenny is experiencing firsthand the convergence of media and its effect on the industry. Amongst her journalistic persuits, she was worked as Managing Editor of Video ar Bankrate Inc, Personal Finance Reporter at CreditCards.com, and reporter for Deutsche Welle in Berlin, Germany.
Before moving to Germany, Jenny worked as a political reporter and anchor for the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas. Besides covering all the news coming out of the Texas legislature, her work brought her from the war in Afghanistan to the battles in Washington D.C and beyond. At the forefront of several national stories, she also gave dozens of live reports for CNN and MSNBC.
MARCOS MEDEIROS
CCO
MARCOS MEDEIROS
CCO
As the Creative Director of a three-time Agency of the Year award winner at Cannes, Marcos leads a highly talented and ambitious team of creatives at AlmapBBDO. He has won numerous awards, including a Grand Prix Press – Art Director, Grand Prix Cyber – Creative Director, 25 Cannes Lions, 8 Clios, 5 One Show Pencils, and 2 Yellow Pencils D&AD, among many others.
Before joining AlmapBBDO, Marcos served as Art Director at several agencies, including Casablanca Propaganda, DNA Propoganda, FCB Brazil, DM9DDB Brazil.
With longstanding support of the Berlin School from his agency’s legendary president Marcello Serpa, Marcos is eager to join the agency’s CCO Luiz Sanchez and his colleague André Kassu as a member of the Berlin School community. “I believe that there is much to be done and a lot to happen. I know that Berlin School will contribute to a more precise notion of what creative leadership means and will provide me with more tools to do my job more efficiently.”
RAMZI MOUTRAN
Creative Director
RAMZI MOUTRAN
Creative Director
Ramzi is Executive Creative Director at MEMAC Ogilvy in Dubai. His agency has received acclaim at various awards ceremonies, including Agency of the Year at Lynx – (the Middle East’s top awards show) as well as Effective Agency of the Year. On a global level, MEMAC Ogilvy has also won in Cannes as well as all the big international shows. Enough so that Memac Ogilvy Dubai is not Ranked in the top 15 of all Ogilvy Offices World Wide.
Ramzi considers himself born in the creative department. Memac Ogilvy has been his “playground” since he was eight years old, where he could be found drawing and painting with an airbrush. However, post-education, he went on to another creative environment to hone his skills, the renowned Red and Yellow School of Logic & Magic in Capetown. After honing his creative skills, he worked at Ogilvy One in London and then found his way back to MEMAC Ogilvy in Dubai where he started as an Art Director before becoming Creative Director. Ramzi received his degree in Advertising Design from Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon.
He himself has worked on many local and global brands such as AMEX, VW, GSK, Fanta, Sprite, Coke Zero, Dove, Dove Men, Siemens and The Economist to name a few. Having moved from a mainly creative role to a leadership role in his agency, Ramzi came’s to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership to learn how to master his new position and keep others on his team motivated to be the best. “Before you become a Creative Director, the focus of your job is ideas, ideas, ideas,” he said. “Then, once you become a CD, there is so much more to do. You have to manage budgets, create timelines, as well as hiring people and keep them motivated. I feel I have done a good job, but I want to do an amazing job – for my office, for the brands and for the people who report to me.”
IOANA MANOIU
Manager
IOANA MANOIU
Manager
Partner
Ioana Manoiu is Managing Partner at GMP PR (from 2005 to present). Within one year after its creation, this agency was named “Romanian PR Agency of the Year” and in just three years has become a top player in the Romanian PR Market. The client portfolio includes more than 30 local and international brands, including: Unilever, Toyota, Pepsi, Ericsson and Lufthansa. Manoiu and her agency have won numerous awards in recognition of their work at GMP PR.
Preceding her appointment at GMP PR, Manoiu held the position of PR Director at Graffiti BBDO Bucharest and prior to this worked as a Journalist for Libertatea, Nine O’Clock.
ANU NIEMONEN
Senior Creative
ANU NIEMONEN
Senior Creative
Anu is one of the most awarded creatives in Finland. Her passion is to create integrated campaigns which challenges the conventional setup and includes innovative solutions and ideas that generate earned media for increased value for the client. Anu is a hard-working woman with a strong Can do –attitude. Anu’s work has been awarded in all the major award shows around the world.
She is a frequent jury member – her jury duties include for example Cannes Lions, Clio Awards and ADC Awards. Anu is a partner at hasan & partners, an established creative powerhouse in the Nordics and one of the top 20 Leading independent agencies in the world.
LEA STANKOVIC
Executive Director
LEA STANKOVIC
Executive Director
Communis DDB
At Communis DDB, Lea devises creative and digital strategies for clients such as Amstel, Heineken, Alpha Bank and Aqua Viva. Growing up, she spent her weekends at her father’s advertising agency where she gained unique insight and learned the ropes. She chose the Berlin School of Creative Leadership so she could help move the digital age of Advertising further in Serbia and bring innovation to the cross-cultural collaboration in the region.
“At the moment, change management is something which is done on ad hoc basis, without any methodical or strategic thinking behind it,” she said. “Modules connected to the business side of the creative industry will help me comprehend and hopefully one day achieve that ever so fragile balance where a happy team creates excellent work which in turn makes the company financially successful.”
Before working for Communis DDB, Lea worked as a financial analyst for British American Tobacco in Moscow, Russia. There she was responsible for collecting and consolidating financial information from eighteen markets and she had a strong role in the creation of the annual budget for the East European Region. Other work stints include Islamic banking consultancy and internal marketing research for Fiat.
Lea received her B.A. in History at University College London and a Masters in European Business at ESCP-EAP European School of Management.
JONAS KLABIN
Director/Cultural Producer
JONAS KLABIN
Director/Cultural Producer
Oz.
Graduated B.A. (in Comparative Literature, European Cultural Studies, Art History, and Film Studies) from Brandeis University, and M.A. (in Spanish and Portuguese Language, Literature, and Culture) from Tulane University, Jonas is a cultural producer, owner and director of Oz. – a production company founded 2008 in Rio de Janeiro. Oz. is responsible for developing, fundraising, managing and producing projects in film, theatre, dance, music, and visual arts, as well as consultants for artists and producers. Jonas also writes and directs for the stage. Multilingual, multicultural, with critical and public acclaim, including award nominations and wins for past productions.
JOÃO GABRIEL FERNANDES
Vice-President, Strategic Planning
JOÃO GABRIEL FERNANDES
Vice-President, Strategic Planning
Almap BBDO
João is an experienced and awarded communications professional, with a demonstrated history of working as strategist in the Brazilian advertising industry.
João is passionate about how communications generate value for companies, people and society and ways of measuring it. Rising in the ranks in Advertising and Publicity, João holds a VP position at the 2017’s most awarded advertising agencies in the world.
PROF. NIKOLAUS HAFERMAAS
Executive Director
PROF. NIKOLAUS HAFERMAAS
Executive Director
ArtCenter College of Design
Prof. Nikolaus (Nik) Hafermaas is an international award-winning artist, designer and educational leader who returns to TRIAD Berlin as Creative Director in June 2018 in order to focus on the further international development of two important growth areas: mediatecture and new digital experiences.
Nik had initially joined TRIAD Berlin shortly after its formation in 1995, soon becoming Chief Creative Officer and principal partner. During his tenure, he helped create the inaugural TRIAD exhibition project “The Dream of Vision” at Gasometer Oberhausen, pavilions for the World Expo2000 and for the Swiss Expo02, and many other key projects.
Prior to this, Nik served as Dean and Department Chair for graduate and undergraduate Graphic Design at the world-renowned ArtCenter College of Design. He will continue his affiliation with ArtCenter in his role as Executive Director of the school’s Berlin satellite program ArtCenter Berlin, where he fosters future-forward global collaborations and transdisciplinary programs based in Berlin. While in Los Angeles, Nik founded Ueberall International, an artist platform which conceived and produced mediatecture installations converging digital media and spatial experiences.
A former AIGA national board member, he is a regularly featured speaker at design conferences across the globe, such as the IFA+ Summit in Berlin, the VOR Summit in Mexico City and the Create Change forum in Beijing. His work has been recognized with international design awards from AIGA, One Club ADC, The Industrial Designers Society of America, IDA Design Awards and most recently the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) and is regularly featured in publications and exhibitions.
Nik graduated from the University of the Arts in Berlin, where he studied visual communication and architecture, later completing the Executive MBA in Creative Leadership at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership/Steinbeis University.
ULI REESE
Founder
ULI REESE
Founder
iV2
A co-founder of iV2, a company that specializes in strategic audio branding, Uli Reese brings with him a wealth of experience in the worlds of film scoring, sound design, commercial music, record production, songwriting and academia. He co-founded iV2 in 2008 as a place where he could realize his lifelong passion: seeing people moved by the power of sound. He has worked with major brands such as Coca Cola, Nestea, Ritter Sport, Commerzbank, Neu.de, Cremissimo, Arla Foods, Mercedes Benz, Telekom Italia, BMW, Weightwatchers, Deutsche Bahn, Castello, Credit Suisse, Ikea, Dallmeyer, Porsche and several others. His leadership has won him many awards from festivals like Eurobest, New York Festivals, Effie Awards, Telly Awards and Communicator Awards.
Representative of an all-around creative, Uli first worked on scores for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Walt Disney Company as a freelance composer and orchestrator on Disney’s Goof Troop television series. He then moved back to Germany and formed his own commercial music company, working with brands such as Nike, Reebok, Coca-Cola and Sony. Deciding to take on a new challenge, he turned his creative focus to songwriting, eventually securing a publishing deal with Peermusic and moving to the music capital of the world – Nashville, Tennessee. There, he with the founder of iV and together they built a vision for a new kind of company that would merge Nashville’s creative community of composers, artists, musicians, vocalists and engineers with innovative audio branding strategies. iV2 was launched in Frankfurt in 2008.
Uli received his undergraduate degree from the Grove School of Music in California.
MICHAEL DWAN
Department Head
MICHAEL DWAN
Department Head
Amazon
Michael is Head of Customer Solutions at Amazon. Prior to this he was Lead Strategist at Generator and also Senior Director, Global Creative Solutions for Microsoft Digital Advertising. There he devised a strategy and led the execution for the consolidation of creative teams within Microsoft Europe that facilitated a more effective force, with enhanced expertise and ease of market engagement resulting in major wins and industry recognition.
Prior to his current position, Michael held creative lead and product management positions within Microsoft Consumer and Online divisions in Seattle. He has also worked in product planning for DEC (Hewlett Packard) and brand management at Gillette. Michael holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from University of Limerick, Ireland, a Graduateship from the Marketing Institute Ireland and a Certificate in Photography from University of Washington, USA.
As a creative within the interactive media arm of a global technology corporation, Michael is eager to come to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership to learn the strategic approach to creative leadership and be a key contributor to his company’s future success in this high stakes growth arena. “My interest in the program has undergone a lengthy gestation period. I’m motivated and ready to dive in – eager to learn from the faculty and my peer cohort. I hope to also bring a unique perspective that contributes to this fascinating internationalist learning adventure.”
MARÍLIA LOBO
Learning Strategy Consultant and Facilitator
MARÍLIA LOBO
Learning Strategy Consultant and Facilitator
Brazil
Marília has 15+ years of experience in the intersection of communication, education, business strategy and leadership. She holds a Bachelor in Public Relations, a Post Grad in Business Strategy and is an Executive MBA alumna from Class 18.
As a learning strategy consultant, instructional designer and facilitator, she has been working for a range of brands and educational institutions across the globe, curating, designing and delivering learning experiences —online, hybrid or in-person— to leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators. From ideation to implementation, including marketing and business development strategies, she consults leaders, corporations, and business schools on how to build and nurture strong and creative learning communities of life-long learners and high-performance teams (i.e. corporate university design, executive education workshops, seminars and experiential learning).
Marília has also served from 2017 to 2020 as the Director of Strategy and Learning Innovation at the Berlin School. During her mandate, she led a portfolio of breakthrough business growth opportunities in executive education and has decidedly contributed to sustain the curatorship of our global Executive MBA degree liaising with learners, academics, practitioners, partners, business school and international institutions, including the complete redesign of the program to a hybrid format in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A native of Brazil, based in Berlin, Marília believes in a vision that combines the essence of communication and education to build human capacity through lifelong learning, self-leadership, collaboration, creativity and strategic planning thus fostering human and organizational development.
Before moving to Germany, she founded and led an award-winning communication, M&A and crisis management consultancy. Her team has provided personalized projects in internal and corporate communication, change management, mergers & acquisitions, corporate culture and executive learning to an extensive range of customers, including the largest brands across all verticals, such as Avon, Braskem, CNN, Carrefour, Duke Energy, Dupont, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Mercedes-Benz, Pfizer, Unilever and Volkswagen, among others.
Parallel to her working experience within the creative industry for several years, Marília has always been involved with educational initiatives as faculty member, visiting professor, keynote speaker and is a writer at heart.
ANTONIA HARNACK
Architect and Designer
ANTONIA HARNACK
Architect and Designer
Independent
Antonia Harnack is an independent Architect and Designer based in Berlin, Germany. With over a decade of architectural experience, Antonia has excelled across a number of disciplines from store design, creative corporate development, publicity, film and stage design, and more.
Antonia’s educational and professional career has been international throughout. She went to High School in the south of England to complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma, before studying Architecture at Universität der Künste in Berlin and Politecnico di Milano.
As Antonia begins a new venture, founding her own creative business, she hopes that her experience at the Berlin School will provide a solid, practical foundation in commercial business, leadership, and the structure and symbiosis of large organisations. She adds that “at the same time I would like to simply enjoy to share creative thoughts with an interesting group of creative minds!”
NIKKI DAVIS CRUMP
VP - Account Management Director
NIKKI DAVIS CRUMP
VP - Account Management Director
Burrel Communications
Nikki is an advertising and marketing professional with a twelve-year track record in brand building and consumer communications. Since 2007, she has been Vice President at the Burrell Communications Group in Chicago and within this role, is the Account Director for American Airlines.
Whilst at Burrell, she has also directed the accounts of Allstate Insurance, Ashley Stewart, Nestle Coffee-mate, Verizon, Coca-Cola and numerous Procter & Gamble brands. In 2007, Nikki and her team were awarded the ANA Advertiser of the year award in recognition of their work on the Verizon “Realize” Campaign.
HELENA FURIATI SROULEVICH
Producer
HELENA FURIATI SROULEVICH
Producer
Producer
Helena is passionate about young leadership, global and social issues, cultural entertainment, sustainability, volleyball and cooking. She is multi-lingual and speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English and has knowledge of French and Dutch. She has extensive professional experience in Project and Team Management and Coaching, and has dealt with the public and private sectors in different countries including the Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, India, Spain and USA). She strives to get involved, be engaged and develop projects which can make a positive impact and contribute to the global sustainable development.
LARS SAMUELSEN
Chief Strategy Officer Head of Digital
LARS SAMUELSEN
Chief Strategy Officer Head of Digital
Grey Group
Lars is Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Digital Grey Nordic at Grey Group.
He established the first communications planning department in the Nordics at MEC. In the following four years he grow the department to 10 people effectively becoming the largest communications planning entity in the Nordics.
In 2009 he was asked to join UncleGrey as Managing Director. In this role he helped the agency win several Cannes Lions, Eurobest gold and other prestigious awards. In 2010 UncleGrey was selected Creative Agency of the Year in Denmark.
In 2011 the agency was merged with Grey Copenhagen and he took on the role as Chief Strategic Officer as well as Head of Digital. In that role he has been part of teams that have won international recognition by winning both gold and silver Cannes Lions as well as D&AD Yellow Pencil and European Effie gold and silver. Furthermore the agency was named Digital Agency of the Year in Denmark in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
In 2012 he was asked to join the Grey EMEA team as Digital Strategic Director working across the region to establish a more digitally oriented network and helping to emphasize a creative and innovative use of technology as part of every aspect of our business.
In 2013 he completed his MBA thesis at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership with a focus on establishing more innovative and dynamic ways to work with creativity.
In 2014 the agency won both an IPA gold and an IPA special price for best multi-market campaign, making the work the single piece of work that was most highly evaluated by the IPA. Furthermore the year has two silver Cannes Lions and three Bronze all in digital and mobile categories. In the same year he took on the role as Grey EMEA Strategy Lead.
ROBERTA DI PACE
General Manager
ROBERTA DI PACE
General Manager
Roberta’s and her partners’ creation, EYE4DESIGN offers cultural information, products and services in the areas of architecture, design, art, decoration and lifestyle. Building a base of loyal users, Roberta plans to further enhance EYE4DESIGN by turning it into an e-commerce site that connects specific brands to the designs that people want and offer a full user experience.
Before started EYE4DESIGN, Roberta was a Partner and Director for PAC Business Marketing Consulting, as well as served as a Partner and Business Development Director for Famiglia. She also launched and implemented Fallon Worldwide in Brazil as a hub to operate in all of Latin America and served as its Managing Partner and CEO. In addition, she has served in leadership positions in several other agencies and communications companies. Roberta received her Bachelor in Law at the University of São Paulo and her Master of Arts in Educational Administration at the University of Santa Clara, California.
With a history of managing brand-building efforts and communication platforms, Roberta believes an EMBA from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership will give her the extra knowledge she needs to turn her information site into a profitable business. ‘As the first phase is reaching its maturity, our next step will be to implement commercial propositions and in order to do that we will need to upscale our professional and corporative skills in the digital business environment.’
JOÃO DIAS
Head of Strategy
JOÃO DIAS
Head of Strategy
Creation
J. Dias is a strategist driven by purpose. Born and raised on Europe’s west coast, he is constantly designing bold strategies for his clients, regardless of their size, industry or budget. He believes that an idea has the power to move a billion men.
Middle East, Africa and Oceania were important experiences in his professional career, but it is in Portugal where he spends most of his time shaping new concepts.
INKEN ROHWEDER
Creative Director
INKEN ROHWEDER
Creative Director
Inken Rohweder is well versed in the process of merging creativity and business applications. She leads a network of professionals providing a variety of creative services. Her efforts have resulted in more than one hundred national and international awards. She also works as an art and creative director for agencies on a freelance basis.
Inken divides her time between Zurich, Switzerland and Hamburg, Germany with her husband and two children while also finding time to travel to more exotic destinations. To this extent, she supports a local hospital in Cambodia through her Switzerland based charity operation. Inken is passionate about new collaborations that promote social and environmental sustainability.
ARIE FABIAN
Partner
ARIE FABIAN
Partner
Paragon Capital Partners
Arie Fabian’s passion for people, entrepreneurship and brands has led him on an exciting journey of creative commerce. To start, Arie transformed Fabiani, the fashion retailer founded by his father in 1978, from that of a multi-brand retailer into the most desired leading luxury menswear brand in South Africa – through years of innovation, experimentation, failure, success and hard work. As Managing Director of Fabiani, he was the first to import the premium denim brand, G-Star RAW into South Africa.
In 2011, Arie sold Fabiani, along with the G-Star RAW mono-brand, to TFG (The Foschini Group). Through his keen insight and own ideology: “Unlocking Value Brands”, Arie was able to grow the Fabiani brand and TFG footprint even further as Brand Director. Since 2017, Arie founded and became partner at Paragon Capital Partners, a creative consultancy for entrepreneurs and brands.
EMILY KORTLANG
Manager
EMILY KORTLANG
Manager
Apple
Emily’s first job was driving a Red Bull car with a can on the back and from here she fell in love with the world of marketing and decided to finish her Sports Science degree and add a Masters in Marketing and Management. Upon completion, she held a range of roles at Red Bull culminating in leading the launch of Red Bull Cola. Red Bull had enjoyed phenomenal success, but this was an all-together different battleground, competing with the world’s most well known brand.
In 2010 Emily left Red Bull and decided that after a decade in working in fizzy, sugary drinks, she needed to broaden her experience out of FMCG. She jumped agency side to understand how to market cars, mobile phones and chocolate. The next place she’d call home was Fallon, a small but globally renowned creative advertising agency, responsible for some of the biggest campaigns of the decade including, Sony Balls, Sony Paint and the Cadburys Gorilla. Here Emily worked as an Account Director for Orange, The Tate and Eurostar.
Emily’s history with youth, her appetite for cool brands and her experience both agency and client side prepared her well for her new and current at Beats by Dr Dre. As employee number one she had to build the team from the ground up, while simultaneously getting to grips with the complexities of the business and the shifting reality of the industry. As the UK country lead for Beats by Dr Dre, Emily works in the European Marketing team at Apple HQ in London. Emily’s responsibilities are truly through-the-line managing everything that touches the consumer from events, to media. Her challenge is to take an all-American brand and translate it for a British consumer whilst still retaining its strong heritage.
ARMIN WOLF
Journalist
ARMIN WOLF
Journalist
ORF Television
Dr. Armin Wolf is Deputy Editor-in-Chief at ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting Corp.) in Vienna and Senior Anchor of it’s nightly news show “ZiB2”.
Wolf was named Austria’s most popular television anchor in 2006, 2007 and 2012, Journalist of the Year in 2004, and Onliner of the Year in 2012 (for combining his TV work with social media). He began his career at ORF as Foreign Affairs Correspondent and went on to become U.S. Correspondent for TV and radio in the ORF Washington Bureau. Wolf has earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in political science and lectures at various universities
FERNANDO LOBO
Department Head
FERNANDO LOBO
Department Head
Fernando is an entertainment and music business executive with a wide and diverse professional background in Marketing, having held several positions in the field of Telecommunications and companies such as TIM and Fininvest. He has extensive experience in negotiating and signing artists, career development and royalty management.
Fernando holds a BA in Marketing from UniverCidade and an MBA from IBMEC Business School, both in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
AIDIS DALIKAS
Co-Founder and Chief Growth Manager
AIDIS DALIKAS
Co-Founder and Chief Growth Manager
Co-Founder and Chief Growth Manager
Aidis Dalikas is Co-Founder and Chief Growth Manager of Socialus Marketingas, a brand consultancy in Lithuania helping local and international market leaders to successfully communicate with their customers in social media, increase customer loyalty and acquire new leads through effective on-and-offline marketing. One of the most ambitious full-service agencies in the Baltics, Socialus Marketingas started as a social media boutique and developed into a powerhouse of creative, media and production professionals.
Before joining Socialus Marketingas, Aidis developed his career as Head of Marketing at Dokeda UAB and Project Manager at Advision, and before this, a number of years working in Sales and Product Management. Aidis received his BS in Economics and Management at École Supérieure de Commerce Et de Management, a Bachelor of Management at Kaunas University of Technology and studied Law at Mykolo Romerio Universitetas.
Aidis began his Berlin School journey in 2018 as a participant on the Cannes Creative Leaders Programme. Entering the Executive MBA in Creative Leadership, Aidis looks forward to building his knowledge and growth “amongst people of similar backgrounds, but very different markets and cultures” will benefit his “career and personal growth curve tremendously.”
ALEKSEJ SCHÖN
CEO President
ALEKSEJ SCHÖN
CEO President
Circus of Now Productions
Aleksej’s company, Circus of Now Productions, is a show production visionary think-tank, helping clients in the cinematic, music, and advertising industries conceptualize and stage productions, exhibitions, and various events. Aleksej’s main role consists of Conception, art direction and realisation – from the idea via the technological experiment to on site-operating, especially visual media and stage design. He leads creative groups of up to 50 people – conceptualising and implementing hundreds of complex projects in collaboration with agencies and direct customers, authorities and institutions. He has worked with major corporations, international festivals, global NGO’s and won dozens of awards, including 2 silver medals the New York Festivals, 2 Globe Gold awards at the World Media Festival.
With more than 15 years in the event planning and design industry, Aleksej has worked on major productions with multi-million euro budgets around the world. One of his recent projects was stage design and media production for the highly successful YMA show at Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin, with a budget of more than 8 million euro. He has also worked on projects with dozens of major global companies. Aleksej received his Bachelors in Pyschology, Philosophy, and Politics at Freie Universität Berlin.
Aleksej comes to the Berlin School to develop business skills that will allow him to work within any corporation and business as he further develops his company. “My career has been marked by strong achievements and notable successes, but these partly reflect serendipity, which does not provide a systematic basis for a sustainable career in the creative industries. Therefore, I have to acquire stable knowledge structures through a recognized formal qualification like the EMBA in Creative Leadership, and in the future not rely only on experience-based principles of decision-making.”
GHEORGHE BARAIAN
CEO
GHEORGHE BARAIAN
CEO
Impresion Graphics
A top level graduate of Law University, Geo decided that real life advertising is more provocative than justice and made a spectacular loop through the communication industry.
A serious believer of the theory “hate something, change something, make something better”, Geo discovered the flaws in the market and strove to improve the quality of printing for outdoor displays. To make a difference, he brought in Romania Hecht and established a new way to think about the production discipline. In 2004 his company became part of the Impression Group, one of the biggest European companies specialized in high level outdoor production.
For 2 years Geo Baraian has been involved in educational tutoring projects by supporting the presence of the Romanian Young Lions teams at Cannes Lions Festival. Though a pacifist on the advertising battle field, Geo enjoys a hunting from time to time. He appreciates evening quality time with his family after a demanding day and has an appraisers eye for contemporary art.
ROY COHEN
Creative Director
ROY COHEN
Creative Director
Blue Hive\WPP
Roy is a Digital Creative Director who specialises in the automotive industry. He launched his advertising career in Israel and has worked for brands throughout Europe: Hyundai in Tel Aviv, Mercedes-Benz and BMW in Hamburg and Ford in the UK. His digital knowledge helps to influence his clients and agency to create more integrated work. Roy has won many creative awards throughout his career and served as a jury at top advertising award shows globally.
GUSTAVO PIRES GARCIA VIEIRA
Head of Teams and Projects
GUSTAVO PIRES GARCIA VIEIRA
Head of Teams and Projects
Gustavo has an academic degree in Business and Administration and is a specialist in service
design. Brazilian, lives in São Paulo since 2009 and works as Head of Team and Projects in an
Innovation and Service Design consultancy. He is enthusiastic about organizational culture, people
and self-development and is certified by Nielsen Norman Group, Disney Institute, University of
Arts London and hold a postgraduate certification in Strategic Design and Innovation.
ILINA SCOTT
Creative Strategist
ILINA SCOTT
Creative Strategist
Ilina is a Soviet-born, US-raised creative strategist based in Amsterdam since 2009.
Ilina has experience working across both client & agency sides, for both global and niche brands. She is driven by curiosity about culture, the human condition, and how technology can be used to grow brands sustainably and make people’s lives better.
THIAGO ARTIMONTE
Director
THIAGO ARTIMONTE
Director
Deiro Moving Ideas
Thiago has more than 10 years of experience in the area of film production, and has worked on commercials, documentaries, music videos, video art, and short films as well as political campaigns. He has directed more than 200 films and worked with advertising agencies such as Heads, JWT and Master. In 2006, he won the “Professional of the Year” Award with the commercial “Pool” (JWT).
Thiago graduated from the Vancouver Film School with a Diploma in Film Production and went on to complete a Filmmaking Program at the New York Film Academy in Oxford. He also studied History of Photography, Italian Cinema, Early Renaissance and Modern Art at the Studio Art Center International in Florence, as well as Business Administration at the Positivo University in Brazil.
Thiago believes that without team motivation one can never have a great movie and he hopes the EMBA would help him become a better creative leader. “In the last ten years of my professional life I have had a number of challenges related to leadership. Experience showed me the importance of knowing how to lead a team towards a common goal. A director works with 30 to 50 people in the making of a film. It’s his job to keep this team together, tireless and focused on the same goal. This is not an easy task but it’s a task I want to accomplish better and better.”
PEPE AGUILAR
CCO
PEPE AGUILAR
CCO
Grey Wing NY
Pepe is a seasoned creative with extensive international experience. He has built and consolidated creative teams for Grey since 2003 across Latin America and the US. He believes in an inclusive creative culture, where everyone shares the same creative and business objectives.
During his time in Grey Mexico the agency won 11 Cannes Lions and 15 Effie Awards, rising to first in the county’s ranking.
Since his arrival to Grey Wing, the agency has won its first 3 Cannes Lions, and stands 3rd in the Festival’s ranking of multicultural agencies in the US.
PANCHO GONZÁLEZ
CCO & Chief Creative Officer
PANCHO GONZÁLEZ
CCO & Chief Creative Officer
Inbrax Chile
Pancho started his own company with the vision of innovating, training globally minded professionals, adopting a business perspective toward advertising and, most importantly, providing a great place to work. Years ago, he and his partner started Inbrax Chile in a small office with an intern as Art Director. Three years later, that intern became Creative Director and the business employed 25 people, serving major clients in a corporate office. Pancho has received numerous awards throughout his career, was ranked as one of the global top ten creative directors for the Australian publication bestadsontv (2009, 2010 & 2011) and was placed in the top 3 of copywriters of Chile in Luerzer’s Archive (2012).
Pancho has more than eighteen years in the advertising industry, working as a Creative Director for agencies in Chile, such as Ogilvy & Mather, FCB, Ammirati Puris Lintas, Y&R Network, BBDO, and RNL. He has been jury at major advertising festivals including Cannes and more than 30 festivals local and worldwide.
“My insatiable professional curiosity and drive to learn about the latest in advertising pushes me to study with the world’s best. I think that this program sets the global standard and the Berlin School’s success stories demonstrate that.”
BENJAMIN ERBEN
Director
BENJAMIN ERBEN
Director
Iconic Consulting Ltd.
As Founder and Director of Iconic Consulting Ltd. in London, Benjamin Erben has run his own agency for 10 years. With more than 20 years in the creative businesses, he has progressed from design to branding, from visual to content.
Before starting Iconic Consulting, Benjamin Erben worked as a Brand Strategist for Deepend, as a Creative Director for Grey Matter Williams & Phoa, as well as a Senior Designer for Pentagram. He lives between both London and Berlin and received his degree in Communication Design in Berlin.
Erben came to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership not only to gain valuable skills to grow his business, but also to learn how to create change. “It seems to be a natural progression from being a designer to becoming a brand strategist to becoming more of a business minded person in order to have greater impact.”
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DONNA DIMAYUGA
Creative Director
DONNA DIMAYUGA
Creative Director
Ogilvy & Mather Philippines
Donna is a Creative Director who is known for her fire and passion. She is a winner of several local and international awards including Cannes Lions, Adfest, Spikes, One Show, LIA, Epica, Adstars, Boomerang, Kidlat, which lead her to become one of Philippines’ youngest Creative Directors. She always aims to create campaigns with lasting effects – whether to start a movement, influence pop culture, tell a memorable story, or a stuck-in-your-head song.
CRISTAL NITZSCHE
Director
CRISTAL NITZSCHE
Director
Cristal is a Director from Brazil, running a small production company and developing individual projects. She has a BA in Communications from the American University of Rome and has also studied directing, acting and photography at Studio Dominique di Fazio in Italy and Germany, as well as filmmaking at the New York Film Academy in London. She also took courses in documentary filmmaking, as well as art history, fine art, music theory and creative writing.
PIERO POLI
Co-founder
PIERO POLI
Co-founder
Stealth
Piero Poli is a serial entrepreneur having co-founded two companies since 2016. The first was Alonso//Poli a company that delivered digital transformation programs to major global clients in big pharma, aviation and consumer brands. His most recent venture is Stealth, a software company that he co-founded in April 2020.
Prior to these ventures, he was General Manager at Havas Group, where he lead the Havas digital team in the Middle East. Before becoming General Manager, Poli was VP of Strategy and New Business at Havas Digital. Other previous positions include VP Business Development and Strategy at Linqia, Director of Digital Marketing – EMEA at Warner Music International and Managing Director at Le Cool. He received his Bachelors in Communications, Economics, Management and Marketing at Monash University, as well as participated in the Executive Development Program at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Poli came to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership to further differentiate his team and his company in a competitive creative and digital environment. “Creative leadership is hard, but crucial. In a world of commoditization, look-alike products and me-too thinking, how can leaders in the creative industries orchestrate and bring seemingly disparate and ever-changing pieces together for a symphony and not just more noise?”
ILKA VOGTMANN
CEO & Founder
ILKA VOGTMANN
CEO & Founder
noA
Ilka is a creative leader who combines a creative heart for unique ideas and execution with global strategies in passion and perfection for big brands. After her studies in Graphic Design in Munich 1993, Ilka worked as a creative allrounder for small creative agencies like Wüschner Rohwer Albrecht as well as for big international networks like TBWA for many years. She has been in charge as Chief Creative Officer of Wächter & Wächter Worldwide Partners for more than 7 years, after being many years Creative Director at SERVICEPLAN.
She graduated in 2016 with an Executive MBA degree in Creative Leadership (Berlin School of Creative Leadership, Steinbeis University), as well as having received the Michael Conrad Outstanding Thesis Award 2016. She is on the graduation juryboard of the design academy U5 in Munich, was graduates supervisor for the University of Rosenheim and the first recipient of the Worldwide Partners, Inc. scholarship for the Berlin School of Creative Leadership EMBA program as well as jury board member of different international award shows. Ilka has won numerous awards and has been a finalist for her work at several industry shows including: Art Director’s Club, BoB, Cannes, Clio, DDC, Effie, Epica, Eurobest, GWA Profi Award, New York Festivals, One Show, Ramses and among several others.
Some of her clients, past and present, include: Apple, BMW, Dannemann, Disney, IVECO Magirus, KIKKOMAN, the City of Munich, LEGO, STABILO, Siemens, Telefonica, O2, Saudia Arabian Airline, Rothmans, as well as numerous others.
At present she is founding noA** – the emotional creagency, as well as offering a Toolkit Training for Creative Leaders how to avoid toxic culture. She is currently working on her first book “BUTTERFLIES OF HELL” – The story about increase of power versus decrease of empathy – especially among “MAD MEN” ( & “MAD WOMEN).
CAROLINA FRAGA LESLIE
Projects Director
CAROLINA FRAGA LESLIE
Projects Director
Projects Director
Carolina is a professional in the user experience design field. Her expertise is in understanding the relationship between people, technology and business needs in order to design interesting and useful digital products and services.
In 2010 she founded Saiba+, a user experience consultancy. She plays an important role in the UX community, having created the first Brazilian conference dedicated to Information Architecture (EBAI) and hosting the annual World Information Architecture Day in Brazil.
LUIZ HENRIQUE MANTOVANI DA COSTA
Corporate Controller
LUIZ HENRIQUE MANTOVANI DA COSTA
Corporate Controller
Luiz is a senior finance professional with an engineering degree. He is born in a small town in Brazil’s countryside and he had lived in several cities and regions, stablishing as “home” São Paulo capital. Luiz is a non-conventional finance leader, passionate not only for numbers but mainly for people. He has been working for American and Chinese companies always inside multi-cultural environments. He has a strategic regional position in one of the largest Home Appliances manufacturer in the world.
RIMANTAS STANEVICIUS
Creative Director
RIMANTAS STANEVICIUS
Creative Director
Milk
Having a background in psychology and communication science Rimantas started his advertising career in Leo Burnett, where he learned not only the basic skills, but also assimilated certain values reflected in Leo’s philosophy of Humankind. It helped him to grow, but not to become cynical of the industry. Throughout the years he has worked above, bellow and trough the line on all sorts of accounts. From chewing gum to banks. According to Rimantas this is one of the biggest perks of being a creative in a small agency in a small market. Since 2007 he has been working as a copywriter and a creative director at an independent agency Milk, where he is perfecting the classical method of trial and error. Hopefully not all of it is error.
MALTE SUDENDORF
Founder Partner
MALTE SUDENDORF
Founder Partner
KauneSudendorf
As Managing Partner of his own company, Malte manages a workforce of 30 people who engage in co-creativity through creative branding (agency), creative content (publishing), and creative dialogue (gallery). The company develops digital solutions and campaigns, publishes and international fashion magazine and run a gallery for contemporary photography. He concentrates on leadership as a systems coach and team developer, and also takes these skills outside his own company and acts as a consultant for other organizations in how to achieve mutually respectful, solution-oriented collaboration.
Before starting his own organization, Malte previously worked for Euro RSCG, BBDO, DDB and Scholz & Friends Berlin, focussing on integrated campaign development and digital strategy. His clients have included companies such as Volkswagen, Audi, Henkel, Deutsche Post, Telekom, UPS and TNT Express.
On his choice to come to the Berlin School, Malte said “My experience within my own company has shown me that I have valuable business instincts. Nevertheless, I have the strong feeling that these skills require the refinement and development that the Executive MBA in Creative Leadership can provide, I am sure that this decision will propel me to new, inspiring perspectives.”
CHRISTIAN KHOURY
Creative Director
CHRISTIAN KHOURY
Creative Director
ECD
Christian is the Executive Creative Director at HorizonFCB.
Prior to this Christian has been the Executive Creative Director at Drive Dentsu since 2011. His creative assignments included brands such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Bridgestone, and Sharp. One of the highlights of his work at Drive Dentsu was regionally launching Toyota’s long awaited coupe, the Toyota 86, with a mobile and social network based gaming platform, supported by a dedicated website. Since the launch in June 2012, Toyota 86 AR – an Augmented Reality game, managed over 160,000 downloads on App Store, and over 100,000 on Google Play.
Before joining Dentsu Drive, Christian held positions as Executive Creative Director at JWT Dubai and Creative Director at Leo Burnett Dubai. Prior to that, he held creative positions at Leo Burnett Cairo and Beirut. In addition to winning several Bronzes, Christian also won a Silver in Film Craft and an Integrated Bronze at the Dubai Lynx, respectively for the World Gold Council and Emirates Airline. He graduated with a Diplôme d’Études Supérieures in Advertising from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in Lebanon.
“I came to a point in my career where I wasn’t sure I had a clear purpose, or if I was inspiring the best creative work from the people I work with. I decided to apply to the Berlin School because it was the right time to set a new course to my professional life. I am a believer that only better creative means better business for the agency and its clients, and as a leader I want to turn this belief into everyday practice.”
BECHARA MOUZANNAR
ECD
BECHARA MOUZANNAR
ECD
Leo Burnett MENA
In January 2011, Bechara Mouzannar was named Exectuive Creative Director of Leo Burnett for the Middle East and North Africa, overlooking the creative product of eleven offices in ten countries. He has instilled a creative culture of “happy dissatisfaction” at Leo Burnett MENA – the ‘You’re only as good as your latest campaign’; – encouraging the creatives to always stay humble about their wins and to constantly be putting their best efforts onto their real work, on regular briefs.
Over the last few years, Bechara has substantially contributed to winning more than 275 international and regional prestigious awards: twenty Grands Prix and a big tally of Gold and Silver awards between Cannes Lions, Golden Drum, the Clio Awards, D&AD, The One Show, Cresta, New York Festivals, John Caples’, Epica, The Cup, Loerie, Dubai Lynx, MENA Cristal and Effie awards.
Bechara started his career at Publicis Conseil in Paris in 1984. He then worked as a film director for three years, shooting more than a hundred commercials, before joining, in the early 90s, Leo Burnett in Beirut as a Creative Director, where he first worked on local campaigns, putting his best efforts, with his teams, onto giving a humanly insightful and genuinely local new approach to Lebanese Advertising. As a result of this ongoing collective effort, Leo Burnett Beirut has constantly been across the years the most awarded Beirut-based agency in the world.
Bechara was also a member of several juries: the New York Festivals’ executive jury, the John Caples’ and the Cresta in New York, the Golden Drum, the Cristal and the LADC in Europe, and most importantly the Cannes Lions, where he was the first native from the Middle East to ever be invited as a juror.
In 2009, Bechara got an EMBA from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, with a new vision to innovate the channels of integrating an idea, and to better engage and entertain people with a brand.
ANDRIS RUBINS
Managing Director Partner
ANDRIS RUBINS
Managing Director Partner
DDB Lativa
Andris has worked in the marketing and advertising industry for the last 17 years and since 2005 he is Managing Director and Partner at DDB Latvia, where he leads a team of approximately 50 creatives.
DDB Latvia is among the top 3 agencies in the country, one of the most awarded at national Creativity and Effectiveness festivals, as well as internationally recognized at festivals such as Golden Drum, Golden Hammer and Creative Excellence Awards among others. DDB Latvia is also the first and only agency to win the Euro Effie Gold Award for the country in 2014.
Andris hopes the Berlin School can give him insight into the best approach to leadership. “I want to become a leader, a curator that gathers the best talent, unleashes their potential, and stimulates closer collaboration between strategy, creative and technology experts. I come from a relatively small country and it would make me very proud if an idea born in Latvia would resonate with the world. I can’t make it alone. But if I become a better visionary, motivator, collaborator and leader of my team, everything is possible.”
Andris graduated from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and obtained a Master’s Degree from Latvia University. After his studies, he became a Marketing Director in the food business and later worked as Media Director at Media Bridge Advertising before joining DDB Latvia in 2000.
He is a Member of the Board at the Latvian Art Director’s Club and Latvia’s Advertising Association. He also co-founded MAMMU, a fashion company cooperating with young Latvian mothers in need.
TOR ARNBJØRN
Department Head
TOR ARNBJØRN
Department Head
Department Head
Tor has worked in some capacity at DR since 1999. From producing international reports to eventually taking on leadership roles, he now acts as at Head of Radio, which makes him responsible for content and strategic planning for all of DR’s radio stations. DR, a public access network reaches 86 percent of the Danish population weekly and offers a variety of shows and news broadcasts to its listeners.
Before starting at DR as a freelance reporter, Tor worked as a reporter for various publications. Since 1999, he has steadily worked his way through the ranks at DR as a reporter, producer, sub-editor, head of certain programs and, currently, Head of Radio and Head of Content Development. He received degrees in Journalism as well as an MA in Human Rights and Social Change. In addition, he attended the Leadership Academy at the Poynter Institute in the United States as well as took courses in Change Management in Denmark.
Tor came to the Berlin School of Creative Leadership to better equip him to handle the necessary transition radio is having to make in an ever-changing media landscape. While he held leadership positions at DR for several years before taking on his current role, Tor believes creative leadership and international understanding will be the key components to leading a successful transition into the new reality for radio.
“I believe that the Executive MBA will broaden my horizon and provide me with a set of tools to move both myself and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation forward.”
CARLOS EL ASMAR
Executive Director
CARLOS EL ASMAR
Executive Director
NBCUniversal
Carlos was born and raised in Venezuela but moved to Miami when he was 18, then finally settled in New York City. He has experience working in shared-services departments, producing graphics, animations, promos and designs.
Carlos is co-owner of Motionographer.com – a leading source of content for creatives, sharing work from studios, freelancers and students. He also created the F5 festival, a cutting-edge symposium of designers, artists and thinkers from around the world.
SOVERO PEREIRA
Director
SOVERO PEREIRA
Director
Sóvero is a communications and marketing professional. He started his career as a TV producer in his hometown, Belo Horizonte. He found his passion for TV programming in 2001, when he moved to Rio de Janeiro and started working for one of the biggest media companies in Latin America.
At the international programming acquisitions department he was responsible for researching and licensing series, movies, sports, reality shows, documentaries and music shows for a variety of channels. Sóvero is multilingual and holds a strategic position managing movie channels that are the leading brands in Brazilian Pay TV.
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APPLY FOR OUR GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAM
There is no official application deadline. Applications to our Executive MBA in Creative Leadership are accepted on a rolling basis. However, participants are encouraged to apply early if they want to take advantage of any tuition fund opportunities available on each cycle.
STEP INTO THE EMBA CLASSROOM
Our Executive MBA participants don’t come from a specific mold. They are a unique group of professionals from over 60 countries and a wide variety of fields brought together by a passion to develop as leaders. Bringing diverse experiences to the table, they challenge each other to unlock industry-changing potential and engage with business challenges in a whole new way.