MK thought leaders 2018: Voting is over!
How the election of the finalists went
Candidates for the MK thought leader award could be submitted until the end of May 2018. In addition to the appropriate category (see below), a brief explanation of the project or achievement that qualifies the person as a thought leader was required, and a jury of marketing experts - for the first time all MK thought leaders from previous years! - selected three finalists per category. If you would like to get to know the candidates again, you can find their profiles below. Of course, we will report in detail on the winners in connection with the award ceremony on August 28.
Category client / customer side
Rolf Hiltl, Hiltl AG Rolf Hiltl runs the family business with a good eye for marketing and communication, but also attaches great importance to supporting people who, as he says, are not as lucky in life as he and many other people are. Always with his finger on the pulse, he steers his company through the tides and digital transformation, taking strict care to keep the haptic, namely vegetarian culinary, at the center. As an entrepreneur and client, Rolf Hiltl fits perfectly into the role of thought leader. Marc-André Heller, L'OréalMarc-André Heller has been Country Manager Switzerland at L'Oréal since the beginning of 2016. With its international portfolio of 34 different and complementary brands, the group generated sales of 25.8 billion euros in 2016. The Swiss branch in Geneva and the Beauty Academy in Zurich employ 420 people. In addition to an active role on the SWA board, Marc-André Heller is known as a thought leader for implementing successful guerrilla marketing campaigns for Generation Z and for being the first Swiss brandteer to rely on micro-influencers in social media. Marianne Wildi, Mortgage Bank LenzburgMarianne Wildi has been CEO of Hypothekarbank Lenzburg since 2010. According to finews.ch, this is the only bank in Switzerland that has actually implemented open banking. In February 2018, "Hypi", which has 216 employees in the Aargau region, launched the advertising platform for SMEs together with Bernerland Bank. Regiodeal.ch launched. It works via a smartphone app. SMEs can post their offers free of charge and users receive access to attractive offers. Regiodeal is a simple loyalty program for its SME and private customers that is completely digital and mobile.
Category Service Provider / Media / Implementer / Creation
Xiaoqun Clever, Ringier AG The computer scientist has been on the Executive Board of Ringier AG since 2016. As CDO and CTO, she combines data and technology fields. This is how Ringier managed to position itself at the forefront as a digital company within two years. With her team of engineers and data analysts, she has won a wide variety of prizes and awards on international platforms. She is a thought leader and women's rights activist to boot. Quote: "The digital age is the age of women because they are networked thinkers and not top down, they are fact-based, solution-oriented and not hierarchical thinkers." Bea Knecht, Zattoo Bea Knecht is co-founder and chairman of the board of the streaming platform Zattoo. Previously, she developed software products for banking, HR and data center automation. Previously, she was an associate partner at a strategy consulting firm. Bea Knecht holds a BA in Computer Science from the University of California (Berkeley) and an MBA from IMD in Lausanne. Patrick Warnking, GooglePatrick Warnking has been CEO of Google Switzerland since 2011. There, he is primarily responsible for the expansion of the national market and the key account business, having already been employed in a management position at Google Germany since 2007. Among other things, Google's Zurich branch is intensively involved in online advertising. As a thought leader, Patrick Warnking is driving the development of automated ad blockers that apriori eliminate harmful pop-ups and banners in the Chrome browser - and, it is hoped, prevent users from totally banning advertising from their user experience via ad blockers. By eliminating only the annoying ads, "clean" ads can continue to have their effect.
Category Research / Teaching / Associations
Kafi Freitag, Influencer & Coach Kafi Freitag was founded in 2011 with her blog "Ask Mrs. Freitag" became famous, if not infamous, in German-speaking countries. She answered over 1000 questions from her readership and was not always serious, but always honest. Since then, several million people have read all the questions and answers and the blog has become one of the most successful in the German-speaking world. She has made a name for herself as an unconventional thinker and was recognized for her high credibility by the Swiss magazine as one of the most powerful women in Zurich. In the meantime, she has taken on a new format. In her vlog "KAFI thinks LOUD" she does what she does best: Driving and thinking about topics. Kafi Freitag runs an independent Coaching practicegives seminars and advises companies on social media and PR. Martina Dalla Vecchia, FHNWProf. Martina Dalla Vecchia is a lecturer in e-commerce, digital marketing and social media at the FHNW. Already in 2000, she created the first course for e-commerce & online marketing in Switzerland. Marketing automation, campaign management and digital business networking (Xing / LinkedIn) are among her core competencies. She is a regular speaker, blogs (dallavecchia.ch) and is co-editor of BPX-Fachverlag, specializing in CEO-ready guides on IT and business topics. Her digital credo: "You are what you share!" Sandra Lehner, Frequency / NeovisoSandra Lehner is a pioneer in digital storytelling. In London, she has worked as a Digital Producer for several original YouTube channels (including Jamie Oliver's Food Tube) and as a Social Media Producer for some of the biggest TV brands such as "Downton Abbey" (NBCU) and "Sherlock" (BBC). As Head of Content Acquisitions EMEA at Frequency, she now brings digital content to Liberty Global's pay TV channels. In teaching, she brings a wealth of experience in digital storytelling techniques and international examples as a speaker for Neoviso, and has focused on storytelling for Gen Z since seeing the inspiring and ambitious formats of Gen Z studios like AwesomenessTV and ZoominTV at Digital Fronts. She blogs on these topics and is a sought-after contact for various media.
