The Speakers of the Best Brands College 2026
Discover the speakers who will share their knowledge and experience in this year's talks.
Dr Julia Shaw, who was born in Cologne in 1987 and grew up in Canada, is a bestselling author and international speaker. After receiving her doctorate in criminal psychology, she became a researcher at University College London. As a specialist in false memories, she advises the police, the military, law enforcement, the judiciary and businesses in German and English-speaking countries. She also works as a true crime expert for the BBC and numerous TV productions. Her books The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting, and the Science of False Memory and Making Evil: The Science Behind Humanity’s Dark Side were bestsellers. She recently published her latest book GREEN CRIME. Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet and How to Stop Them.
Stephan Betz explores the conflicting priorities between social and technological developments, brand impact and consumer psychology. As a brand and media expert, he has many years of experience in brand and consumer research in a variety of industries. In his current role, he helps companies to maximise their brand impact with databased insights.
Sandra Haberstroh is a passionate market researcher with a focus on the connection between consumer behaviour, brand impact and strategic decision support. In her role as Team Lead Mobility D-A-CH, she empowers companies to achieve lasting impact and make informed market and brand decisions through well-founded insights.
Adrian Eck, who has worked at Weber-Stephen since summer 2024, is responsible for marketing for the D-A-CH region.With several years of experience in marketing and product management for barbecues and other consumer goods, he combines an in-depth knowledge of the industry with a strong passion for innovative brand management. Merging technological innovations with emotional benefits, he creates brand experiences that help build trust and create a lasting wow factor. His expertise and inspiring approach make him a driving force for successful, forward-looking brand development.
Stijn Mentrop, who was born in the Netherlands, has over 20 years of marketing experience, gained during management roles at Unilever, L’Oréal and Philips, as well as from his time as an entrepreneur. He joined McDonald’s in 2022 and was awarded CMO of the Year for his work in the Netherlands. On 1 July 2025, he was appointed Vice President and CMO of McDonald’s Germany, where he is responsible for strategic brand development. In his free time, he enjoys beekeeping.
Ramona Jaeckle is Brand Manager at the Handelsblatt Media Group where she leads the strategic brand development for German newspaper Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche magazine. Before that she was Strategy & Business Development Manager at the ZEIT publishing house group and worked in online marketing at public-service radio and television broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. In her current role, she is responsible for the strategic expansion of Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche, regularly working on the concept development and realisation of image campaigns, overseeing brand initiatives to raise the publications’ profiles and accompanying the development of personal brands.
Alexander Mühl has worked at Borussia Dortmund since 2021. As its Director of Marketing & Digitalisation and a driving force behind the digital transformation of the first division club, he is responsible for upholding BVB’s brand identity and taking its marketing to the next level. Before combining his professional expertise and personal passion in his current position, the qualified user experience designer and digital strategist worked for various international agency networks including Havas and TBWA as Managing Director and Chief Digital Officer.
Since June 2016, Tom Schwarz has been Managing Director of Seven.One AdFactory, the creative marketer of ProSiebenSat.1. Prior to that, the design graduate worked at Ogilvy & Mather in Düsseldorf for almost five years – as the agency’s Executive Creative Director. His previous roles include Executive Creative Director at Jung von Matt/Spree and Jung von Matt/Donau. To date, his campaigns have won over 700 creative and media awards, both national and international. He is also an active jury member in the Art Directors Club.
Jil Andert is Director Brand & Events at Miss Germany and instrumental in the radical transformation of the brand’s culture. She began her career as an event trainee at Miss Germany over ten years ago – back when it was still a conventional beauty contest with a focus on celebrity. After studying media and journalism, she returned to the company – won over by its new vision: recognising women not for their looks, but for their attitude, responsibility and social commitment.
Max Klemmer is a third-generation entrepreneur and the initiator of the radical transformation of the Miss Germany brand. In 2014, he joined the family-run company (which was established in 1927) as an event manager. A few years later he realised that it was time for a radical new start – and systematically realigned the brand to focus on the future, social commitment and relevance. In 2019, Max Klemmer was in charge of the transition from a traditional beauty contest and turned Miss Germany into a platform for women who are shaping the future. Since 2022, he holds all shares in the company that currently operates under the name Miss Germany Studios.
Filiz de Campos Oliveira, Portuguese-Turkish newcomer at bigFM, a private radio station for young people, began her career in the banking sector. After seven years, however, she realised that she wanted to fulfil her childhood dream of becoming a radio host. She started working at bigFM as an intern in 2021, followed by a traineeship, which paved the way to her own show. Filiz currently hosts the daily afternoon show on bigFM and impresses her listeners with fresh content and her unique personality. In 2024, she won the Deutscher Radiopreis (German Radio Award) in the category ‘Best Newcomer’.
York Strempel is a creative go-getter who lives and breathes radio culture, shapes brands and inspires people. For over 20 years now, the founder, presenter and creative thinker has been making his mark on the German radio scene – as the former programme director of KISS FM, for example. He transforms ideas into audio experiences, blending contents, emotion and attitude into strong brand communication. As Lead Audio Experience at RMS since October 2025, he designs new storytelling and brand experience formats and comes up with cross-media ideas to make audio a tangible experience as a media of the future. In this role he acts as a link between radio stations, market partners and advertising clients.
Mike Bödger is an experienced media expert with a vast industry knowledge of TV, print, digital and (digital) out-of-home advertising. As a digital trailblazer of the 2000s, he was instrumental in the development of rtl.de into a leading marketing platform and established successful cross-media formats such as Big Brother and Wer wird Millionär?[PH1] (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?). In senior roles at Condé Nast and the Handelsblatt Media Group, he was responsible for innovative projects, digital transformation and driving sustainable sales growth. With his strong C-level network, in-depth OOH expertise and clear focus on strategic business development, he handles key accounts for JCDecaux / Wall GmbH in the FMCG, automotive, tech and luxury sectors with passion and vision and is actively driving the development of the media landscape.
Nikolaus Glasmacher is Chief Business Officer at the BILD Group. As a member of its management board, he is responsible for the strategic and commercial development of the brand portfolio. He began his career at BILD in the sports department, where, as Managing Director, he acquired exclusive rights and opened up new digital growth areas with innovation and investment projects at the intersection of sports, technology and media. Recently, as Chief Digital Officer, he was instrumental in the transformation of the BILD Group into a ‘digital-only’ company.
Michael Stücke is a shepherd and the owner of the Schäferei Stücke sheep farm in Löhne, in the north-west of Germany. At his family-run business, he keeps over 500 sheep, practises sustainable landscape management and is committed to preserving traditional sheep farming while taking a modern approach. His work combines farming with social concerns and he is a vocal supporter of animal protection, the visibility of the LGBTQ⁺ community and innovation in the use of agricultural resources. With this outlook, Michael is showing how today’s agriculture can take responsibility while also shaping the future
Nadia Leytes is Client Strategy Director at Serviceplan Cologne. As the Project Lead for Rainbow Wool, she was responsible for the strategic development and international communication of the multi-award-winning campaign. Alongside her work at Serviceplan, she volunteers for schools, NGOs and the rights of the LGBTQ⁺ community. In view of the globally rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment, intolerance and marginalisation, which she has experienced herself, the international and social aspects of this project were particularly close to her heart.
Andy Wyeth is Creative Lead at Serviceplan Cologne and was responsible for the creative development of Rainbow Wool. To do this, he brought together creative people and production partners who are deeply committed to diversity and who helped to bring the idea to life. Born in Nairobi, raised in New Zealand and now based in Germany, he blends a global outlook with in-depth expertise in local brand building. For 14 years now, he has played a key role in shaping some of Germany’s most innovative omnichannel campaigns, consistently delivering bold and culturally relevant ideas that make an undeniable impact.
Felicia Mutterer, co-founder and Managing Director of FC Viktoria Berlin, is regarded as a thought leader when it comes to modern sports business and strategic brand management. The awardwinning journalist knows exactly what it takes to translate social relevance into viable business models. With her start-ups, she connects sport, business and pop culture, proving that brands can generate resonance and become effective through social commitment and innovative spirit. Together with her co-founders and partner Monarch Collective, she is defining new standards for entrepreneurial risk in professional sport.
Oke Göttlich, who holds a degree in sports science, has been President of professional German football club FC St. Pauli since 2014. For many years, Göttlich worked as a sports and music journalist for numerous newspapers and magazines. After working as Managing Editor of German newspaper taz, he made the move to the music industry. In the early 2000s he founded finetunes, one of the first European digital service providers for music labels and artists. He has more than 20 years of experience in the music industry, as well as in the management and analysis of digital music content by independent record labels. After selling the company to Sony, Göttlich took on the position of Managing Director of Music at Zebralution, a digital, all-audio distribution company, which GEMA (the German association for the protection of musical performance and recording rights) holds a majority interest in.
