"We may not even know the technologies yet that will change our industry from the ground up"

1. what does not come to your office under any circumstances?

If I tell anyone, my desk will be plastered with it after the next vacations. We have a nice little prank tradition at Y&R Wunderman.

2. who was the most fun lunch partner?

Thomas Meyer. As a lunch partner, he's just as entertaining and clever as his books. He's also the reason I ended up in advertising back then.

3. what do you see as the biggest challenge for advertising at the moment?

Currently, there is a widespread conviction that a very small segmentation is sufficient to convince people of a product or service. But the more one relies on programmatic advertising, etc., the more crude the idea and implementation often are. I see it as a great challenge to use the technical possibilities sensibly and still not take people for fools.

4. Does the classic agency model have a long-term future?

Certainly not. As we all know, change cannot be prevented, but at best it can be shaped. However, we can only speculate about what will one day replace today's agency model, which is no longer quite so classic. Perhaps we don't even know the technologies yet that will change our industry from the ground up. I think that's wonderful!

5. what do you never want to have to hear about yourself?

There are quite a few things. For example, my answers to the 13 questions are some of the most boring things you can currently read. However, I try not to make my self-image dependent on what I hear about myself. Especially in a leadership position, you're always in someone's line of fire.

Have you ever thought about leaving the advertising industry?

Time and again, I make mental excursions into other professional fields. So far, always with the result that I have returned to my own reality absolutely enraptured. I feel very lucky to be able to work in a profession that I enjoy so much.

7. a buzz word that gets on your nerves?

Co-creation. Currently, there's no getting around it. We also use it inflationary at Y&R Wunderman, because we've actually been working that way for years. I think what it means and what it stands for is great. But the word itself I can't hear anymore. Maybe in the future, like the Wunderman network, we should rather speak of Collision. Actually, that's much better, but the need for explanation is greater.

8. can you tell us a little secret?

I love Excel.

9. what distinguishes the advertising and communications industry from other industries?

We potentiate professional competence through process competence.

10. which professional colleague would you take with you to a desert island?

Sandy Pfuhl, Art Director. She is incredibly optimistic, full of energy and a zest for action. It would still be an island, but it wouldn't be lonely. (Addendum: The strategist Sarah Bürger from Berlin read my answers and told me to take her with me. So, in order not to endanger our long-standing friendship, she is also part of the party).

What is currently overestimated?

Measurability. I understand that people strive for it. The fact that we all too often blindly trust it is less so. How nice it would be if we no longer needed courage to make decisions and could rely completely on numbers. But measuring what you actually want to measure is incredibly difficult and complex. Interpreting the result is just as difficult.

Why aren't there more women in the top echelons of the Swiss advertising industry?

To change that, perhaps we should ask the question the other way around. Why are there so many men in the top echelons of the Swiss advertising industry? Behind many a professionally successful man is a woman who foregoes her own success.

Do you have a role model?

I hope to be able to face any situation calmly, wisely and courageously at some point. I am already orienting myself to this image of myself many years from now.