On a new path with a new team

There was a lot of guesswork when Ivan Schultheiss left Mediaschneider at the end of March 2013 and wanted to "reorient himself professionally". The former APG Managing Director was a member of the management team at Switzerland's largest independent media agency for just two years. During this time, as Head of Business Development, Ivan Schultheiss "made valuable contributions to the strategic development of the company and did much to acquire new clients", as Urs Schneider thanked the departing manager a year ago. Then things went quiet for the departing employee. The surprise was all the greater at the end of January when Clear Channel was able to introduce Ivan Schultheiss as the new Sales Director and successor to Beat Sulzer. In this role, he also acts as a member of the Executive Board. But how has the thoroughbred manager been able to keep quiet for almost a year in the meantime?

Ivan Schultheiss's smile is pleasantly wise: "Among other things, I walked the Way of St. James. It was wonderful to be able to collect myself and have time for myself for once. I was tempted to discover new things. I wanted to clear my head, be open to everything and I didn't have the stress of deciding on a new job."

That's why, while it may be "a rather surprising turn of events" for some, for Ivan Schultheiss it was a mature and well-considered choice to move to competitor Clear Channel with almost eight years at APG under his belt. "APG is the market leader. We at Clear Channel are the 'hunters'. That's an exciting position. Together, we want to further expand the share of out-of-home advertising in the overall advertising pie. So it's mainly about inter-media competition and less about intra-media competition. As partners, we can go a long way there."

Flashback

In January 2009, Ivan Schultheiss became Managing Director of APG, replacing Christian Kauter at the helm of the Affichage Group company with the highest turnover. This was part of the internationalization of the Group's business activities. Schultheiss had previously worked as sales manager at APG since 2004, during which time he "significantly advanced customer orientation", as Werbewoche wrote at the time. Before joining APG, the federally certified advertising manager held various management positions, such as advertising manager at Weltwoche. There he played a key role in the successful relaunch of the magazine until 2003. At Publipresse, in the general management of Publicitas, he worked on a project basis and presented the first "media atlas" for Switzerland on a CD-ROM. "That was revolutionary at the time."

Ivan Schultheiss has also gained experience on the agency side. He worked as a consultant at the advertising agency Sulzer, Suter. Even before that, he started out on the client side at Dipl. Ing. Fust in the 1990s. "That was before Media Markt entered the Swiss market," says Schultheiss, recalling the beginning of this exciting phase, in which the triumphant advance of electronic gadgets began and has since turned the media world upside down with a constant stream of new devices.

Outlook

At Mediaschneider, where all these developments had to be taken into account, Ivan Schultheiss was able to experience an "extremely positive time". It was also valuable because of the insight he gained into a 360-degree view at the media agency, having previously worked mainly with advertisements and posters.

Schultheiss is now keen to create added value for his customers with the new opportunities offered in outdoor advertising by combining posters with their digital extensions. As Sales Director, he wants to "offer customers tailor-made and effective advertising solutions so that they can maximize their advertising impact".

Just one month after Schultheiss joined the company, Clear Channel also appointed Claudia Cattaneo as a new branch manager for the Ticino region. At the beginning of March, Thomas Estermann, former publishing director at Das Magazin, also joined the poster company as Senior Key Account Manager for the support of key customers.

With the new team, Ivan Schultheiss wants to continue the success story of Clear Channel Switzerland and be successful on the market with a focus on benefits. "We are an innovative company that has always been very responsive to customer needs. We are very fast and flexible in developing customized out-of-home solutions. We also need to acquire new poster spaces and will therefore be actively bidding in the tenders."

Ivan Schultheiss is "back to the poster" because he is a poster fan and believes "that out-of-home advertising can further expand its position in the Swiss advertising market". The out-of-home sector is under less pressure from other media than other traditional media. In addition, Switzerland is a poster country par excellence and will continue to develop with the opportunities offered by the digital sector. "Out-of-home advertising will change, but I'm sure that stickers will be around for a long time to come. "

Andreas Panzeri