Overall, the Ad tech industry combines a rapid evolving environment with a rather apolitical, start-up-like work atmosphere.

To be more precise, I sort of stumbled into the ad tech industry because I’ve always been interested in technical innovations and infrastructure-related topics. After graduating, I started working for a major German broadcaster, which gave me the opportunity to dive into both the publisher and the saleshouse perspective. Among other things, I was responsible for M&A partner management, focusing on technology-driven companies and developing and implementing the digitization and technology strategy. One of the companies in our portfolio was the programmatic full-tech stack provider Virtual Minds. That was a groundbreaking time for me and I knew that my future was in ad tech. What keeps me in the industry to this day: The versatility, the constant change in a fast-paced environment with an inspiring and challenging atmosphere.

I am a member of the management board of Virtual Minds, an adtech specialist belonging to ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. In this role, I am primarily responsible for corporate development, data protection and the continuously improvement of our products and services such as the data intelligence, identity management and cross-device topics.

I am currently facing my biggest challenge. Not only am I a first-time CEO, I’ve also become a mother for the first time. Balancing these two big roles is quite a challenge on a day-to-day basis. Everyone talks about the importance of leadership. If you want to manage both roles properly, there is no other chance than to be a leader. That means simultaneously enabling the employees and my child to find their own ways of mastering the daily challenges and developing themselves. All this either in the interest of the company or in my interest as a mother.

To be honest, I was very lucky to have the right advisors and mentors by my side at every stage of my career. The most important of them were: Rolf Unterberger, who always gave me advice at the beginning of my career. Jens Mittnacht, who developed my professional skills and always took the time to support and encourage me. Sabine Eckhardt, who gave me the courage and self-confidence believe in me and to take the step into executive management. I learned that if you look for support and advice, you will find it. But it doesn’t come on its own, you have to demand it on your own responsibility.

Push yourself out of your comfort zone! You are capable of more than you think. No one was born as a perfect entertainer and most people struggle with the same fears and insecurities. Last but not least, in the face of progress time is the most limited resource. Always question tasks with the pareto method in mind: 20% of the work can create 80% of the targeted result. In a dynamic and agile work environment it is key to focus your efforts on what is most relevant to move forward. Most of the time it is about progress rather than the perfect result.

Surround yourself with great people who are willing to challenge you and your ideas on a daily basis. Help others to grow on a professional and on a personal level. Work because you believe in the cause, not for selfish reasons. Not having done something out of fear, I want to avoid that at all costs. I live my life according to this premise.

Passionate, Pragmatic, Honest

Allover, the advertising market will continue to gain relevance in the future. New channels will be added, e.g., advertising in cars, in the smarthome, or in the metaverse. New players will gain relevance, such as appliance manufacturers for the home, i.e. the end consumer.
The digital advertising industry still has some tasks to master in order to firmly establish new channels in the marketing mix. Making channels technically accessible for Programmatic is one thing. The much bigger challenge is to programmatically connect established media systems in a way that either follows familiar logic and metrics or allows for an easy and well-explained transition into something new. It’s observed that the necessary changes in existing mechanics, structures and processes, as well as changing measures of success and KPIs, are much more difficult to implement than simply providing technology.The digital advertising world has changed. Third-party cookies continue to lose relevance. We are facing a major transformation of digital marketing towards more control, transparency, and consent on a user level. Currently there is a huge imbalance due to the fact that a few gatekeepers are defining the ad tech rules. One of the main questions is, how can we achieve more fairness and power balance in the digital world for the future? GDPR, Digital market act and digital service act are good first steps. It shows that the EU is aware of the imbalances in the digital ecosystem. But we need a more collaborative approach as the internet does not take country borders into account. We should address, think and solve issues more globally, especially when it comes to market standards and the handling of user data. Data ethics for example encompasses the moral obligations of gathering, protecting, and using personally identifiable information and further more how it affects the individuals. Frequently discussed topics such as artificial intelligence and algorithms, surveillance and privacy, the relationship between man and machine and the role of social media in a deliberative democracy will hopefully be solved in 10 years.